Disrobing St. Michael: A Father's Journey

By Xlibris US

Disrobing Saint Michael, A fathers Journey chronicles the personal journey of a Christian father, from childhood to adulthood. It recounts a life filled with great successes and great failures; surprises and disappointments; faith and fear. This chronicle shows the omnipresence of God guiding the affairs of this father, by His Word and by His Spirit. In the end, eternal and often illusive questions of purpose are answered and destiny becomes clear. Through this journey there is an unending conversation with an ever-present God who is glorified.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499041040

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Michael E. Higgins.

ISBN:          Softcover          978-1-4990-4105-7

                   eBook                978-1-4990-4104-0

All rights reserved solely by the author. The Author guarantees all contents are original and do not infringe upon the legal rights of any other person or work. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the permission of the author. The views expressed in this book are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Biblical quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission, and the King James Version of the Holy Bible, and the New American Standard Bible copyright © 1960,1962, 1963,1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation used by permission.

"Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible,

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

E-mail: [e-mail]

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 07/11/2014

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Foreword

The Childhood Years

Meeting You As Friend To Friend

Passage Into Manhood

On Courting And Marriage

From Manhood To Fatherhood

Relocating To The Usa

Reflections

Family In America

Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

Life In Okeechobee

Reflection

Reflection

Living In Maryland

Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

Chosen And Called By God

Last Ten Years

Reflection

Yes Lord Yes

Port St Lucie Church Of God

Reflection:

Endorsements:

"Disrobing Saint Michael, A Father’s Journey", written by Pastor Michael Higgins, is an engaging work that digs deeply into the life of the author. Michael gives us a glimpse beneath the surface as he shares personal victories and successes as well as disappointments and regrets. In this deeply introspective book, you will find refreshing truthfulness as Michael models the vulnerability of personal spiritual development and growth. He is not afraid to ask some tough questions and to provide more than a few answers.

I endorse, not only this book, but also Michael Higgins, as a friend and a leader.

Rick Whitter

Administrative Bishop, Church of God

Michael has taken the time to speak from his heart on sensitive issues, and in the process made himself vulnerable so his audience can get a fuller understanding of what it means to be transparent. As a pastor and family man, I wholeheartedly endorse this work as a must read.

Thank you for your obedience Bishop Higgins, my friend and brother.

George J. Smith,

Pastor, Ft. Pierce Church of God

Dedication

Disrobing St. Michael is dedicated to my wife Beverlyn, who for over 35 years have been my greatest support, critic and my partner in raising our children. It is with her permission that I share details of our life, to the glory and honor of God. Disrobing St. Michael is also dedicated to my children Bernadette, Michael and Faith; all who have made my life dynamic and meaningful. This work would not be possible without the great influence of my parents Cyprian and Herma, to whom I owe much.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I cannot imagine this book being completed without the extensive help of several individuals. My wife Beverlyn has been a key motivator in getting me to complete this project. She has been instrumental in assisting me with details of events that I would have otherwise missed. Bernadette, Michael and Faith, my children, have each contributed by reading and offering me feedback as the chapters progressed. My friend George Smith has taken great pains to read and give feedback as to content.

I am especially indebted to Leila and Erin Higgins who took valuable time to thoroughly read and edit this work. This made the difference in the quality of this product.

FOREWORD

Heavenly father, I have come to many crossroads in my life. Lately I find myself looking back over my life and realizing how much You have provided for me, watched over me and directed my path. This journey from childhood to adulthood has brought me to a deeper understanding of Your grace and mercy that is unending. There was a time in my life when I saw Your grace only through Your acts of redemption. As I spend this quality time in Your sweet presence, I am reminded that my journey through life has not been without mistakes, missteps and flaws. Yet You have been there all the time. You have been my teacher, my protector, my defender and my provider.

Your presence in my life has also been at times like the angel with the sword blocking the passage of Balaam. At other times when I wanted to pursue my sinful path, You were like the donkey guiding my stubborn heart in the path of life rather than death. As I reflect on the many reckless choices I have made over time, I see how much You have saved me from those consequences, out of Your sheer love for me. You never allowed me to experience the full consequence of my choice.

Through this precious time with You I have come to understand that my life is indeed a journey designed to be incredibly meaningful. I may not have achieved all that I dream about. I have not fulfilled all my goals. The knowledge that I am walking in Your designated path, gives me the motivation I need to go on. I invite those that will read this book to take time and reflect on their own journey. You will experience as I did the awesome presence of almighty God.

