For as long as I can remember, even as a child growing up in an environment of apartheid in Louisiana, I have always had a loving trust in God. I recognized early in life that I was unique in my dependence on God as I observed that most people displayed only a casual regard for spiritual things. I believe that because I was raised as a Christian but ironically my family was not religious in the traditional sense has contributed to the development of my nontraditional perspective on religion. Though my family regularly attended Church, nobody in my family held any positions in the Church. My dad was not a preacher or deacon but amazingly he somehow became recognized by religious leaders, and others in the community and across the state as a wise discerner of the scriptures.