Joshua Standridge grew up in Lexington and attended local schools.

A self-described “regular kid,” he played football at Lexington High and had typical jobs at Rush’s, McCallister’s and washed cars at Love Chevrolet.

He was in JROTC and wanted to go to The Citadel and serve in the military.

After graduating from the Citadel, he joined the SC Army National Guard.

He served 13 years including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Then he went to work for the US Naval Shipyard in Portsmith, NH.

Things were going well for Joshua.

Life sometimes has a way of changing without warning.

In 2012, he was going through a bit of a rough time. Joshua contacted his best friend from The Citadel for advice.

Now he admits that at that time he didn’t really get the concept of living by faith in God and Jesus. Oh, he believed in God and went to church. A friend had walked him through the process.

With what faith he did have, he started attending a non-denominational church in New England in 2013 and there he met Brianna, his future wife. They started dating and were married at the end of the year. Attending marriage classes helped them grow.

Circumstances led to a job at the VC Summer nuclear plant which meant returning to Lexington County. They arrived back in the area during a big storm in 2014 and spent 3 days stuck in their apartment in Irmo.

The woman who checked them into their apartment became a good friend.

The 1st Sunday they wanted to attend church but didn’t know where to go. That was until they looked out the window of their apartment and saw River-land Hills Baptist Church. They went and found a church home.

They were “plugged in,” made many friends to help them through life. And their faith was growing.

Then life provided another setback – the closing of the SCE&G nuclear plant.

Joshua needed to find a new career. By then he had earned an MBA from USC.

The question was how to put it to work for him and his family.

Step one was prayer for guidance.

He then started googling franchises.

He liked the military – the structure, environment and teamwork they offered. And he looked at many options.

Some looked good but as he said, “God closed all the right doors” until he found Christian Brothers Automotive.

“There was something unique about it. And it was consistent with his innate desire to serve people. And the more he learned, the more he liked the franchise.

For example, the company had been formed in Houston, TX, by friends from a Sunday school class. And their values and ideas on running a business melded nicely with his own.

He filled out an application online and waited for a response which came quickly.

There was an interview on the phone with him, Brianna and a rep from Christian Brothers. After that, there was a visit to Houston for interviews and actually working in one of their shops. They were required to share their personal testimony.

When that was done, they prayed again for the opportunity for a couple of weeks and committed to it in July.

They opened their new business in Lexington on Old Cherokee Rd., December 10, 2018. Now that they are in the Christian Brothers organization, it’s just like a family.

All the other franchisees are eager and willing to help everyone else.

On a personal note, I love local boy grows up, moves away and returns home success stories. Especially if there is that intangible element of faith involved. Lexington County is blessed to have many of these stories.

If you have such a story, contact me at chuck.lexchron@gmail.com .