A Journey with God: Taking the Road Less Traveled

When Burle Mattingly was a young boy, World War II was always in front of him, in the troop trains that passed by on the railroad close to his home or the military planes in the air above him. He would join them in flying his plane from the high limbs of the silver maple in the front yard. A cold, foggy, misty day was no day for flying B-29s or fighter planes from the maple tree, so he decided to go to the barn loft and play. He began making tunnels through the stacks of hay bales. Coming out the back of a large stack, he slid down into a brilliant light all around him. He fell on his face. He was in the presence of divinity. Finally, a person began talking to him: "Burle, your life will be given in witness to me. Your life will not be lived out according to your desire or will. God's will and purpose will be what you will do." Burle answered, "I do not want to be a minister and follow the pathway of my ancestors. I want to be a pilot, or a wise philosopher, or an attorney like Clarence Darrow." He responded, "Your calling, your vocation is to be a witness to God, and I will be the decision maker in your life. This is your calling, this is your life," and he departed. For years, Burle wandered around in the wilderness, refusing to do God's will. The day finally came when he stood at the fork in the road, looking down both roads. He took the one less traveled, and this is the story of his life.