Finally, this is a very practical, down-to-earth book, written by a very practical, down-to-earth person. My prayer is that it will be an inspiration to all who read it.
PART ONE
TRAUMAS REVEALED
CHAPTER 1
Loss of My Chosen Vocation
OUR MARRIAGE
Following my graduation in theology at Toronto Bible College, my first wife and I were married in a beautiful wedding in May 1950. We were both in excellent health at the time, but little did we know that in her early thirties, Marion would be facing a very serious chronic illness that would cause her great physical and emotional suffering. It would also change the course of my vocational life, for which God had gifted me and I had trained.
MEETING and COURTSHIP
Marion Slight and I had met at my seventeenth birthday party, which was sponsored by a girl in our church youth group who worked with Marion at General Electric in Toronto, where both of them were secretaries. Marion attended a different church and was a committed Christian, singing in the church choir and teaching a girls’ Sunday school class. I too was very involved in my church, teaching a boys’ Sunday school class and leading a Friday evening “Happy Hour.” It was a program for children ages 5 through 12 that featured Gospel choruses, stories, and Bible-illustrating dramas that I wrote, performed in and directed. As I look back on that period of my life it’s hard to believe that I was involved like that while still in my teens, but I already knew that my life work would be in full-time Christian service.
Marion and I had a very happy and activity-filled courtship, even though it was a very difficult time in her life. Her dad had recently been evicted from their home for committing an offence too repulsive to go into here. It’s interesting that at the time Marion was dealing with the pain of witnessing her dad being evicted from their home, I too was dealing with a similar painful problem.
Also she had a 30-year-old brother with Down Syndrome, who took up most of her mother’s time. She and her other siblings had always felt neglected by their mother, which often happens in families where there is a child who demands almost full-time attention.
However, in spite of all that was going on in her home, Marion was a beautiful fun-loving teenager.
EARNING MONEY FOR COLLEGE
As I didn’t have any money saved up from my many summer jobs to attend college, my parents were not able to help me financially, and there were at that time no government student grants or loans, I needed to work for a year.
I applied for a position I saw advertised for a high school graduate to be assistant to the purchasing agent of a company located in the east end of Toronto that manufactured dry cleaning equipment. I received a phone call to set up an interview. I travelled by streetcar (three different ones) to get to the interview, and when I heard more details about the job (including an attractive salary for a kid just out of high school), I thought, Wow! I would like this job.
In a few days I received a phone call from the general manager informing me that I had been accepted for the position and I was to report the following Monday. Wow! What exciting news: my very first full-time job!
On the Monday, I was up bright and early, dressed in the one and only suit I owned, and it was “It’s off to work I go,” as the seven dwarfs in Snow White sang. I received a warm welcome from all the office staff and spent a few days beside the purchasing agent to get my introduction into the world of purchasing. I loved every minute of the job, and after six months I was ecstatic at receiving my first pay increase. Soon I was working on my own, contacting companies by phone to order parts and tools for the factory. I then had to confirm those calls with a typed-out purchase order. What a blessing that I had learned typing skills in high school and in fact was one of the top students in the class!
What I didn’t know when I accepted the job was that the company was in the process of building a large new factory and offices in Newmarket. The move to the new location was planned for sometime in early spring. When asked if I would make the move, I didn’t hesitate. It would be a great experience for me.
One problem I had was where I would live in the town. No need to worry, as the manager of the painting department, learning that I had decided to go to Newmarket, asked if I would like room and board in his home. He and his wife had just moved into a brand new large house in the town and, as they didn’t have any children, thought it would be great to have a young man reside in their home. Once again—as so often in my life—my mom’s favourite Bible verse came to mind: “God will provide” (Genesis 22:8, NKJV). And He did! The lovely couple (Alf and Ruth) indeed did treat me like a son; in fact they spoiled me with great meals and lots of TLC (tender loving care).
During the time I worked in Newmarket I travelled by bus to Toronto each weekend to spend time with Marion and my family, and we both continued as Sunday school teachers.
PURCHASING OR PREACHING?
As I was coming to the end of the summer, I had to keep wrestling with the fact that in my heart I knew that God was calling me to full-time Christian service, to be a preacher and pastor. I had to make a decision: Would it be purchasing or preaching? The question had to be settled, and soon! My mom of course had never stopped praying that I would become a preacher. I must confess that the temptation to remain in my present situation was very tempting. I would be able to dress like the purchasing agent (I have always loved nice clothes!), drive a car like he did (I have always loved nice cars!), and live in a nice new house like he did (I had only lived in old rented houses). What to do? I had been taught in my youth that if you have a major decision to make in life, you should spend time in the Word of God and prayer. I dedicated a whole night to doing just that, wrestling with God, and by morning my decision had been made. God and my mom had won out! I would make an appointment with the Toronto Bible College registrar and apply to become a student at the college.
The day after making my decision I made an appointment to meet with the general manager of the company to inform him of my decision to resign from the job and go to Bible college. His response was “Barber college? Why would you leave a position like you have with all its potential to become a barber?” I then said the word “Bible” more clearly and that I was going to train to become a minister. His retort was “That sounds more like something you would go into.”
On my last day with the company the staff held a going-away party for me and presented me with a lovely leather briefcase, engraved with my name, which I would use daily at college.
TRAINING FOR FULL-TIME CHRISTIAN SERVICE
I travelled to Toronto one day to meet with the registrar of the college and apply as a student. In a few days I received a response from him that I had been accepted. Wow! Now I was on my way to becoming what God had been calling me to, a preacher of the Word of God and a pastor to all who would become my parishioners.
Toronto Bible College had been established for the sole purpose of training young men and women for full-time Christian ministry, to serve either as missionaries in a foreign land or in pastoral ministry. I spent wonderful and spiritually enriching years getting deep into the study of God’s Word and taking many other related subjects that would prepare me well for my chosen vocation. The curriculum included intense studies of the Bible verse by verse, systematic theology, pastoral psychology, homiletics (art of preparing a sermon), public speaking, Church history, pastoral counselling, psychology, logic (learning about syllogisms), apologetics and more.
During that time, Marion continued in her secretarial job and took evening courses at the same college. We also both continued to teach a Sunday school class in our own churches.
PAYING MY WAY THROUGH COLLEGE
As my parents were not able to provide any financial support,