War Cry - May, 2014 Page 36

s a child attending a Catholic school, I
first heard a lot about the "Holy Ghost,"
and wondered why I wasn't learning

more about Him.

I learned much more about Jesus

Christ and God the Father. I began to feel some empa-

thy for this left � out One of the Three Persons of the
Trinity. Now I realize that, all the while I wondered
about Him, He was paying attention to my concerns.

When I was only seven, I found myself sitting in

sadness, leaning against a big tree in my Uncle Tony's

woods behind our house. My mother had corrected
me about my kitchen � mopping job and I was feeling

sorry for myself as I sat there alone and unhappy.
Slowly, I began to sense a strong, loving presence
surrounding me. I felt loved, with an assurance
that I was not alone, that I would always be loved
and cared for.

This was the

start of a lifetime
of learning about
God's presence and
the Holy Spirit's

work in my life.
Through other mo-
ments of awakening,
I came to realize
that I really am
never alone and that God's love will always sur-

round me and keep me safe. This would prove criti-
cally important to me during my high school years
because of some highly emotional family difficulties
that I found hard to deal with. God's blessed assur-
ance always remained close in good times and bad
as I would recall that loving presence surrounding
me, comforting me and taking away my aloneness.

Since that first early spiritual experience in Uncle

Tony's woods, I have never doubted God's presence
with me. He has proven over and over that His loving
presence and protection have been with me through
these 70 blessed years of my life and 30 years of
ministry.

I thank God for this blessed assurance, the same

that Fanny Crosby wrote about.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

My awakening to the awareness of the Holy Spirit

in my life proved to be stage one on my life's path.
Stage two involved developing a deeper commitment to

Jesus. Stage three involved a transition in my think-

ing through understanding Protestantism. Stage
four marked healing through the Holy Spirit during
family losses. Stage five acquainted me with the
heart � warming Spirit through Wesleyan experiences.

STAGE SIX: the Call to Salvationism

After eight years of full � time interfaith disaster

response ministry with the United Methodists, I
found myself unsure of my next call to ministry.

While still closing out the last interfaith office, I

began praying persistently for the Holy Spirit's
guidance for my continuing journey. I was attending
Sunday morning meetings at the Army's Raleigh,
NC Corps. One of our local interfaith leaders had di-
rected me there. She wanted me to hear "The Crazies
for Jesus," a unique singing group of Salvation Army
soldiers from the Congo who had recently relocated
to the Raleigh Corps. I came to appreciate and care
for the Salvationists I met, just as I had cared for the
Salvationists alongside me during the eight years I
worked in recovery programs in several of the states
of the Army's Southern Territory: Arkansas, Tennes-
see, Mississippi, North Carolina and Kentucky.

How I Met

the Army

............

The War Cry | MAY 2014

Always There for Me

CAROLYN TYLER