“Bad Bob” and the Bible

My watch was finally over. I was tired, but not ready to sleep. I rolled into my bunk on the submarine and opened the Bible. Someone had given it to me years before, but I’d never looked inside. I wasn’t the Bible-reading type. People called me “Bad Bob,” a name earned through heavy drinking, causing scenes, and getting thrown in jail.

I treated the Bible like any other book and started at Genesis 1, planning to read it from cover to cover. My progress was slow. I just read it off and on while I was on patrol. During shore leave, partying was my priority, and I never gave the Bible a thought.

Then, my life took an unexpected turn. I was arrested and charged with DUI and possession of drugs. Just being arrested on a drug charge was enough for me to be disqualified from the program I