BUTCH RINGWALD
Several years ago I had an eye-opening experience that changed my life drastically.

I had never been a very good student in high school and I sure didn’t win any popularity contests. I mainly did what was needed to get by. I had never made very good grades and never got involved in many school activities. You know how in your high school yearbook, each person has their picture, their name and then a list of clubs and sports they participated in? In my yearbook there was my picture and my name and a big blank space.

After working for my dad in his garage for two years and then working for a radio station, I got a job at a part’s store stocking shelves, filling orders and delivering parts when needed. I quickly moved to working in the lawnmower department and then started working up front at the counter, waiting on customers and taking care of their needs.

They began sending me around to the four other stores the company owned, taking the place of the people that were on vacation. My third year with the company, the owner wanted to open a parts store in my hometown and when they approached me to manage the store, I was thrilled and jumped at the opportunity. We opened the store and it did well. I had a lot of regular customers and was receiving a good salary plus a good benefit package. I thought I had everything I had ever thought about. I had a great job doing something I liked and it was very fulfilling for me.

I had also gotten married and was in the process of raising a family. Our son Chuck arrived in September and the following spring we found a great deal on a repossessed house. We were able to secure the loan to purchase it. There were so many great things happening to me that I thought I didn’t have a lot to be concerned about. You know how it is when you get married and begin a family. Within a very short time you will receive a visit from an insurance salesman.

Sure enough, when Chuck was about a year and a half old, an insurance salesman paid us a visit and said that we needed a family life insurance plan. Being a new parent and recently married I thought about what he said and purchased a policy. He also told me about something else I needed to consider to help me with this new life—going to church. I thought this was the last thing I needed and dismissed his suggestion. After all I had gone to church when I was a child. I had even gone forward at a revival service and gotten baptized. But when I was in high school I began to look for other things to fill the needs of my life. And when this insurance salesman told me this, I thought I had done pretty well for myself.

More and more people from the church began coming to our house. They even started buying auto and lawnmower parts from me. Being a good manager and knowing “the customer was always right,” I listened to their invitations but made all kinds of excuses. I even remember the people from the church pulling in front of our house one night and Dian said, “Butch those people from that church are out front.” And I said, “What can we do to get rid of them?” I didn’t want to offend them because they were buying parts from me, but I still didn’t want to listen to what they had to say. I was doing all right by myself.

After about 8 months of what seemed like constant invitations, I decided the only way I was going to “get them off my back” was to let the preacher come and talk to us. So the next time the preacher came to the parts store to buy parts and asked me about coming by, I gave in and said, “Yes.” He came to our house, and showed us a filmstrip that was popular back then and something happened that night. I saw a need in my life that I had forgotten about.

The preacher explained that God had created me but I had rejected Him and His influence in my life. He showed me that God sent His Son, Jesus, to die so I could have this relationship with Him restored. I realized I had turned my back on God and had rebelled against the very One who had created me. Before the night was over I decided to turn my life back over to God. I realized how empty my life was without Him in it and I didn’t want that any more. I committed my life to Him that night and my life has not been the same since.

I have a joy that I had never felt before and I realized I didn’t need alcohol and partying to have “a good time.” I found a group of friends that really cared about me and not only the things they could get from me. I didn’t use the same words to describe things and I stopped cursing things and people and instead my language began to encourage people. My life took on new meaning and purpose.

When people came into the parts store, I looked forward to really helping them, because of this newly found purpose. I was always happy, but now my life had great joy that showed in my life.

After about two years, Jesus Christ had impacted my life so much that I wanted to help others discover this same thing. I realized that I now had an eternal significance because of my relationship with God and I could make a difference in this world. And one of the greatest things I discovered was that I now have eternal life and there has been a place reserved for me in heaven. I look forward to spending eternity with Christ. I can’t thank Him enough for what He has done for me.