The Call That Changed My Life

Growing Daily

The Call That Changed My Life

The phone rang one evening in early August 1993...

For the previous eight summers, I had served for two weeks every August at a Christian camp in New England. That year, however, I told them I couldn’t serve anymore.  I had just started a new business in Chicago. There was simply too much going on in my life.

...but that evening, the camp called me back.  They knew I had already said “no,” but they desperately needed counselors. They asked if I might reconsider, or maybe even come for just one week.

To this day, I can't explain it. I heard myself say, "You know what, I'll just come for the full two weeks."

That one-minute phone call changed my entire life.

At camp just a few weeks later, I met the woman I would marry and several lifelong friends. Those relationships also opened the door to decades of service as a worship leader. Within two years, I sold my business and moved to New England. 

Proverbs 16:9 says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

I had made my plans — a business, a life in Chicago, no more camp.  But God had other ideas. 

We may not recognize life's defining moments when they happen.  Stepping through one small door may lead to countless others that we can't yet see.

Today, don't dismiss the simple opportunities God places before you.  I thought that phone call was about the next few weeks.  God knew it was about the rest of my life.


- Ron Reid