He Calls Me Son ~~ Forty-Five Years Today

They named me Ricky, but He calls me His son

Perhaps my 'testimony' could be described in Charles Dickens fashion...the journey past...the journey present...and, the journey yet to come!

T he 'Journey Past'... The oldest of four 'baby boomer' children I lived my first five years in the Southeast of the United States. We were not a family that attended church, though funny, years ago I came across this photo of our family of five at the time going to Easter Service. I have absolutely no recollection of this occasion. Shortly after this time, having moved to the Los Angeles area, my father decided that he would seek life elsewhere. He left months before my baby brother was born, I was 6 ½ years old. Though I would have some sporadic contact with my father over the years, it was the endearing spirit and labor of love of my mother that had the greatest impact on developing my character. Along with my grandmother (her mother), we were never without food, neither clothing, nor shelter. Though poor, I consider my childhood to have been a blessing. Thanks mom! As a young teenager mom married Bob Jopp, it is he who I have the privilege to call dad until this very day.

The ‘Journey Present’ began on July 25, 1976. A girl invited me to her youth group just three days earlier. Being cute, of course I said yes! Seriously though, for the first time in my life (other than family and a few friends) I really felt that I was loved. Yes, by the Lord, but by the body of Christ as well. It was on that Sunday that I acknowledged what Jesus had done for me on the cross. A sinner made clean by His blood and a hope through His resurrection, the likes of which I had never known before. Over the next month and even the next two years, the hunger for God’s word was almost unquenchable.

I would become a firefighter with the Forest Service and then the Air Force, who would take me to Alaska. It was there that I met and married my bride, Karen, of now 42 years this coming September. It was in Anchorage and later Palmer, that working with youth became a key ingredient of my life.

Upon my discharge from the Air Force we moved to Silverton, Oregon. It is here that Karen and I were the first to complete, as a couple, a two-year bible seminary degree at Canyonview, later called Biblion. Since those years we have continued to make Silverton our home, where we raised our three children. I would return to the fire service, working for 27 years at Portland Airport Fire & Rescue.

Through all these years, as with all, we have our broken moments, none-the-less Christ and His church continue to be the centerpiece of our lives. I/we continue to grow in His word. I have had the privilege to be His vessel while working with youth, leading music, and seeing how he would surprise me at using His gift of service in this soul.

Today we find ourselves at a Wesleyan Church in Salem, Oregon. And once again, you’ll find me as one of the coaches for our annual Basketball Camp in early July.

So, what is the vision for the ‘Journey Yet-To-Come’? Instead of ‘retirement’, I have called it “ReFirement”! How, where and when will the Lord ReFire this life and for what? I have found that as I wait patiently for the Lord, He provides a journey that is beyond imagination. It is a journey that often includes kids…baseball…and the gospel. My most recent lesson from the Lord, “Travel slowly, listen deeply, and wait for much more than what one can even imagine. 

 

This is the testimony of Rick. Life is not…has not always been easy, but it has been abundant.

Thank You Lord that I'm a child of Yours!