The Sliding Picture Puzzle Paths from God

By Rodney Evans

Author Rodney Evans thought worldly possessions such as cars, clothes, money, and a good life with family and friends were all he needed. During his goal to obtain those things, God was never in his thoughts until difficult times hit him. The author has written this heartfelt story about God's open door policy to except all who comes through His door by way of Jesus, even if they were once angry with Him as the author was and was still accepted back into God's loving grace. This story shows that God's door is always open for a relationship. The author hopes that others going through difficult times can relate to the events in his story and therefore be lifted up by God's power to conquer darkness to bring light to all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 26, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644710340

Book preview

9781644710340_cover.jpg

The

Sliding Picture Puzzle Paths from God

Rodney L. Evans Sr.

ISBN 978-1-64471-033-3 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64471-034-0 (Digital)

Copyright © 2018 Rodney L. Evans Sr.

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books, Inc.

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Table of Contents

Special Thanks

The Re-Path

I Once Knew Him, Then I Let the World Lure Me from Him… Again

The Self Fish

When It Rains, You Get Wet, Especially When You Don’t Have an Umbrella

God Knocking at My Soul

The Wow Moment

Sorry, God, I Said Something Bad in the Church’s Presence

My Sliding Picture Puzzle Path Back to Him

About the Author

To my wife, Marilyn, and to my children, Rod Jr, Paris, Lauren, and Gabriel, I took the long path to God when I did not need to; the direct path to Him was always there. This is so you and others will find it much sooner than I did.

In dedication to and memory of my mom Carolyn, sisters Karen and Kim, and brother David; their passing is proof that love transcends death and overpowers sorrow.

In memory of my friend and neighbor, Sheri, whose talk with me about Jesus and God gave me great joy and strength after a tiresome jog.

Special Thanks

T hank You, God, so much for being there even when I didn’t know it. Thank You for the mercy and grace You’ve provided and continue to provide us all. Thank You, Father, for giving us the gift of salvation through your Son, Jesus. Even though we sometimes fail to reciprocate love in return, His love for us is always welcoming and never failing. It gave my spirit the strength to write this story, even during the times my flesh didn’t feel like writing. Thank You, Father, for your guidance by way of the Holy Spirit during the times when I was at a loss to what path to take, not just in writing this story but also in life. God, I would not want to be without You in my life.

To my dear lovely wife Marilyn, thank you so much for allowing God to use you to show me how to exercise patience and joy. Your patience and laughter in everyday life was a key to me taking the deep breath I needed.

To Charles Duncan, I do not believe I would be here at this point if it was not for your guidance, perseverance, and friendship. Thanks for showing me the way out of the forest in which I was lost.

Thanks so much, Randy. Mom always said you had broad shoulders; thanks for allowing me to rest on them through all the difficult times. Thank you for the insights you provided me in helping me piece this book together.

To my dad, thanks for the guidance you gave me years ago in that alleyway. It was the question and guidance I needed to hear and is one of the reasons I finally woke up.

Introduction

Well, I have never written a book before and I am not very good at grammar; that’s judging how I make some people (wife and kids) who are great at grammar chuckle. I don’t have an extensive or elaborate education, just twelve years of high school and some military education. But I pray this book is legible enough to inspire those who read it to seek God as I have.

I used to think my six years of honorable military service and the post training, jobs, money, and travel it awarded me were the highlights of my life. I used to think my wife, children, family, and friends were all I needed… I could not have been more wrong.

Based on my world travels, jobs, and childhood, I thought both the good times and bad times that came my way were because of me and were up to me to handle. But who am I in this large world? Who am I in this vast universe? Who was I to think I had to carry it all and do it all by myself?

Well, there is Him—God. He who had been knocking at my hard head and nudging me my whole life to show me He was there with me. I had to finally give up my way and give in to hear His comforting and guiding voice. I needed to become humble to see His beauty and all He has created, to see that He truly provides for us physically and spiritually. It has been a long journey—about fifty years. That’s a long time to put up a fight against a God who loves me for who I was, who I am, and who I will be. He loves every blemish, mark, and hair on my body. Because of my stubbornness, it took me longer than it should have to learn this. It was only through difficult times that I finally gave up self—self of wanting things my way, self of doing it my way. In order to hear His voice, I had to finally shut up.

Matthew 16:25 says, For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Chapter 1

The Re-Path

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are You in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again Praise Him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:11)

Perhaps re-path is or is not a word, but it is the closest I could come to retaking this worldly test. Hey, I told you I wasn’t good at grammar in the preface! Okay, I am bad at it, for all of you English majors out there. By worldly test, I mean the decision to choose Him. I, at one time, was on a path to knowing God, but I strayed for a while. Okay, it was longer than a while. I had my back toward Him for a long time. I thought I knew what knowing God meant… until the day of October 6, 1998—the day I watched my mother take her last breath. Even a child in his own perspective believes being mad at someone is justified, until he sees the bigger picture. And like a crying child that attempts to tell you the complete story from the beginning of why he is angry while trying to catch his breath in between every sniffle, I, too, will first try to explain why I was angry with God… minus the sniffles.

Earlier that year before my mother’s death, my mother called me from her home in Richmond, Virginia, to talk. It was during that call in which she broke the news to me that she had cancer. Even then, I was