Nicole and all Doves,
  I was raised by a man that it is said was not my biological father, but I have the hardest time thinking of him in any other way. He was the perfect example of humility, simplicity and dedication to his children. He raised 5 of us by himself and would never allow us to speak ill of our terribly messed up mother. She left when I was ten, thank heavens. She had no self control and her absence was a sort of mercy...I still love her, though.
  I, like you, have never quite grown up and am locked somewhere between 12 and 17 years of age. Raised in the sixties, my iconic images are Johnny Quest and "a Charlie Brown Christmas".
  There was no religion of any kind in the house where I was raised. My father used to say(because I ALWAYS believed!)..."nobody really knows." Well, I beg to differ.
  I was redeemed, at twelve yrs. old, at a Sunday evening service somebody dragged me to and started watching Garner Ted Armstrong on TV talk about the Jews reclaiming Jerusalem as the sign of the "last generation"...and I knew it was true. Imagine a 12 year old (all by himself) watching end-times shows in a house full of unbelievers, and its been that way ever since. I've known from the beginning of my salvation that this was the final generation(failing and falling most of the time in my walk).
  Its been 42 years since the Lord somehow told me(I don't remember an audible voice) that "I was not going to die a natural death". Most of that time I didn't even think of a pre-trib catching-away, but, I've always believed HIS promise to me, in spite of not really understanding what it meant.
  Hanging out with you guys here at the 5 Doves has made me desire the catching away as a reality more than any other time in my life. But, I'm starting to feel a little manic about it. There is no one around me that I can talk directly to, so, You guys get to be the brunt of my apparent identity disorder. There is a bit of schizophrenia about all this...so much to do and yet, so much to run away from. All we have to do is read about Elijah to see the quandary...
  I am a child at heart and want to run away, but, there's nowhere to run to, unless God decides to scoop us up, or should I say 'when' HE decides to scoop us up. I am alone(accept for Christ) until then and have only this communication till that time, no one in my immediate environment seems willing or able to show real fellowship(and trust me, its not from lack of searching for my family in Christ).
  So, my impression is that the Lord has done this to His people for a purpose. We are a scattered flock, a little flock. Placed and displaced throughout the world in order to have as much effect on this lost planet as is possible...in prayer and in tears for a broken humanity oblivious to its own plight. Whats going to happen when we're gone...whats going to happen to my little girl without the preserving power that we provide as salt to a decaying culture ?