Vigorous Return to Spiritual Life

“As a boy of fourteen,” reports a Witness in Nebraska, “I was first associated with Jehovah’s witnesses through my mother’s interest in the Bible. I was baptized in 1946. But I’m sorry to say, as I look back over those years, that my reckless nature and immaturity caused me to make many mistakes, but I am thankful to Jehovah for his loving mercy. I was distracted by the anxieties of raising a family and by materialistic pursuits until I was almost spiritually dead. Then I was suddenly laid off work. What would I do? I decided it was high time to follow Jesus’ advice to put Kingdom interests first. In time we went to serve where the need was great and I became a servant. When things became difficult and we considered leaving, I would sit at my desk and go over the Publisher’s Record cards. I would see more than just names; I would see living souls who were beginning to take the steps to life. How could I abandon them after they had come so far and showed such a willing spirit? We stayed!”