By the grace of God go I

"This is the day which the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it." -- Psalms 118:24 (NAS)

I am grateful to God for this opportunity to share with you through this medium that he has so graciously provided. I am also thankful to The Telegraph for receiving these thoughts that I, in all humility, share with you.

In contemplating what I would share in the first of what I hope will be many articles, I couldn't help but consider the question -- how did I get here?

Perhaps it would help you to understand my need to ask that question if you knew a little about my history. I am the youngest of five children and I am the only male. I could write a book based on just the dynamics of that alone.

My second-oldest sister died when she was only months old; therefore, I never experienced the joy of knowing her. My three sisters and I remain close to this day. This closeness no doubt could be attributed to the fact that my parents divorced when I was 7 months old.

As a single mother working two jobs, we moved into the housing projects in Atlanta when I was 2 years old and remained there for the next 22 years of my life, when I graduated from college. The question remains -- how did I get here?

It was a time when the expectations of those who did not reside in the housing projects were very low for those who did live there. However, for those of us who lived there, a sense of community existed with high expectations. I can remember as a teenager that I had friends who were budding criminals.

While we played basketball on the neighborhood courts, when the time came for getting into trouble, they would encourage me to leave and go home. They knew that I was doing well in school and they did not want me to hurt or damage my prospects for a future. They removed the peer pressure that I could have found myself facing. Those young men played as much of a role as anyone to my being where I am.

I was able to excel in school and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School with honors. I also attended Morehouse College on an academic scholarship and graduated with honors. All of this was achieved while living in the housing projects.

I was blessed to have a mother who with a high school education and a fervent love of God went to church with us and instilled a love of God that remains in each of her children to this day. My three sisters have all retired and are economically blessed.

How do I address the question that I began this conversation with? How did I get here? How did the youngest of five raised by a single mother, living in the housing projects for 22 of his first 24 years, become the father of two awesome children, marry the love of his life, pastor the First Baptist Church of Macon, and yes, become a columnist for The Telegraph? By the grace of god!

If you are reading this article and you feel that the circumstances of your birth will somehow limit the possibilities of your future, be encouraged. Your environment may well play a role in shaping you. It does not, however, dictate who or what you shall be.

Pastor James W. Goolsby Jr. is senior pastor of First Baptist Church on New Street in Macon.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 9:18 PM with the headline "By the grace of God go I ."