Latest / Imagine Media Podcast Network / God’s Goodness | Christian Testimonies, Hearing ... - Can Jesus Give Me More Than a Life of Pain? | David W. Ebel | Ep. 165

Transcript

God’s Goodness | Christian Testimonies, Hearing ... - Can Jesus Give Me More Than a Life of Pain? | David W. Ebel | Ep. 165 · Imagine Media Podcast Network

0:00
Well, I looked around the room. It was a little
0:02
Pentecostal church and everybody was thanking
0:03
Jesus, hallelujah, as loud as they could. So
0:07
I figured that's how you pray. I mean, I had
0:08
no point of reference. So I threw up my hands
0:11
and said, Jesus, if you're real, I give you six
0:13
months to prove yourself. If you're real, I'll
0:17
serve you with all my life. And if not, I know
0:19
where the gun is. Hey there, welcome to the God's
0:25
Guinness Podcast. We are your host, Josh and
0:28
Shelly Hankins, and we're here to share real
0:30
stories of God's power. stories of hope, healing,
0:33
and miracles that will strengthen your faith.
0:36
No matter what you're walking through, we want
0:38
to remind you that God is good and He's still
0:40
moving today. Let's dive in. I can handle a hard
0:45
day. I just don't know if I can handle a whole
0:48
life like this. Maybe you've thought that without
0:51
ever saying it out loud. Today's guest, David
0:54
Ebel, grew up in severe pain, hiding it from
0:57
his friends. He reached a point where he no longer
1:00
wanted to live. So when pain is all you've known,
1:04
what reason do you have to believe God has something
1:06
different ahead? Dave, I want to thank you so
1:09
much for being on our show today. I would ask
1:11
or invite you rather to open our podcast up with
1:15
a prayer to help invite the Holy Spirit into
1:17
this atmosphere. Absolutely, I'd be honored.
1:20
Heavenly Father, we come in Jesus' name and we
1:22
ask that you be Lord of all. Lord, this is just
1:26
a time for us to glorify you and to encourage
1:29
those who are listening. that no matter how we
1:32
got to where we are, we are not defined by our
1:34
past. We're not defined by our doctors. We're
1:37
not defined by anybody. We're defined by the
1:40
relationship we develop with you. I survived
1:44
until I met you. I began to live when I gave
1:47
my heart to you. And I pray for all those that
1:49
are listening that they will come beyond survival.
1:54
They will give their lives to you. and you can
1:57
reveal how beautiful the life is when we put
2:00
our trust in you. But we know it's not easy to
2:03
serve you, but it's much harder to serve without
2:05
you. So we ask that you bless the people that
2:08
are listening. Do a mighty work of grace in their
2:10
lives. Encourage them and let them be blessed
2:13
by everything that's been said. We ask that all
2:15
three of us in this interview be led by your
2:18
spirit and that your love be felt by all. In
2:21
Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. David, your story really
2:26
starts on the day you were born. So take us back
2:29
to what was happening and why doctors weren't
2:31
sure you would survive. If it's all right with
2:34
you, I'm going to go a little before I was born
2:35
because it lays out the foundation for everything
2:38
else. Sounds good. My mom was an orphan in a
2:41
coal camp in Kentucky during the Depression.
2:45
My mom died in childbirth and dad died two months
2:47
later in a coal mining accident. So six kids
2:50
all of a sudden became homeless. And in a time
2:54
when there wasn't enough food for the people
2:56
that lived there, their families had to scramble
2:58
to find a place for all six kids. It ended up
3:01
where my mom ended up being passed around and
3:04
in the process lived through some pretty rugged
3:06
things, some abuse, all kinds of stuff. And so
3:09
when she finally ended up in Michigan, where
3:12
they shipped her to the aunt who had food, she
3:14
raised her the rest of the way to my dad. And
3:16
she met when she was 16. He fell in love. My
3:20
dad joined the Army Air Corps, which became the
3:22
Air Force. and was deeply involved in flying
3:26
supplies to those that were battling. When they
3:30
left the military, my dad and mom started a family.
3:33
They had a couple of kids. The first one came
3:36
out great. The second one was even better. She
3:38
was a beautiful little girl, but at poor, she
3:41
had ringlets of curls everywhere, and she was
3:44
vivacious. She was the life of every party, even
3:46
in the grocery store. People just loved her.
