Brian met his Sweetie in first grade in a one room school-house where he sat behind her and pulled on her pig tails. They lost contact when his family moved out of their soot filled garage apartment and he began attending school in a different district. It was 9 long years later as a 10th grader, his family having moved back, that he saw her walking down the hall in his high school. It was love at first sight! Soon after that she happened to attend a dance where his band was playing and they had their first dance followed by their first kiss when he dropped her off at her home after the dance. Wow, he was hooked!

Her smile and joyful laugh lit up a room and she became the light of his life! They were inseparable and did everything together though their dating life was often interrupted by band engagements when Sweetie had to sit on the sidelines and watch while Brian was performing.

After graduation Brian’s band “The Entertainers” broke up as many band members began new chapters in their lives with education and family. Brian toyed with college taking a couple preparatory courses but after graduation he ended up choosing a drafting job instead at a national electronics company. He and his Sweetie planned a wedding the next spring but to prepare Brian was required to attend confirmation classes at Sweetie’s church so the pastor would agree to marry them. He did well in the classes and learned much “head knowledge” about God and the Bible but the teaching didn’t reach his heart and there was no lasting change in the way he lived. Their marriage was an ornate event with Brian’s twin brother Bruce as Best Man and some of his school mates in the wedding party. New work friends, family and other friends attended and they started housekeeping in a little 10×40 mobile home not far from where he grew up.

Four years quickly passed and by then Brian and Sweetie had two young sons to raise. Times were tough on the young couple with money problems and strains on their marriage that reminded him of his childhood when his parents had split up over similar issues. He wanted to keep his family together and be the provider so he got a part-time job working nights at a local gas station. One night his oldest brother (nicknamed Pooch) stopped in at the station and told him of the wonderful changes that had come into his life since becoming a Christian. He told Brian about his faith in Jesus and asked him to receive Christ as his Savior. He said he would think about it but actually had no plans to make such a decision, but the seed had been sown again and began to grow in his heart and mind. (to be continued)

See final chapter “Brian’s Decision & Destiny” below:

https://lobochronicles.com/2015/09/01/buds-decision-and-destiny/