Kevin Lee:
CLASS OF 1990
West High SchoolClass of 1990
Wichita, KS
Grove Primary SchoolClass of 1990
Grove, OK
Allison Junior High SchoolClass of 1990
Wichita, KS
Franklin Elementary SchoolClass of 1990
Wichita, KS
Kevin's Story
Have you ever climbed a mountain or gone on an extended hike? If so, you can relate to this thing called a faith trek. If you are not the "outdoorsy" type, just think of an adventure that lies before you, an adventure where there will be risks and rewards.
Reflecting back on my beginning, I would say that I started out my trek in life in a dark valley. My mother was either working or looking for love in all the wrong places, and the kids were essentially left to fend for themselves. And good ol' dad, he was M.I.A.
Fending for ourselves didn't work out so well, as a toddler I can vividly recall nearly drowning in a pool. On another occasion I woke up to a house fire that mysteriously started in my bedroom. At around that same time frame, while an older sibling was taking me to school, I fell out of a moving car and onto a very busy street. Various forms of neglect, and abuse, and even drugs were a part of my early childhood.
If you have gone on extended hikes in the mountains, at times you may have felt like everything was closing in on you, but then you step into a clearing, and the panoramic views open up and it almost feels life-giving. In this surprise clearing with a meadow, sunshine, and breath-taking vistas, you may even feel inclined to take in a deep breath, and then let it out with a sigh of relief. In my life's journey, I discovered a surprise, life-giving, clearing. It just so happened that when my mother began working full-time, by divine appointment, my saint, my great-grandmother began babysitting me. So I count myself to have been very fortunate in my early years to have had a godly grandmother who showed me the unconditional love.
Catching a glimpse of the peak - Early on I recognized a distinct difference between my house and my great-grandmother's home. I remember thinking that my grandma’s house was always clean and full of light in contrast to my home. Probably not unlike most grandmothers, my grandmother provided constant encouragement and affirmation. A sense of peace and love was always found at her home.
On one particular night, when I was about seven or eight, I was lying in bed and I began to be hounded/taunted as I heard my name being whispered in the corner of the room. I know some would say it just my imagination or something I ate. I do not claim to be an expert on spiritual warfare, but I believe I was in it. I was not on any medications, and I had not watched any horror movies, so this was not an experience or episode conjured up from my prior experiences. I yelled for my grandmother, and when she came into my room I explained what was happening. She comforted me and then asked me to pray with her, and I asked Jesus to protect and to always be with me.
I once spoke with a leader in the mental health profession, and I asked him about spiritual warfare. I wondered if spiritual warfare ever played any part in mental health. This respected professional, who had spent a career addressing mental health needs, quickly stated that spiritual warfare is very much a part of the problem. He went on to state that psychotherapy and psychosocial remedies are only a part of the solutions available. This mental health professional also referred to examples within the Bible where people with mental health pathologies also exhibited signs of spiritual health disorders (this is not to say that every mental health disorder is associated with spiritual warfare, but rather, spiritual warfare is a reality...see Eph. 6:11, 12; Mt. 12:43,44; Mk. 4:15). I can attest to the truth of James 4:7, it is real, I have lived it!
Back to grandma's house, when I was a kid she would take me to church, and this eventually led to the opportunity to attend summer camp. And just about every summer I would spend a few days at this camp meeting impressive men and women of faith. Although I initially went for the fun, and for the time away from home, something began to happen that I couldn't fully grasp. I learned that many camp counselors were serving as volunteers while on summer break from a place called Barclay College. The culture of the camp greatly influenced me. I remember going back home every year trying to emulate the way some of my counselors spoke, thinking that this would make my life different, better. It didn't last long before the old self showed back up again. But, a key result of my time at camp was that I had a growing motivation to attend Barclay College. I remember sitting in the Marines recruiting office with my cousin the summer after high school graduation, about to sign the commit paperwork, and I stopped and said, no I can't do this, I need to go to college.