3:50
And one day she got the sniffles. Two weeks later,
3:52
they just got diagnosed it as bulbar polio, polio
3:56
of the brain, six months before the vaccine was
3:58
available. And within two weeks from the sniffles,
4:01
she was dead. And the sermon at the funeral was,
4:05
the pastor said that the sins of the parents
4:08
fall on the children, indicating that the reason
4:11
why God took that baby home is my parents weren't
4:14
godly enough. Wow. Wow. That's terrible. It's
4:19
inexcusable and it's theologically wrong. That's
4:22
what Pharisees do. They twist the word. This
4:24
is not okay. Well, the denomination terminated
4:28
the man and took his license away, but they did
4:31
nothing ministerially to restore my appearance.
4:34
So I was the makeup baby after my mom's nervous
4:37
breakdown from losing the little girl. And when
4:42
the tape got stuck in their heads was, if something's
4:45
wrong with the child, you're not a good parent.
4:49
That's a recording that played through their
4:51
entire lives Back of their minds. So when I was
4:55
born choking to death with the birth effect You
4:58
know, they came the docket came and said look,
5:00
there's nothing we can do Why don't we just give
5:02
him morphine and let him die? She grabbed him
5:05
by the shirt and said listen if he dies you die
5:08
you lost one you lose this one you go to That's
5:13
fair. That's exactly as a tenacious mother should
5:16
be and amazingly enough He listened. Boy, you
5:23
listen. 30 minutes later, he was back and said,
5:25
I got the experiment. Is he going to die without
5:28
it? Yeah, then do it, stupid. So they did the
5:31
experiment. Then four months later, it became
5:34
illegal to do the experiment on human beings.
5:36
It's still illegal internationally today. The
5:40
side effects of the experiment were discovered
5:43
birth defects. I have 21 birth defects by spine,
5:46
legs, and feet. Dwarfism, I was the smallest
5:49
child in the school until 12th grade. The sterility,
5:53
no one through the experiment was able to procreate.
5:57
And 100 % mortality by 20. Everyone in that experiment
6:01
was doomed by 20. Now you add all that together
6:06
and then I pick up juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
6:09
at six. So now I'm little, I can't play games,
6:13
I can't do much. I'm in pain and have to hide
6:16
it from my friends so I can be cool. And I lived
6:19
my life like that, hiding and suffering, but
6:23
trying to be cool. And then I'd go home to a
6:26
mom and dad who wanted to wrap me in cotton and
6:29
protect me because they were afraid of something
6:31
wrong with me, something's wrong with them. It
6:33
was not an okay life. My mom ended up bipolarist,
6:38
became a self -medicating alcoholic. So I was
6:41
raised in that environment. My mom was two people.
6:45
She was Mrs. Queaver from Leave It to Beaver
6:47
with the perfect hair and the apron, like you
6:50
see in the old black and white movies. And she
6:53
was the axe murderer when she got mad. Nothing
6:56
in between. When she'd get mad, we would run.
7:00
And so she calmed down. And then she'd be back
7:03
to being wonderful again. She just couldn't get
7:06
past the damage that was done in her growing
7:09
up. It sounds like it would be an exhausting
7:11
life, pretending that you're not sick when you're
7:14
out and about. and then being a good boy at home
7:18
so you don't take your mom off. And that just
7:22
sounds really exhausting. It was. It really was.
7:26
But I didn't know when there was another way.
7:28
I just knew that was how it was. And being the
7:31
middle child, we ended up with a sister after
7:33
me. My older brother, just a normal guy. Then
7:37
there was me with all nine challenges. Then my
7:40
sister was normal again. I ended up the middle
7:42
child, so I was the one who had to smooth things
7:44
over. and keep my mom from losing it. I got really
7:48
good at using my words to try to decommission
7:51
the exploding bomb to keep it from happening.
7:55
And so all that was pressure. And I became a
7:58
people pleaser for some odd reason. You want
8:01
to be popular, and so you get to the point where
8:03
you don't even know who you are. I graduated
8:08
high school at 16 and went to college on a handicapped
8:11
scholarship for the state. You know, you have
8:14
to listen to the qualifier here. I'm going to
8:16
graduate high school at 22. And I'm supposed
8:20
to be dead at 20. Yeah, the math isn't mapping.
8:24
No, it's not okay. But my parents were thrilled
8:27
beyond beyond beyond happy because that I would
8:30
be the first college bound kid in entire generations.
8:36
Which is pretty cool. Were you cognizant of your
8:40
supposed 20 year mortality at that? Did your
8:43
parents tell you that? Hey, you better get your
8:45
birthdays and mail most of them. No, the state
8:48
sent me to see a room full of specialists and
8:52
be diagnosed before they gave me the scholarship.
