Same basic story...
Raised Baptist, went to Lutheran grade school, 29 years in a non-denominational that was closest to Assemblies of God, had a young-earth, Calvinist, Ken Hamm phase, followed by a Hebrew Roots, Rob Skiba and Douglas Hamp phase, became a flat earther because, the bible. Found Mike Heiser, then Preterism w/ Gary Demar, the David Bentley Hart and Universalism, a short time with Greg Boyd and Open Theism, went to Asbury and got a Master's, Wesleyan, but 15 years ago, red Fr. Peter Gilcrist's book, went to one Pascha service before COVID and waited for the right time and now I'm a catechumen and hopefully soon received into my local Greek Orthodox Church, the first one planted in North America in 1864. Glory!
Spiritual life begins when things seem absolutely hopeless, that is when one learns to turn to God and not to our own feeble efforts and ideas. Fr. Seraphim Rose ☦️
The more we trust in man's help and in defense by others, the farther from us are the saving and merciful grace and help of God. And this is natural: for after all, if we received help from God at a time when we expected to receive it from men, we would ascribe what is God's to men, and would turn the glory of God into human glory.
Therefore the Lord arranges it even so, that His help becomes all the more evident to us, to the extent that our helplessness becomes sure and obvious and all our hope remains in Him.
New Hieromartyr Joseph of Petrograd
I want to be for Christ alone and with Christ alone. I am not for white and red, not for Ukrainians or Russians and so on. I stand for deeds and for orders. And for me, nothing is more important than to be with Christ, because only then can I be with each person's pain, not with their convictions, but with their suffering, in their suffering. I can't forbid anyone to be angry and hate me now, because for some people it's impossible right now. I can only urge people not to let themselves be consumed by this hatred, because then there is nothing left in the soul but emptiness for many years to come. Be with Christ
Elder Cleopa (Ilie)