Allen - United States Of America

Nickname: Allen

I grew up in a church in Louisiana. I went, but I didn’t understand it. Plus, I was more interested in sitting in the back of the church (where I could make funny noises with my friends) than I was in hearing the message.

When I grew up, I became distracted by my work, and I married a lady who had an interest in dog shows. They were always on a Sunday so we would go to them rather than go to church. At the time, I worked as a truck driver for a man who was a Christian and always wanted to be sure his employees were home on Sunday. I found that kind of interesting, and at the same time, I dismissed the notion of why this was so important to him.

After a while, I stopped driving a truck and began working in the pet supply business. I started selling dog food and progressed to become a regional sales manager. One of the distributors that sold the food was a Christian, and I would stay with him and his wife whenever my work brought me in contact with them. These people always prayed over their meals, and they practiced what they preached – but I wasn’t committed.

Then in 1996, the company I worked for laid off a lot of its employees, and I was among them. I moved to Mississippi and went to work with a friend who repairs dental equipment. He invited me to go to church, and since his parents and my parents were best friends, and the two of us had grown up together, I said, “Yes.” But I still wasn’t there.

The defining moment came one day when I met a man (who I thought was a competitor) at a local restaurant for lunch. We started to eat, and just before I was about to dive into the food, he asked me if he could say grace. Now this was a restaurant that served a buffet, so it was kind of like praying at McDonald’s, but he did pray; and I realized then all that I have is a gift from God. Sure, I prayed when I needed something, but when my prayers were answered, I never gave God the credit or said, “Thanks.” It started a yearning in me to seek God and to learn more.

It wasn’t long before I went on a Christian retreat and took a course that explained who Jesus is. I met other people who knew Christ personally, and to this day, I don’t think the man I thought was my competitor (and now a dear friend) knows just how much of an influence he had in my life. You see, God had been putting people in my life to knock on my door so I would see the need to knock on His. He placed them there by design, and with each one, He brought me another step closer to Him.

I am a photographer, and I’ve been many places - I don’t go anywhere without my camera. I also play in the praise band at my church because the back of the church is no longer where I want to be. God gave me the talents for music and photography, and I feel that my gift to Him is to use both for His glory.