8:55
They set me down and said, here's what's wrong
8:57
with you. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And by
9:00
the way, you're going to die. Wow. They tested
9:03
me at 16 and I couldn't have children. I didn't
9:06
have to worry about birth control. Not that that
9:09
was on your mind, considering you thought you
9:11
only had four years left. It was on my mind because
9:15
I was the littlest kid and hardly got a date.
9:17
Really wanted to get lucky before I died. Sure,
9:20
sure. But having kids probably wasn't part of
9:22
getting lucky. No, I was happy for anybody above.
9:26
Yeah. Any kind of physical intimacy. At 16th,
9:30
I graduated a week later after 17th started college.
9:35
I was as prepared to go to college as I am still
9:39
prepared to do brain surgery. And yet I went.
9:45
And he was rugged. It was really rugged. It was
9:48
Michigan. In the wintertime, I'd have to get
9:51
there early because my brother couldn't drive
9:53
well. So I had to get up at four in the morning
9:55
and drive him to the bakery, then drive to the
9:58
college, sleep in the back seat of my car until
10:01
my feet were cold enough, they hurt. That's when
10:03
I knew it was time to get up and go to school.
10:06
I'd go a full day of school, pick him up, take
10:07
him home, and they'd go to my job selling things
10:11
at a department store. so I could buy for groceries
10:13
and eat. You know, full ride didn't include food
10:17
and that stuff. It just provided books and classes.
10:22
So a year and a half into that, by the way, I
10:25
was carrying 19 credits, 110 lab hours, sound
10:28
engineer of two theaters, and sang with the University
10:31
of Detroit chorus, which traveled internationally.
10:35
All at the same time. Wow. You know, when you're
10:38
a people pleaser, many times you become an overachiever.
10:43
And so they came compulsive for me. I'm the guy
10:46
who they've run forever. If my body would let
10:49
me, I would never sleep. I mean, there's always
10:52
something to do and I don't want to miss anything.
10:56
But a year and a half into the college, I hit
10:59
a brick wall. I had a nervous breakdown in the
11:01
lobby of the student union. They pulled me into
11:04
the counseling room, did a quick diagnosis. One
11:06
of the guys there had a double doctorate in something
11:10
or other. So he called the state and the offer
11:13
was... Go home and get well. We'll freeze your
11:16
scholarship up to 10 years with no repercussions.
11:19
Just go home, get well, and come back when you're
11:21
ready. In my now -depressed state, I heard, you're
11:25
a loser. You can't even go to school. Even the
11:27
college doesn't want you. You're a nobody. About
11:31
two weeks later, this was during Vietnam, I got
11:33
drafted into the military because there was no
11:35
longer full -time in school. And they rejected
11:39
me and said I was medically not able. And so,
11:43
but in my head, I heard even they don't want
11:45
me. And that was a three -year cycle of Dolly
11:50
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X39 button. Now, back to more of God's goodness.
12:38
So they cooked me dancing at a show bar. Now,
12:41
I no more wanted to dance than I wanted to go
12:43
to the moon without a pack on my back. But I
12:47
wanted to be popular, so I went. And to my shock,
12:52
everybody was well lubricated with alcohol by
12:54
the time I got there. So all of a sudden, beautiful
12:57
girls much taller than me that I would have never
12:59
even talked to were flirting with me. And I didn't
13:04
know how to handle it. I was like a puffy in
13:07
a meat factory. I mean, I didn't know what to
13:08
do. One of the girls said, look, you can't just
13:11
stand there. You've got to buy a drink to be
13:13
in the building. Here, I'll buy you your first
13:16
one. And she brought me, she says, this one's
13:18
punch, just drink it. I didn't realize it was
13:21
80 or 90 % wrong. By the second one of those,
13:29
I would have walked on the moon from where I
13:31
was standing. I was not prepared at all. Within
13:35
four months, the alcoholism... claimed me as
13:39
its seventh generation victim. I could drink
13:44
my friends under the table four months later
13:46
and drive them home. It was in my in my DNA and
13:52
my spiritual DNA. I was going to mention that.
13:55
Yeah, that you had. I got it from the front and
13:58
the back. Yeah, from the demonic influences in
14:00
the family that clearly knew that this was a
14:04
limp. And that specific entity really poured
14:09
into your family. Yeah, and it by the time my
14:13
dad died in a mining accident because someone
14:15
in the in the mine built a still inside the mine
14:20
And when the still exploded it killed, you know
14:24
Probably 50 people including my grandfather.
