Chapter 2
My Beginnings 1950-1968
In 1950, I was born the second of five siblings to Walter and Judy Collins. God describes all human life when he says …
“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Psalms 139:13–16
My parents provided the genes that God used to form my body and mind according to his design for humans. Along with the physical body, God gave me a soul and spirit. These all worked together to produce the person people know as Dave Collins.
The development of Dave Collins progressed just like the lives of all humans. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, humans, including me, are born and grow the same way. I was born and lived not knowing God or going to him for direction. I was the center of everything and was guided by what I wanted and what I believed I could get.
Beginning as infants, our minds take in data and process life experiences to form an incomplete understanding of what we think is true about life, and about our lives specifically. We develop a personality, a pattern of thinking, a life perspective, and a lifestyle that defines who we are. We make choices based on what we want and what we believe will make us happy and make our days go well.
We live life in accordance with our particular family upbringing and process our experiences through our immature thinking. I lived a normal life with ups and downs, developing physically and emotionally. There was, however, always a sense of something missing. I wanted more. I did not understand why I felt that way or what I wanted. I, like everyone who lives apart from God, lived under the assumption that I was in control. I was doomed to fail, because God is the one who makes life and has a design to give humans meaning and joy. God created all humans, including me, in his image and likeness. We need to walk through life with him, experiencing a relationship with him. That relationship brings joy to both the person and God. I didn’t fully understand what I was feeling or what I was missing. I just kept going, always looking for more based on my feelings and desires. I was missing what was needed to live the life I was designed by God to live. I was losing at life.
I was doomed to fail at life by living apart from God and not by his design. I would never live it to the fullest. We must become a child of God, have the Spirit of God living in us, and allow the Spirit to participate with us in life. His Spirit gives the understanding and wisdom needed to make good choices in life, to truly understand life, and to know
