Luke, Chapter 12 Verse 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom."
I was a horrible student! I skated through without putting forth any effort and relied on my ability to glean information from feeble attempts of studying to escape Bennettsville High School in June of 1983. I had dreams of attending Clemson University where I was going to be a "walk on" athlete for the Tiger football team and would be a surprising star and end up in the NFL....yeah, right! All 5'6" 125 lbs of dynamic athletic ability of myself! Needless to say, I didn't have the grades to attend Clemson, but the University of South Carolina was more than happy to accept me. Whoa, Nellie........Scooter was FINALLY getting out of the house and was going to be free! I started formulating plans for the future. I was as miserable as a college student as I was in high school......let's just say that my one glorious year at the Univ. of SC was not as glorious as it should have been. I was in "heap big trouble" when the grades showed up the following May. I wandered the Earth for a while following my college career, working minimum wage jobs and being a "slacker" and Daddy informed me that if I weren't going to go to school I was going to get a REAL job. I protested....."I have a job! I'm working at McDonalds AND at Pizza Hut." Daddy had other ideas. Ole JB came home one afternoon and said to me: "Monday morning, you are going out to Oak River Mill and talk to Peggy Burroughs. I saw her today, she said for you to come by and fill out an application, she will put you to work." The "dude" begrudgingly abided and rode out there the following Monday and met with her. I did indeed get hired and showed up at the appointed date and time to begin my new job in a factory that processed polyester fiber into yarn that would eventually be made into carpet. I had no clue about anything, I was young and naive to the world. All I wanted at that time was to be a rock and roll bass guitarist. I thought this would be an opportunity to make some dough to buy a real nice guitar and amp, and me, Sidney Moore and Duncan MacIntyre were going to hit it big soon and I would fulfill my latest dream, having abandoned any hope of ever making it to the NFL. That first 12-hour night shift was a doozy! I had no clue what to do......the guy they put me with wasn't a very good instructor, he was soft-spoken and hard to hear over the noise of yarn whipping off spinning frames into the heat-setting machines that locked the "twist" into the yarn. I followed him and mimicked what he did, which involved pushing buggies of yarn from "here" to "there" and sweeping up piles of yarn that had been cut from the spinning frames whenever there had been a malfunction in the process. Somewhere about 1am I had a moment of clarity. I counted off the hours remaining on my shift. "Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..........oh no! Seven more hours of this misery?" I'm not ashamed to admit it now. I found an empty yarn cart and sat down in it and cried like a baby. "What have I done with my life? I'm not supposed to be here, I'm smarter than this! I'm supposed to be in school!" I was at the lowest point ever in my young life and felt lost, absolutely disgusted with myself. Lost and undone was an understatement. Fast forward 34 years. I eventually got a job in maintenance with Oak River, returned to school and started a career with skills that have lasted a lifetime, and have served me well! Unbeknownst to me on that fateful day in the Spring of 1985, Daddy had given me the key to success. I've recently repeated history, as I am seeking the keys to a whole new kingdom.......only this time I was wise enough to knock on a door. Wise men do indeed still seek Him. Have a rice day, all y'all!