My life was like many others in this world, I was born into a middle-class family of wonderful parents as one of five siblings.  Our family was brought up in the Catholic Church and I still have fond memories of the Christian community that was available to me throughout my life.  Although I once thought of myself as an athlete, I was very focused on my relationship with God and Jesus from a very early age.  This faith was strengthened when I was in 5^th grade and my beloved Mother was diagnosed with Tuberculosis.  This meant she would be sent to a sanitarium to be given medical attention and hopefully cure her of the disease.  Our entire family was checked for any positive reaction to the tuberculosis virus, and it was decided that two brothers and one sister were positive and would also be moved to the sanitarium for the entire summer.  This left me and my older sister at home by ourselves with a feeling of abandonment.  At that point in my life, I turned completely to my faith and prayed often for my family to return.  There were many fearful moments in my life at this time which brought me deeper and deeper into my faith in God and gave me a much different perspective than my classmates.  My Mother, with great Faith in God, decided to have the part of her infected lung removed and miraculously returned to us after two years of hospitalization.  I thanked God so many times for her return and our family life becoming normal again.

The next several decades were exciting as my life unfolded.  I attended high school, received an athletic scholarship to college and graduated with a business degree. On a personal level I married my high school sweetheart, and we were blessed with two wonderful boys. They also attended college, married two wonderful women and blessed us with four beautiful, exciting, inquisitive and well-grounded grandchildren.  My professional career was in logistics, and it was a very rewarding time in my life as I met many wonderful people who further influenced me with wholesome values, a desire to team up and provide a service, while expanding our services and revenues at a very rapid pace. 

Throughout my life I continued to feel a calling to God. I had experienced many wonderful things, made it through some terrifying times, and felt blessed that me and my family were healthy as retirement approached.  However, I kept feeling that I was missing out on a much deeper love and existence with God.  It kept coming into my mind and although I was practicing my faith, I felt a strong desire to go much deeper into true reality, then I was introduced to ACIM.  As fate would have it a very dear friend of mine was in town for his father’s funeral, and my wife and I decided to attend.  The funeral, our meeting, and the later visits with him allowed me the time to really catch up and our conversations went in many directions.  He told me the time he spent in Southern California and great friends he had met while pursing ACIM, which I knew nothing about.  On the fourth day, after yet another breakfast he handed me a book, Disappearance of the Universe, and told me he knew I was ready. Six months later while recovering from a total knee replacement, I picked up the book and my entire being was revealed.  I threw myself into A Course in Miracles with significant willingness and discovered the Truth that was moving me forward.  

Which brings me to this point in time. I now understand why leadership roles, confrontational training, speaking engagements, and joining with others had always been my desire.  I was being prepared to be a Minister for Jesus. I am extremely excited about my role as a Facilitator for TTC and look forward to joining with like minds on this path of Salvation.

Bob DeVos