Lunch spot - While climbing one of my favorite mountains in Colorado, about half way up the trail, we would always fall to the ground right next to a stream and enjoy some lunch. This lunch consisted of some of the world’s best squished sandwiches, fruit and chips. But at this point in the climb it became decision time. Some would be satisfied to stay by the stream and look at the far-off peak, which was now a lot closer, or they could climb on knowing that the upcoming switchbacks, and the diminishing oxygen would make the previous hike look like a cake walk. My lunch spot in my faith trek was when I was at college. I initially went to play some soccer and just do the college thing. But something happened while I was at college, I rediscovered a Christian community, however, this time the Christian community was made up of peers. Some of these fellow students modeled lives that demonstrated a desire to live as followers of Jesus Christ - a completely foreign yet intriguing concept for me. Initially I felt extremely out of place, but soon enough I made great friendships, and I learned that it was God's plan for me to be there.
Lost and on the wrong trail - I am reminded of an event that happened as an adult that illustrates the horrifying felling of being lost. On a youth trip I led a group of students up one of my favorite mountains to climb in Colorado. After going over directions and safety instructions, we set out, and what a beautiful climb it was. Although I had positioned leaders in front of the group and behind the group, to my surprise, when I got back to our rendezvous spot, I learned that one of our students was missing. After coming up with a plan several of us went back up the trail, and for the second time, began to climb the mountain while yelling the student's name. After what seemed like an eternity, the lost student was found. This student had once been positioned in the middle of our pack, but somehow got separated from the group and became lost. By the time we found the student he was heading in the opposite direction of our group and the rendezvous point. The student was tired, scared, and a little dehydrated, but safe.
I learned that I too was lost and on the wrong trail while I was at college. During a particular chapel service I became acutely aware of all of my shortcomings before a holy God, and I realized that I was lost and wandering aimlessly through life. Using Christian terminology to explain this event - the conviction of the Holy Spirit was upon me, and God was leading me from darkness to light, from death to life. It was an epiphany type of...Expand for more
moment, I realized that I wanted and needed to be on God's trail, rather than my own destructive trail (Pr. 14:12; Mt. 7:13-14). On that day, I made up my mind to follow Jesus Christ from that day forward. Maybe for the first time in my life, I turned away from a self-absorbed, self-serving, destructive, and in truth, a godless life, and I traded it all for the clean slate of forgiveness, a clear conscious, and the meaningful and authentic life that Jesus offered (Jn. 10:10). And so tripping and falling on my face several times, as if learning to walk over again, I started down the trail of living life as an authentic follower of Jesus Christ.
Fresh spring water - One of the rare joys of hiking is when after hours of hiking you stumble upon the source for a stream gushing straight out of the mountain. This snow-melt water is cold, refreshing, and most importantly, clean. This discovery reminds me of when Jesus says, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink" (Jn. 7:37). So what does it really mean to be a Christian, i.e., someone who discovers the pure, refreshing, life-giving source of Jesus? Let me attempt to explain this mystery, according to the Holy Bible, God created life in all of its intricacies (Gen. 1:1; Jn. 1:1), and then God gave humanity the option of choosing to enjoy the life-giving, pure water (To be at peace with God and man) or to drink downstream where all imaginable impurities turn the once pure stream into something that doesn't even resemble the source. Both options come with benefits and consequences. We all know what humanity chose, and what humanity as a whole continues to choose, that is, to drink from a polluted and stagnant runoff by living independently of God. One of the sad consequences of this choice is a real separation from our Creator (Ezek. 18:20; Jn. 8:24). But God had/has a plan to rescue humanity from this predicament. God the Father sent his son (Jn. 3:16), who lived his earthly life following God's trail, and according to the plan that God allowed to play out, Jesus was killed by jealous religious leaders, and for humanities sake, he became separated from God the Father by taking all of the consequences of humanity's rebellion against God to the grave. However, unlike any other historical religious leader, after paying the price for humanities' consequences of rebellion against God, and by simultaneously meeting God's standard of righteousness, Jesus came back to life, but not as someone who had temporarily died and came back to life a brief time later, rather, he came back with all of the authority and power as the Son of God (Jn. 20:26-28). The only way for humanity to get back to the life-saving source of God is to acknowledge that we are lost and aimlessly going the wrong direction. We have to own the fact that God's standards of holiness expose how we have chosen humanities' polluted water instead of the life-giving water of Jesus Christ. We have to admit that we need God's help, and most importantly, we have to rely upon God's provision for our rescue, Jesus (Jn. 3:36; Acts 26:22 - 23; Cor. 15:3-8). As we do this God provides a new reality of forgiveness, a new purpose, a peace that surpasses all understanding, hope for today and tomorrow, life, strength, guidance, protection, and ultimately, a restored relationship with our creator God.
