In the Fall of 1984, I was a naive, wet-behind-the-ears 20 year old who was away from home for the first time in his up until then sheltered life. I had joined the Air Force because my best friend had and said it was a great life, so I thought "what the heck, why not." Well, military life might be great for some people, but it wasn't for me, but that's another story for another time LOL.
I was stationed up in northern Maine at the time (Loring AFB - 2192 Comm Squadron) with no friends, no car and the closest town of any size more than 25 miles away. I guess I was looking pretty pathetic and lonely one September Saturday afternoon in my dorm's day room when a guy I had seen around a few times came up to me and asked if I wanted to join him and some of his friends for pizza and board games party. Since I had nothing else going on, I told him yes. There were about 20 people or so already in the room when we got there, and a few more arrived afterwards. Before we all got started, Mike, the guy who invited me, and the group's leader, said that he would open with a prayer. My first thought was , "oh ****, not these kinds of people." You see, I spent my teen-aged years professing to be an atheist. God didn't exist and science was "it." I grew up going to church every Sunday, but "outgrew" it by the time I was 13 or 14.
Anyway, despite feeling the way I did, I stuck around that afternoon. Perhaps my desire for friendship overwhelmed my atheistic beliefs. Whatever the reason, I did have a good time, and against all odds, I struck up unlikely friendships with Mike (who eventually became my best friend there) and a few other people that were there. They knew of my beliefs, but never tried to pressure me to change my way of thinking. They just showed me love and friendship. After a couple of months, I began to realize they they "had something" I didn't. Growing up in church, I knew exactly what that "something" was, but still tried to stubbornly ignore it. I think Mike and Brad (my 'second' best friend) could sense I was softening up to the Gospel. I had heard both of them speak at other pizza gatherings that turned out to be Bible studies, and while I still considered myself an atheist, I wasn't as hardcore as I had been a few months earlier.
Finally, on December 11th, Brad sat down with me and we had a really good talk, one that lasted almost three hours. He asked me point plank to explain how I could be an atheist. I offered up a few, lame sounding defenses, which he shot down with Scripture. I could feel the Holy Spirit "tugging" on my heart, but was still being stubborn. He then launched into one of the most comprehensive explanations of the Gospel I had ever heard, in or out of a church. Something inside me finally recognized that the life I had been living was no life at all and that God could offer so much more, and that's when Jesus became Lord of my life.
I lost touch with Mike, Brad and the others as we all went on to different bases and postings, but I often think back to those days, and those special friends, with great fondness.
