Imagine someone close to you showing up home from college one weekend completely different than when he/she left. Seemingly overnight I went from booze, drugs, and women, to prayer, fasting, and the bible. Talk about weird-o-rama, I simply went a little overboard the first couple weeks of my relationship with Jesus. I'm surprised they didn't call the deprogrammers on me. That should explain the concerned and far away look in their eyes.
Following is a brief history of my revolving parents. It was probably for the best -- I never had time to get bored of one. Read carefully, I don't want to lose you.
My Mom married a real loser when she was still in high school. I won't repeat what she calls him, but I refer to him as "that guy I've never met." After a few stints in jail, I lost track of his downwardly mobile life. He now resides somewhere in the swamps of South Carolina. My Mom met a nice man and started Round Two.
The man I call Dad came next. He adopted me and has been my real father ever since. He's a little grumpy sometimes, used to gamble, and drink like a fish, but is a lovable sort of guy. Mom and Dad drove each other crazy which led to Round Three. Things really get complicated now.
I'll try to be brief. Mom married loser 2, and Dad married a woman named Paula. Mom and loser 2 exited the country for a while to work in Costa Rica while Dad and Paula lived at an undisclosed location in New York State.
So now I have a Mom who lives in South Carolina, my Dad has passed away, and Paula still resides at an undisclosed location in New York State. They have all accepted the fact I am not an engineer and seem to respect what my life is about now. Paula now travels the world working for Christ and laying the promotions for a book she is writing. That's very cool. Look for her book in Christian bookstores everywhere.