Hank Hornstein

Have you ever been so lost that you didn’t even know which way to go to find your way home? My whole life was like that until I found a “spiritual GPS system” for life.

I grew up in a pretty good home, second son (of four kids) of an Army officer. Since we moved 14 times before I went away to college, I don’t remember ever going to church. I wondered if there was a God, but the question was an intellectual exercise with no real attention to my life. Until I went to college.

All came up with the conclusion that life had no meaning. Earnest Hemingway was my favorite. He concluded that life was “nada,” nothing, empty. I thought about my life and I had to agree. When it was all added up, my life was going nowhere. Had trouble even deciding what I wanted to study at school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. “Nada.”

Sophomore year I got an upgrade in dorm room and roommate. Roy had been the quarterback of our dorm’s intramural football team and I was one of his favorite receivers. Roy was a straight arrow, an engineering student like myself (though he was electrical—I was willing to overlook that, being a Mechanical Engineer myself). He was a Senior, a great student, and dating Patty, a real sweetie. He seemed to know where he was going in life.

In March I had an argument with the girl I was dating and when I got back to the dorm I started talking with Roy. We talked about relationships and life in general, and Roy shared with me about his relationship with God. He shared that “You cannot find out why you are here in life until you know your creator, who made you for a purpose.” I had no purpose, no reason to live, no direction in life, so his words struck me in the heart. We talked until 3:30 a.m., when I asked Jesus into my life to give me purpose and direction. That night changed my life. Thanks, Roy!

All of a sudden, I knew which way to go and what to do. The Bible opened my eyes to a spiritual world all around me. Jesus was no longer just a person in history, but a friend and constant companion, someone to turn to for direction and guidance. I no longer felt “lost.”

Sure, I still had questions, but I saw God lead me to answers to every question I had, and every doubt. Life became an adventure. I became a better student, a better person, content, secure in where my life was going because now, I was going with God. He has never let me down, never led me astray. Life is still a challenge, but I have the assurance that God is leading me every step of the way.