The pilgrimage from a share-cropper's shack in the backwoods of West Tennessee to the President's Home at Oklahoma Baptist University, and the opportunity to be involved nationally and around the world in higher education makes for an unlikely story. This book serves as a tribute to family and countless other people who took an interest in and invested their lives in the author to make this pilgrimage possible. The opportunities for service at significant crossroads in life can only be attributed to the blessing and involvement of a merciful and gracious God. Hopefully the story will encourage and affirm those who read it.