I was introduced to Jesus Christ, through one of my closest friends. He invited me a to a Bible Study that he was leading nearly 15 years ago. Although I grew up in a Jewish household, we were more culturally Jewish than followers of Judaism. As I studied and learned more, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Now, my friend and I had been getting together regularly to talk about our business ventures. What was next on each project? What steps do we need to take to address any problems we’re having? Since we need God’s wisdom and grace in both the “good” and the “bad” times, our conversations eventually turned to our need to rely on the Holy Spirit to speak to us as we reflected on our challenges, established strategy, and made difficult decisions. My faith and focus on the Lord grew over these years as I learned to pray, listen and wait on the Lord, but something was still missing from my relationship with Jesus that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

That all changed in May of 2024, when I lost one of my three brothers. My spiritual journey deepened, as he was just two years my senior. His loss weighed on me. My mortality hit me, hard. It triggered thoughts about what I was doing with my life…what was my purpose? Was I just here to take care of me and my family? Go to work…make a living…build financial stability.

Did God really want me to just keep going to work every day solving business problems? Was that the big thing I had to do in my life? Wasn’t there anything else I needed or felt compelled to do with my life? Was it all just about me and my loved ones? About financial stability? Why had work become such a huge part of my world?

So, I began reaching out to the Lord to try and better understand myself and my purpose in life. I didn’t want to experience regret as the end of my life gets closer. When I reflect on who I am and what is important to the Lord, I realized I needed to take action and find more meaning…something greater than me.

I recognized that my life’s journey was really no different than any other man’s journey. I was introduced to a book called, “Living Life Backwards”. It’s based on the study of the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. King Solomon is considered the author of the text, wherein he describes life as being virtually meaningless. God gives us only today. That’s all he promises.

As I studied the New Testament, I realized I’d always been relying on myself to find the solution to whatever the problem “du ‘jour” was in my life. I wasn’t used to praying about a situation or a struggle and waiting for God to give me direction…or better yet, fix it! I wasn’t used to waiting on the Lord to give me an answer. But over time, after my friend opened the door to Jesus in my life, everything just started to make sense.