14:30
So you didn't just lose your dad. You lost your
14:31
dad and your grandfather I lost my mom. She died
14:35
an alcoholic But her dad died an alcoholic and
14:39
her uncles died as alcoholics My first funeral
14:42
was at her uncle, who was an alcoholic. First
14:47
as a minister, first what I did. So, I mean,
14:49
the curse of the family is real. And as I began
14:54
to drink more, I ended up being hired sober,
14:58
working great, go home, get drunk, and get fired.
15:01
In the next three years, I was fired from...
15:03
You will believe this, but it's true. We counted
15:05
it later. A hundred times I was fired in three
15:09
years. Wow. You could say you're persistent.
15:14
I was goody -two -shoes. I was the guy in the
15:16
librarian suit. And then after I got drunk, I
15:18
don't know who I was. And I was irresponsible
15:22
and I was thoughtless and all the things a typical
15:25
drunk would do. And by the end of the second
15:30
year, the voices started. The divine voices started.
15:34
Nobody wants you. You can't even get a girlfriend.
15:37
You're good for nothing. Look at how many times
15:38
you've been fired. And those voices started.
15:42
And then it got louder and said, Nobody wants
15:45
you. You might as well just kill yourself and
15:46
get out of the pain. Your pain is worse every
15:48
day, and that was true. My pain exponentially
15:51
grew in my 20s. From 18 to 21, my pain tripled.
15:58
So here I am. The only thing medicating me is
16:00
alcohol. So I'm drinking, I'm using the excuse
16:04
my mom used, well, this is where my arthritis,
16:06
and then she'd get drunk. I started doing the
16:08
same foolish thing, and those voices just get
16:11
louder. And eventually, in that third year, I
16:14
attempted suicide by overdose three times. I
16:18
got a prescription of tranquilizers. I got a
16:22
fit of scotch. You know, I had tranquilizers,
16:25
drank half a bottle of scotch, and drove around
16:27
waiting to die. God in His mercy kept me sober
16:31
all three nights. As angry as I was because I
16:36
wanted to die, I didn't even get a scratch, not
16:39
even on my car. So the fourth time, the more
16:45
profound one. After work, all the guys at night
16:49
had not eaten all day. So we went to a store
16:52
that would sell underage, and we bought 20 giant
16:56
quart beers. These are ones that are like two
16:59
and a half quarts a piece. We bought 20 of them
17:02
for four people. Wow. And we proceeded to drink
17:06
them all right then. To ask if we could get them
17:10
now, and began joyriding in my car. This is the
17:15
day before Christmas in Michigan, which means
17:17
everything's frozen. You know, if your car sits
17:20
too long, your wheels could get stuck. It's cold.
17:24
And we're jolly riding around. We're out in the
17:26
country. Yeah, I see a bridge that's been washed
17:29
out over a river. And I thought, perfect. So
17:34
the guys were drunk. They didn't care where we
17:36
went. I backed up, got the car to 100 miles an
17:38
hour and drove off that bridge at 100 miles an
17:40
hour. Halfway down, I looked around and realized
17:44
that the water had frozen in the river about
17:48
150, 200 feet before it got to me. I landed in
17:53
mud. I ripped a tree out by the roots. It was
17:55
bigger around a diameter than a dinner plate
17:58
with the front of my car. Landed in the mud,
18:02
got out without a seatbelt and no scratches.
18:07
The three other guys were close here. They disappeared.
18:09
I never heard from them ever again. They're like,
18:13
this guy is crazy. Nope. Actually, they changed
18:19
my name to Crazy Dave that night. And that's
18:22
what I was known as. the rest of my alcoholic
18:25
problem days. So on the way home, those voices
18:30
were just screaming as loud as they could, stupid,
18:33
stupid, stupid. You can't even kill yourself.
18:36
You're useless. Nobody cares. If you die, it
18:39
would be a relief to you and everybody else around
18:41
you. Your parents should be relieved not to have
18:44
to worry about you. And so I began playing my
18:48
fifth and final suicide with a rifle. And the
18:53
girl with the rifle was working. you could put
18:55
a rifle on layaway to buy it for your dad. So
18:58
I lied and set up a payment plan. And I was just
19:01
a couple of payments away from finishing everything.
19:05
And my day job, I worked for Chrysler Corporation,
19:09
Mopar division, sorting mail. Did it flawlessly.
