As we drove past the Space and Rocket Center on Highway 20 in the summer of 1988, we were truly amazed at the size of the rockets we could see. David, then four, was mesmerized and Michael, at almost one, didn’t notice. Our first foray to Huntsville was an endeavor to see what we could find. Discussions were being held in Birmingham about opening an office in Huntsville and we were reluctantly considering being part of that new adventure.
We did end up moving to Huntsville later that summer and rented a house in Blossomwood. Susan was pregnant with Patrick and was pretty miserable. In fact, when we went to the company Christmas party in Birmingham, Susan voiced her displeasure with some of the partners’ wives. Discussions were held with my superiors, and it was agreed that we could move back to Birmingham. Imagine my shock when I arrived home to tell Susan that we were going back to Birmingham, and she said that she had changed her mind and wanted to stay. Why?
The relationships we developed at First Baptist Church were the rock that we could build a new foundation upon. And we did. I don’t believe we could have had a similar life in Birmingham. While we were active in Brookwood Baptist, and that church was great – it was where I was baptized and where we were married – there is something about First Baptist that is special.
With the boys growing up in the church, to both Susan and I teaching Sunday School, and for Susan to spread her wings through the Sarah Tate Reading Room, First Baptist has been the foundation for our life in Huntsville.
That’s why we believe in and are a contributor to the GENERATIONS Building and Renovation Campaign. First Baptist is an important institution in our community and GENERATIONS is important to our church. God’s Church is critical to the revival of our country. Godly people, nurtured through God’s Church, need to be the leaders of that revival.
Susan and John Wessinger