CHAPTER 1

The Childhood Years

My earliest memory of childhood dates back to living in Sanguinetti, a small rural town in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. I recall doing what was typical for children: climbing rocks, trees and playing with my sister and whoever else would play with me. I always enjoyed the outdoors and was never discouraged from playing outside. As children, we learned how to make the toys with which we played. This could be as difficult as a witling a gig from guava or making a kite out of bamboo. Hop, scotch and jump was a popular children’s game along with skipping rope, sometimes made from the ropelike vines that hung from trees. As we got older, kickball was a prelude to soccer and stickball to cricket.

As best as I can recall, mom was always at home as a homemaker and dad brought home the bacon. He was well known as an Agricultural Extension Office, this meant that he interacted with farmers throughout his jurisdiction in helping them with all types of agricultural issues. We were never short of food in our household. If we didn’t grow it, somebody would always be giving us produce from their field.

At about age 10 we moved from Sangunetti to Spalding, another rural district in Jamaica. Dad continued to work with the Christiana Area Land Authority as an Extension Officer. He along with the other officers often had cricket matches at Kirkvine, a recreation complex. On occasions we had the wonderful opportunity to go to the cricket games and watch dad play. As early as I can recall, church had always been an important part of our life as children.

I recall an experience that I did not think much of at the time. Now that I am talking to You, I remember the harvest dinner when I was about 14 years old. We had a harvest service in October and the following Monday we had a harvest dinner in the church hall. My girlfriend was asked to draw the winning ticket in a raffle for a large chocolate cake. Somehow, we finagled a way to get my ticket drawn as the winning ticket. As planned, I won. We both played the part of a surprised winner. That night I could not take the cake home. My conscience would not allow it. At the time, I did not understand the depth of Your reach even in my youthful years. I understand that Your Spirit was striving with me even then, guiding my young mind. Some may say that it was the upbringing of good parents and the sheer fear of being caught. I experienced an enormous amount of guilt and was fearful of taking the cake home.

My brother and I muse at the youthful folly that we enjoyed and how You must have had a host of angels watching over us. We recall times when we took the bullets without the knowledge of our father and discharge them with nothing more than a hammer, a nail and a rock. There were times we caught mongoose in traps. Lit them with gas and watch them running into the field or under the house. As we talked about these and other youthful follies, we acknowledge that You our God, was watching over us. You kept us from destruction.

Learning to honor You lord is something I learned all my childhood years. Church life was an important part of my childhood. I recall sleeping on the benches and playing in the churchyard with other children while my parents practiced in the choir and did work in the church. The best produce was kept for the harvest festivals and the near perfect Easter buns saved for church. High celebrations in church were the seasonal cantatas for which so many people practiced. When I was old enough, I joined the choir as a rite of passage. At home we prepared for church by cleaning the shoes and laundering the clothes each Saturday. All of this communicated that You are hallowed and worthy of praise. Indeed, my upbringing did have much to do with my conscience formation, perhaps more that I thought.

In high school once again Your Spirit arrested my behavior in a way that I did not appreciate until much later in life. It was summer break and we had a month of summer camp with other teenagers from Georgia. During the days we were engaged in building projects. In the evenings we had dances and recreation. The interaction with other teens meant that for summer, new relationships were formed with a promise to continue our friendships after summer. The socials that followed each day were perfect for teenage romance but were strongly discouraged by our adult chaperones. Notwithstanding the vigilance of the adults, many teens had their first kiss and their first sexual encounter. I could not find the courage to go beyond kissing. Unlike some of my friends, I felt so dumb not being more accomplished after my friends started telling their stories, some exaggerated no doubt. Worst yet, was the letter I got from my summer girlfriend asking why I did not want to have sex. In hindsight, I have come to believe that it was not just my youthful shyness that hindered my accomplishment but also Your guiding hand restraining my behavior. Even then, You were keeping me from destruction.

I praise You for Your excellent greatness. As I meditate on Your favor towards me, I will extol You my God and King. I will bless Your name forever for You are great and worthy of all praise. You will not leave Your children or forsake them. Even when they are not thinking of You, You reach down with Your staff and pull them from the pangs of danger. O lord my God, how excellent is Your name.

When I recall the many opportunities I had for messing up my life and how You kept me, Your grace and mercy is beyond my comprehension. There were doors You closed and doors You opened. Opportunities that You afforded and disappointments that were mine. In all of this, Your divine hand was orchestrating my life even when I was acting outside of Your perfect will.

"Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your