A Tap On The Shoulder

In an autobiographical sermon, the late Peter Marshall spoke of his difficult childhood years. He said, I never knew my father as other boys know their father. He died when I was four. Three years later I acquired a stepfather and my boyhood was profoundly affected by this new relationship. I soon learned to fear my stepfather for he was a jealous man with a violent temper. It was worse when he had been drinking. I had few toys — birthdays came and went unnoticed. We never had a Christmas tree. All references to my father and my father’s family were forbidden. I was a very unhappy boy and began at an early age to think about some escape.

At age fourteen, Peter Marshall ran away and joined the Navy, but he was soon discharged when his true age was discovered. Then he began years of work as a manual laborer. He went to school at night and received an education. And all through…