Decisive Moments in My Life
Have you given thought to defining a time in your life that changed your future? It maybe one does not give thought to such things at a younger age, but the other day it came to my mind that I should put it on paper for my grandsons and others in the family, and friends.
· I was 23 years of age and found a young lady who agreed to be my life partner. We were married on August 27, 1965, but before that, I remember a Bible verse I learned in VBS: the borrower would be a slave to the lender. Jan and I agree we would not go into debt for anything other than a car or a house.
Why was that a key decision? It required us to wait, and often what we desired and wanted was not a want when we had the money to pay for it. For 43 years, we have had no debt.
· At the age of 26 in Victoria, Texas, I put the Key into the door of the Christopher Inn. I heard a voice that said tonight is the last night I will deal with you. It was not an audible voice, but for six months I had been at a bible study with men who knew the God I only knew about. I had been trying to make a deal with God, and I knew that was the voice of God speaking to me.
What did I do may a dash for the hotel bible and it opened to Romans 10::9-10 was where my eyes went; “If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” That night, I acted on that, and Jesus came into my life. I was a new creation, with a new eternal destiny, no longer just a Baptist on a church roll, now my name was written in the Book of Life.
· Hurricane Celia hit Corpus Christi on August 3, 1970, and we were told by the local press that it covered the whole gulf and the max winds would be 75 to 80 miles per hour. Our 3M office was on Shoreline Drive, and I was helping tape windows. Jan and I and our daughter, a newborn just a little over 2 months old, live in Odem, Texas, about a 30-minute drive in a 12’ X 60’ trailer on 5 !/2 acres. And I heard that voice again, it said, " Take your wife and child and leave. And we did, and that was a very important moment.
· · The next significant moment was coming back to our home, not only was it not there, but only a twisted frame and a company car that was totaled. It was a very dark moment, and a Scripture came to my mind as we looked down the 300 ft road that led down to the house, it was 1 Thessalonians 5:18, I had been using it to thank God for flat tires, and miss sales, but today that voice said, now give me praise. The verse, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” That day, I looked at my wife and daughter, and it was clear that what I put real value on was in the car with me. So, that moment was pivotal in so many areas of our lives, and I did as the Lord requested.
I was a marginal salesperson at that time. By the end of that year, I was in the top 2 percent of a sales force of 2000. When I went to G.E. Supply, I had never been in that store, and I gave my list of things I needed from the electrician who was wiring our 1250 sq. ft house that Jan’s brother had designed for us. The counterman said this is a big list, and a man in a suit tapped me on the shoulder and said Young man, did your home get damaged. I told him what happened, and he said to give him our cost, and it seemed that everywhere people were helping us with a lower cost. It became very clear that God was going before us. We did get a few surprises, like only $1,300 for our trailer, and none of our contents were covered. We got a HUD loan of 9,000 dollars at 3%, and by the time the house was built, it was paid for. Still amazed at our Lord’s blessing.
· The death of my dad was a devastating moment; my cousin and her husband came to our place one night, and I was keeping Natalie, and they told me my dad had been taken to the hospital from the plant, and they would watch Natalie till Jan came home from her bible study. The speed limit was 70, and as I dove in, I was only going about 50. My dad had not been in a hospital, and I began to ask the Lord, why am I going so slow, and once more He made it clear my dad was gone to be with Him. At that moment, I knew my role was to be there for my Mother.
· A major moment was at the end of 1982 when I was told that I would no longer have a job in the Business Products division, it was going out of business. I had been there for 16 years, and once more it came as a shock that I would be looking for a job. My boss assured me, and my friend David, we would be in high demand by the other 50 divisions of 3M I was not a believer, and yet the phone calls began, and after much thought and prayer, I went with the Electrical Products division.
It would take a few pages to share how God blessed Jan and me with that decision. A guy who had trouble screwing in a lightbulb became the go-to guy for 5kV to 35kV splices and terminations in the industrial market in Houston and some of Louisiana. After 9 years, I was moved to a key account job over Utilities, and then after many big moments and successes, was told to be the lead over the Industrial markets on the Gulf Coast. After 3 of the worst years at 3M, I was given a job with what my VP called the global market creators, only to be changed by upper management to Construction Trades. It was a dream job, and I worked for my friend Kim Mulvey, and it was a blast.
· When I read Proverbs 30:8-9, I ask the Lord to honor this verse in my life. “Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal. and profane the name of my God.” It was not long after that my daughter called and said Dad it if you have some money to invest, Dell stock would be the place to do so. I asked my boss, and he said no way, not in any of those computer companies. I was going to in vest $75, 000 and I believe God had me ask my boss, for if I had done so, I would have been very well off. One does not know if they would be wise or foolish with a large sum of money, and I choose to believe that God honored my prayer that day.
· Another defining time was our retirement plans. We were going to serve others; that is always a good plan, but it helps to include God in those plans. First, we were going to move to Asheville, N.C., and volunteer at the Bill Graham Cove for six months, and see if that was to be our new place to serve. If not, then off to Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs. But God had other plans, and I made a business call on a friend from high school who was a V.P. at Valero, and I was trying to earn their business. Buddy asked Jan and me to come to an open house where we would see people we had not seen in 40 years; we did, and while sitting on his back porch, looking at the twin sister, we made a major decision to move to that area. We were 1 hour and 30 minutes from our daughter and those two grandsons, who came along, and we got to be a big part of their lives. I learned it from a wise person that ask God what His plans for you are.
· Jan and I have been blessed with good health. I had never been in a hospital till age 74, and that was for one night with high blood pressure. At 79, I was told I tested positive for COVID-19 and went to Sequin, Texas, for a three-hour treatment. Jan and I prayed about taking the vaccine and got a big no from the Lord. The day after the treatment, which was supposed to help, my brother called and asked how I was doing. I had never felt that bad in my life, and so we were off to the hospital on December 28, 2022, not with COVID, but with Sodium way below 100. That night, I needed help, and they had not seen anyone with sodium that low. I believe Dr. Banks was making her rounds, and they asked her what to do. She told them how to treat me, and the next morning showed up in my room and introduced herself in this manner, Mr. Rice, I’m Dr. Banks, and this morning at 1:30 the Lord woke me to pray for you. That is the kind of doctor you want. Came home after 10 days, believing that was all in the rearview mirror, only to return after 14 days, not being able to breathe and stay till April 18, 2023.
I learned that God is faithful, and over many long nights where this Scripture became my cry to the Lord, it was found in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I often had long talks with the Lord, and my only request was to let me go home and help Jan, as she needed me. I was also quick to say that I am ready if that is your will, but who will you send that will take care of Jan like me? I can report that he sent me, and I’ve learned to do much that I did not know how to do, for the lady who had taken care of me for so many years.
My friend Larry York asked me to do two things when writing: first, to make clear my reason for this long letter, and second, to understand who my audience was.
This was my reason for doing this paper: the Lord put in my heart to share the subject of Decisive Moments. As I reflected on the subject, I began to understand that these were times that changed my life and the lives of my family. I believe that, and I hope it will move those who read it to record in some way their significant moment.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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