Stoned-Campbell Disciple

(I wrote the following on December 4, 2018. It came through my memory feed today. I have updated it in two places for more never in a million years).

I never dreamed. The other day a person asked me how I could “sum up my life in a sentence” (interesting conversation at a counter with other strangers). What an interesting question!

And after some more talk, I did come up with a sentence. This is it. I said,

“My life can be summed up in, “I never in a million years could have dreamed this life.”

So for example (but not shared at the counter though a couple were).

I never in a million years dreamed of living in Alabama. I remember when I found out my family was moving to Alabama, I did not know where it was. My second grade teacher showed me on a map (I lived in Pampono Beach, Fl).

I never in a million years, never ever, dreamed I would be a preacher. I dreamed of being lots of things (Gene Simmons rock star/astrophysicist/helper of guys to get dates/etc) but preacher was nowhere on the radar screen. In fact after 14 and an episode involving my sister, “religion” had a very sour flavor in my mouth.

I never in a million years dreamed I would move back to Florida after a couple yrs of college and then meet Rachael and Talya’s future mother. I never in a million years dreamed I would marry some one like that for 17 years.

I never in a million years, never, dreamed I would live in the New Orleans and have two daughters born there. I had never been there prior to moving there. I never dreamed that I would open the front door to take Rachael for her couple day old wellness check up and have an alligator on the doorstep. Not in a million years.

I never in a million years dreamed I would live in Mississippi, much less a Grenada which was a storm center for the White Citizens Council and the Civil Rights Movement.

I never in a million years dreamed I would live in South Carolina for a few months (between ministry).

I never in a million years dreamed I would live in Milwaukee, WI. I had never been there. It ended up being the perfect place for my family to have a great Southside church family, great leadership, grow in grace and mercy.

I never in a million years dreamed I would live, and preach, a decade+1 in Tucson, AZ. At first I did not care for the desert but soon the sunsets and the people of Palo Verde revealed the beauty of the desert.

I never in a million years, ever ever ever, dreamed I would be divorced once, much less twice! It makes my head explode when I think about it. To this day I can say to the sky above, “What! Why?”

I never in a million years, ever, dreamed of being a single dad raising two of the world’s greatest humans. Single or not it was and remains the most awesome thing I’ve ever done. Rachael and Talya turned out freaking amazing if I say so myself.

I never in a million years dreamed I would live in Colorado for a year and a half and live with some of the most amazing humans God could make. I never dreamed I would explore and camp out at mountain passes above 12,000 ft and see vistas that the vast majority of humanity cannot imagine (the Alpine Loop, frozen tundra, 12 feet of snow, Alpine lakes galore, etc all with a daughter).

I never in a million years dreamed I would live in the San Francisco Bay. I mean this is where the crazies live!!! Nope. Never in a million years did I imagine it.

I never dreamed, never in a million years, dreamed of being Nonno to Mason and Eva. I mean have you seen them? How good can God get!?

I never dreamed that I, of all people, would write articles, books, and encyclopedia articles. Never once came across my mind.

I never in a million years imagined I would speak at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures for 24 straight years, Lipscomb, ACU, etc lectures.

I never dreamed in a million years that I would be fired from a church in Mississippi over racial issues. I never in a million years dreamed of being fired and then the next Sunday unfired from a church for my wife leaving and filing divorce.

I never dreamed, never in a million years, of the great friends who have been with me every step of the way. I never dreamed of mentors, who for reasons God only knows, have taken unbelievable interest in my life, opened doors, gone the not the extra mile but extra hundreds of miles (shepherding me has sometimes been like herding cats, I am sure!).

I never dreamed of the many twists and turns. A few of those twists and turns have been incredibly painful – earth shattering in fact – but in each case God was preparing a table in the presence of those who intended pain and harm not only to me but the girls. And at times, like Jesus upon the Cross, I did in fact cry out the words of Psalm 22. One of the reason the Psalms are so precious is that their own journey from Psalm 1 to 150 in many ways mirrors the “never in a million years” moments of my own life.

There are so many “never in a million years dreamed” moments that it is hard to decide which ones to include and exclude. I think I can say that I do not know what tomorrow holds because if the past is any indication, tomorrow will be something that I could not have dreamed in a million years.

So my life can indeed be summed up as “I never dreamed in a million years.”

Maybe you have some of your own “I never dreamed in a million years” moments.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 19th, 2025 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Bobby's World, Christian hope, Holding On, Ministry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.