My dad is the one who inspired me to follow Jesus.
When I was eight years old, I remember sitting up in the front of church one Sunday. We had been going to Blackhawk Baptist in Ft. Wayne, Indiana for about a year or so. I knew my dad had been talking with the pastor regularly and that my family was getting involved in the church more and more. But I remember thinking it odd that we were sitting all the way up front in the large gym-turned-sanctuary.
Pastor David Jeremiah concluded his sermon (which I can’t remember!) and then asked my dad to stand up. He told everyone my dad had made an important decision in his life and asked my dad to share. I can’t remember what my dad said, but I remember what he was saying. He stood there and shared that he had given his life to Jesus and that his family was going to follow him. I remember being star-struck and so very inspired.
The timeline is fuzzy to my now… but some short time after that, I remember praying these words in my bed. "Jesus, please come into my heart, forgive my sins, and become the Lord of my life." Since that evening, God grabbed ahold of me with a strong grip and has never let go.
Every step of my faith, I owe today to my dad. Thanks, dad, for standing up and transforming my life! I love you and thank God for grabbing ahold of you 27 years ago! It is an honor to be your son and an honor to be your brother in Christ! May God give you a tremendously blessed Father’s Day today!
This photo is of me and my dad walking with 3/4 of the next generation of Castor boys in Disney World last Christmas (Ben, Zac and my brother’s son, Toby). My brother just adopted another Castor (Joshua) last month!