Have you ever had something happen in your life that made you stop and reflect for a while? Maybe not just one thing, but several things that happened over the course of a few years.
It's kind of like looking in your rear-view mirror. You can see all those moments lined up behind you and understand them a little better now. But when you were living through them, you had no idea why they were happening or where they would eventually lead.
Well, that has recently happened to me. I had no idea why all of it was happening at the time. I just thought I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.
Looking back now, I can see it a little differently.
Let me tell you about it.
The Early Days
In the early to mid-1990s, I lived in Ohio and worked in a data center that had been outsourced to another company. That was both a scary and exciting time. I had never heard of the company I was told I now worked for, and I had never even heard of outsourcing before.
As it turns out, it was a pretty good thing.
You see, I met this girl who worked for the same company, but she lived about 800 miles away in Arkansas. We started talking, and one thing led to another. Before long, we found ourselves in a long-distance relationship. Talk about something that either works or it doesn't.
In early 1995, an opportunity opened up for me to transfer to Arkansas and work in the data center here. So I packed up all my stuff and made the move.
About a year later, I asked that girl to marry me.
Today, we've been married for just over 30 years.
The Road Changed
I didn't regularly attend church growing up. I went some with my grandma, but I guess I never really took it seriously. That all changed when I moved to Arkansas.
I started going to church with Kathy, mainly because I knew it was important to her. Little did I know how important it would become to me.
A few months before we were married, we met with the pastor she wanted to perform our wedding ceremony. Although that didn't work out, something much more important did.
During one of our conversations about the ceremony, I accepted Christ as my Savior. A few weeks later, I was baptized at Antioch Baptist Church.
A couple of months later, our pastor at Antioch married us, and we've been serving and attending there ever since.
This all happened about a year after I moved to Arkansas.
The Back Roads
For almost 40 years, I worked in various areas of IT. Over the years, I held roles as a Computer Operator, QA Analyst, Client Delivery Analyst, Data Architect, Data Integration Specialist, and Data Analyst.
It has been an interesting road to travel because I've seen technology change in ways I never could have imagined. I'm old enough to remember punch cards, working on mainframes, and watching technology evolve into the servers, cloud systems, and massive amounts of storage we have today.
Earlier this year, though, I came to a crossroads. I found out that the group I worked in was being sold to another company, and my position as a Data Analyst was being eliminated.
Over the years, I had seen a lot of people go through workforce reductions, but I had never experienced one myself.
Suddenly, I found myself on a bit of a detour, trying to figure out what the next chapter of my life would look like. Looking for a new job can be frustrating, discouraging, and sometimes even depressing. And the companies that supposedly have job openings don't always make the process easy.
But that's another story.
How It Started
A couple of years ago, I had decided to shut down what was then StillKruzn.com—this website.
I think I was just tired of keeping it updated because I hadn't made any changes to it in quite a while. I was also planning to shut down the Facebook page.
Around that same time, I had stepped away from hosting our statewide car club meeting. I really thought I was getting away from some of the work involved in promoting events and keeping people informed about the hobby that I enjoy so much.
My plan was simple. I would keep the domain name, shut down the website, and leave enough pieces in place that I could rebuild it someday if I wanted to.
Then something unexpected happened.
Before long, I found myself rebuilding the website, even though I had already decided to shut it down. I also rebranded it as StillKruzn Arkansas to give it a little more focus and make it more about promoting the automotive community across the state.
At the time, I had no idea why I was doing it. I had already made the decision to walk away from it, yet there I was spending time rebuilding it and expanding it.
Little did I know where all of that would eventually lead.
Back On The Highway
For many years, I have served on our church's technical team, working behind the camera and occasionally directing the video for our services and other events.
A couple of months ago, a friend who leads that team asked if I would be interested in working at the BMA of America doing media work. It didn't take me long to say yes and learn more about what the position involved.
As we talked and the process moved forward, I started noticing some of the things that had been happening over the previous couple of years. The website I had rebuilt. The videos I had started creating. The new skills I had been learning without really knowing why.
For the first time, some of those pieces started making sense.
It took a couple of months to get everything lined out, work through the details, receive an offer letter, and finally arrive at a start date. On May 20, 2026, I started a new chapter.
Reflections
This is where I finally started to see all the pieces coming together.
Rebuilding the website. Learning new tools to make it happen. Writing these articles. Learning video editing, graphic design, and social media. Even losing my job. It was all part of the story.
For the first time, I could see why God had been leading me down those roads. What I thought were simply hobbies, interests, or projects were actually preparing me for something I couldn't see at the time.
Looking back now, I can see why I felt compelled to rebuild the website. I can see why I kept learning new software and developing new skills. I can see why I continued serving behind the cameras at church.
At the time, I had no idea where any of it would lead.
But sometimes life is a lot like driving down the road. Every once in a while, you glance into the rear-view mirror to see what's behind you. Not so you can go back, but so you can better understand where you've been.
When I look in my rear-view mirror today, I can see God putting pieces in place long before I knew why. Piece by piece and mile by mile, He was preparing me for a road I couldn't yet see.
And that's why I tell people this was a God thing—because I truly believe it was.
— From The Shop Stool