Learning to walk the narrow trail – About a year after graduating from college, while serving as volunteer counselor at camp, and during a time of quiet prayer and meditation, I once again heard a voice. No one was around me, I was all by myself, but just as if someone was stranding right next to me and speaking to me, the Lord clearly told me to work with his children. I checked up the tree I was leaning against, and then I looked all around me and found no one. This voice was deep, clear, and comforting. The chapel bell rang and everyone gathered back in the chapel for the service. After the service I discussed what had happened with my fiance, though puzzled, we determined to move forward with this revelation. Inexplicably at the conclusion of the chapel service we were approached and asked about serving in youth ministry. We put two-and-two together and decided to follow God's plan by going through this door of opportunity.
Shortly after getting married we were privileged to serve at a Friends Church in Hutchinson, KS, for four years, and later at a Friends Church in Hugoton, KS, for six years as youth pastors. During the early years of youth ministry we made "ends-meet" through my part-time substitute teaching jobs and later through my position as a full-time bank employee and my wife found part-time work. Following this time in youth ministry I was blessed with an opportunity to attend the Friends Center at Azusa Pacific University for more ministry training. While in southern California we were welcomed into a wonderful church family called Friends Community in Brea, CA, and God provided an apartment complex to live in with a great community of young families. During my time in SoCal, I was blessed to find lost family members, family from my dad's side that I had never met. I was also blessed with a great job at America's Christian Credit Union.
Shortly after graduating from APU, we felt led to walk through a new door of opportunity, and I accepted a role at my alma mater, Barclay College, and in my wife's hometown of Haviland, KS. After serving seven years, initially in the area of distance and online education, and later as a college administrator for student services, time for transition was again upon us. A life-long dream of mine was to serve in the military and in law enforcement. I missed the boat on serving my country in the military, but L.E. was still a possibility. I don't know where my initial motivation came from, whether it was from watching all of those episodes of CHIPS, or from listening to and observing mentors like a former neighbor, or Professor Coulter at grad school, but these men served as officers and shared their experiences. The L.E. dream became a reality for me in 2016. This has been one of the most challenging things I have done, and in spite of the wavering public perception of the L.E. community, it has been rewarding to protect and serve in this capacity.
Not alone - Just like when you are hiking, it is wise to not go it alone, and on this faith trek God has provided me with an amazing wife who truly radiates beauty, and together we have three amazing children. We have been exceedingly blessed to share in this journey together.
What about your faith trek? Where are you at in this journey? I am reminded of the anonymous quote, "It is not about the destination, but the journey." I respectfully disagree, it seems to me that statement is only partly true. We should enjoy the journey, however, without a destination aren't we at best exploring, and at worst wandering aimlessly? If one wonders aimlessly for an entire lifetime it would be a shame. Many ask, “Why do people climb mountains; or runners run races; or bikers bike great distances?” My answer, which applies to the faith trek as well, it's about the journey, but it's also about the destination. I would love to see you on the trail and at the top of the mountain!
Blessings!
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