19:15
Then at night, after I got drunk, I went to a
19:18
commune store where they had leased an old lumber
19:23
store. like the ones that you can get everything
19:25
in the universe in, an empty building. And they
19:28
built small communal stores, one selling papers,
19:31
another one selling this, another one selling
19:33
that. And they had a candle shop, and I became
19:35
the candle carver. I'm a bit artistic, so they
19:40
showed me how, and I could do it. And I was making
19:42
the boss money, and he loved me. But as the Depression
19:46
got worse, when I wasn't making orders, I began
19:50
to make weird candles. I made one that looked
19:53
like a skull. It was navy dark blue, almost black.
19:59
When you lit the candle, red candle came out
20:02
looking like blood coming out of the eye sockets
20:04
and the mouth and the ears. Wow, pretty creative.
20:09
Pretty demonic. Then the next one I made was
20:13
a brain, and it was dark green blue. And when
20:18
you lit the candle on it, wax came out that looked
20:22
like pus coming out of every orifice. The hippies
20:26
bought those so fast, my boss thought I was a
20:28
miracle worker. He wanted to give me a raise
20:31
with how many candles we were selling. Nobody
20:33
realized I was at my last wits end. And these
20:37
were cries for help. Nobody cared. Well, I'm
20:44
in there carving candles and this girl walks
20:46
out, cute little thing, and she starts telling
20:49
me about Jesus. I no more want to hear about
20:52
Jesus than I want to hear about anything else.
20:54
But I not raised her on Jesus and knew a... that
20:57
the church hurt my parents. I certainly didn't
20:59
want any part of it. I did everything I could
21:02
to get rid of her, and she wouldn't leave. And
21:03
so finally, she saw that I was drawing on a piece
21:06
of paper. She said, what are you drawing? That's
21:07
none of your business. No, no, no, no. You need
21:12
to tell me what you're drawing. I'm not leaving
21:14
till you tell me. Oh, so if I show you this,
21:18
you'll leave? Yeah, I'll leave. So I spun the
21:21
paper around, and to her shock, there was a graveyard.
21:27
On one side, there was just... hideous looking
21:29
tree with the roots look like a gnarled demonic
21:33
hand growing into the ground. And the other side
21:36
of it was like little demonic hands holding skulls
21:38
dripping blood. Then the rest of the picture
21:42
was gravestones like you see in an old monster
21:46
movie where they're all bent crooked and beat
21:48
up. But it had my name on every stone in Saturday's
21:52
date and this was on a Tuesday. She said, I demand
21:56
you tell me what this is. And I said, I demand
21:58
you leave the store. She said, I'm not leaving
22:01
until you tell me the rest of the story. You
22:04
mean, okay, I'll tell it to you to shut you up
22:07
and get you out of here. I'm in serious pain.
22:11
I can't live another day with it. I can't stand
22:13
still for 10 minutes without feeling like I want
22:15
to cry. The pain is that bad. Nothing's helping.
22:19
I can't keep a job. I can't get a girl. I can't...
22:22
And I just listed it all off to her. And I tried
22:24
to kill myself four times. And she said, and
22:27
so this means that... This is Tuesday, Saturday,
22:31
you're gonna kill yourself? Yes, and I can't
22:33
wait. To give you an idea of how bad I had gotten,
22:40
I had wrote a poem. I'm not real proud of it,
22:42
but it'll tell you the death of the sphere I
22:45
was in. It said, Where is the fear for when I
22:49
die? And this I sit and think. For I've been
22:52
told to be afraid, but yet I know I'm not, and
22:54
know not why I should. For death is peaceful
22:57
and quiet, and I'm tired. Hmm. No 18 year old
23:07
or 19 year old should be thinking those thoughts
23:10
Honestly, anybody below the age of 70 sure they
23:12
shouldn't be thinking those thoughts Did you
23:17
ever know that girl before see that girl before
23:19
did you know her I never saw her before. Okay.
23:22
She said look What do you do it tomorrow? And
23:24
I said getting high she said one. Why don't you
23:28
go to church with me? Oh, no No, no, we're not
23:30
going down that road. I'm trying to get rid of
23:32
you and I get more of you she been How she got
23:36
there was that three months into her, she was
23:38
a three -month -old Christian. She had gave her
23:40
heart to Jesus three months. In the final sermon
23:43
before she saw me, the pastor talked about witnessing
23:46
and that you're not a real Christian if you don't
23:49
go share Jesus. He did it in a merciful way.
23:54
He didn't do it to shame. He was trying to get
23:56
these converted hippies to get off their lazy
23:59
butts and do something for God. So he was preaching
24:03
on the level they understood. So she got up.
