The Journey Continues: Remembering the Journey

The Journey Continues — written five years last month — was started through an encounter with Don Moore, former publisher of the San Marcos Daily Record. After my family arrived in 1989 in San Marcos, I became a faithful reader of the Record and of the column, “Life is Like That” every Sunday. Jerry Bullock, a fellow member at First Baptist Church, McCarty Lane, had written this column for 31 years before his ‘retirement.’ Pastor Gary Smith then continued with a Sunday column, which I also enjoyed reading until it stopped when he moved. Later, I seized the chance and asked Don Moore if I could write the Sunday ‘faith’ column. Moore fired back, “Okay, but it doesn't pay anything, need to be 400 words and I don’t edit or type.”

Presently, Celeste Hollister, features editor; Nick Castillo, editor; and Lance Winter, publisher; have all been incredibly supportive. I have interviewed a variety of folds — both well-known and unknown — always requesting they share their favorite “life verse” from the Bible. Naming the column “The Journey Continues,” I write from travels to Fentress, College Station, West Point, New York, West Texas, Vietnam and San Marcos. Some interviews were planned and some, serendipity; but I considered each one a ‘divine’ appointment.

With modern technology, distances has not stopped me writing columns for the Daily Record. For most of two years, even before the pandemic, I did my interviewing without any face-to-face meetings, from upstate New York as we provided childcare for our granddaugher, Anna. When returning to Texas, I wrote a story titled, “I knew I was back in Texas...” when I saw a cowboy eating a pint of Blue Bell ice cream with his pocketknife. So glad to get back tacos, Whataburger and Mr. Silva’s $7 haircuts.

Each week, I ask myself, “Has this column served God?” Here are a few of my favorite remembrances:

• My first column was about accidentally running over a dog in Fentress and the task of finding the owner. In Texas, whenver you run over a dog, you don’t speed away; you stop and find the owner. Since then, there have been columns mentioning dogs on Fred Simmons, Clyde Schneider and Jude Prather. In Proverbs, 12:10a “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animals.”

• Recently, Sam Montonya and his wife, Melba, celebrated 50 years in the ministry. I went to Sinai Pentecostal Church to write about him in one of my early columns as I think of him as the Dean among San Marcos pastors with the longest tenure of service in the pulpit. He loves his church family and they love him. Our town has a heritage from the Hispanic families and institutions that I celebrate.

• When the school year ends, our calendars fill up with activities geared to our kids. Christians are serious about fulfilling the mandate given in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” June and July are the months for vacation Bible schools, church camps for youths, backyard clubs and other children’s ministries. Redwood Baptist Church, in partnership with the SMCISD summer feeding program, will once again offer Mission: Good Neighbors with a 10-week reading program centered on Bible storybooks and version of the Bible edited for children to read. I love this church and the devoted volunteers who faithfully serve, summer after summer, to lift Jesus and insure unchurched children learn about who He is.

•Dedicated to the principle of equality, I have written columns speaking out about racism. Guest columnists on this issue have included Brother Paul Buntyn, pastor emeritus of Abundant Life Christian Church, who shared through five columns about his growing up Black in Harlem; Dr. Oren Renick, Texas State professor; Darius Todd, Pastor of Abundant Life; and others. In my opinion, a church will not reach the next level until they address diversity and inclusion.

With the growth of social media, news headlined from around the globe and intense debates about what is “real versus false” reporting, I will continue to do my best to “paint the world as I see it; for the Master of things as they are.”