. . . and all this time I thought I was a mathematician.

My dad once told me, that when I was a small boy, I used to climb into his bed in the mornings and say, "Let's talk numbers." I have one memory of it, so I must have been pretty young. He taught me math by counting his fingers, and then adding and subtracting them. My mother told me that in kindergarten, that my teacher would go and get math work from second and third grade teachers. I always liked math, and it always clicked for me; but recently, I found the results of a standardized test from 1979, which would put me in second or third grade.

I was surprised to find that my highest scores were in reading and social science. Strange, I never really liked writing, I didn't do poorly at it, I just never liked it. Reading and writing, still go hand in hand: if you don't read much, you won't write much. In fact, writing is a by-product of much reading. It wasn't until I was in seminary, writing sermons and papers, that I found something comfortable about writing. I liked the gratification that came from solving math problems, and it only took as long as it took to solve the problem. Writing is more of a process, and I just didn't know the process.

So, why this unsolicited jaunt down my memory lane? I find it incredible that the things I was most suited to then, are today, what occupy most of my time. I don't think that I am unique in this, either. It is such an awesome thing, that the Lord and Creator, put us together with His purpose in mind. I smile, as I think about seeing the same traits still active in my nieces and nephews, that were so prevalent when they were three and four. So, to bring this to a close, God put you together for a reason, and if you don't know what that reason is: Ask Him, He'll be glad to show you. God bless you all.