24:07
And she went to the place she used to hang out
24:09
as a 16 -year -old, where she didn't belong.
24:13
She went there and found me, the most desperate
24:16
-looking person in the room. I was 5 '4", and
24:19
I weighed 80 pounds, and I had an 18 -inch Afro
24:22
that hung to my butt. No purr. That was the first
24:29
white guy in Detroit with a fro. Needless to
24:34
say, when I got saved, no one knew I was Dave
24:37
or David. I was fro. So finally, she said, look,
24:43
I'll tell you what. I want you to go so bad.
24:46
She flirted me into church. She went back to
24:50
the tools she knew from four of the three months
24:52
ago. I, if it didn't get me nice, just turned
24:56
into jello. Okay, I'll go to church with you.
24:58
I'll go anywhere with you. So I went home and
25:02
said, Mom, I got a date. She said, that's nice,
25:05
honey. I said, I'm going to church with this
25:08
really cute girl. You're going where? I'm going
25:11
to church. David, you know how the church is.
25:15
You know, when I was a little kid, I went to
25:17
church, and they swung her chandeliers, and they
25:19
rolled on the floor and danced like chickens.
25:21
You don't want to go there. I can go, and she's
25:23
cute. Maybe you'll get lucky. My mom just rolled
25:27
her eyes and said, David, if you're going to
25:29
go there, you better be prepared for the nightmare
25:31
of your life. So in our home, to get prepared
25:36
meant get drunk. So down in the basement, where
25:40
I had my bed, was up in the rafters to get my
25:42
emergency gift of scoffs. So if I got fired,
25:45
then I still had some alcohol. and they just
25:48
doubled my tranquilizer dose to a near -to -lethal
25:53
amount. I took the entire bottle and washed it
25:56
down with the full fifth of scotch. The drug
25:58
picked her up, and just as we pulled into church
26:01
parking lot, all the drugs and alcohol hit at
26:04
once. I couldn't find Park on the authentic transmission.
26:10
She reached over patiently, put it in Park, turned
26:14
the keys off, put them in her pocket, and scooped
26:16
up this pitiful little stick of a man. and wobbled
26:19
me into the church. This was a one -room schoolhouse
26:23
converted into a chapel. And the people who were
26:26
in it were the most conservative Christians you've
26:29
met in a long time. And they look at me with
26:32
my wrong hair and my wrong clothes and smelling
26:34
like alcohol and say, oh my God, what is that
26:37
doing in here? Right in front of me. What is
26:39
that doing on a Wednesday night service? Our
26:41
children are here. You know, we have a witnessing
26:45
team. We opened up a coffee house so all the
26:48
hippies can go in one spot and not be Contaminating
26:51
us and you got him here on a Wednesday night.
26:54
I turned to her and said hey, I don't belong
26:57
here And she said no you belong here. They don't
27:00
this is a house of hope. They just don't have
27:02
any Good for her. It's three months old and she
27:07
already got that down. Yeah good for her God
27:10
bless you scoot Yeah, she scooped me up and parked
27:14
me in the second row in the front. Building was
27:17
so old, it had hardwood floors. On top of it,
27:20
they put hardwood pews and no screws to anchor
27:23
them down. And I'm sitting there and he starts
27:28
preaching. I don't know what he said, but I know
27:30
that my body began to shake. I don't mean a little
27:32
bit. I'm talking, shaking so bad that pee was
27:35
going bump, bump, bump, bump, bump, bump on the
27:37
floor. And the people in the back are going,
27:39
shh, shut up. Like I have any control here, folks.
27:46
And they're just shushing me and treating me
27:48
bad already. So I decided I wanted to know more
27:53
of this. He said, with every eye closed and no
27:56
one looking around, the proverbial invite, if
27:59
you need Jesus, just raise your hand. I didn't
28:02
raise my hand, but it went up. I don't mean it
28:06
went up a little bit. It went all the way up.
28:09
And all I could think of is, oh my God, those
28:10
mean people in the back are going to jump me.
28:12
This is Detroit. Jumping's not a new thing. And
28:17
he finally, I'm reaching up there, trying to
28:19
pull my hand down and it won't move. And the
28:21
guy says, I see that hand, brother, you can put
28:24
it down. He went down and I sat on it, man. I
28:26
did not let it move. And so he said, with our
28:30
eyes still closed, including my aunt in the back
28:32
who's a nosy old lady, close your eyes, everybody,
28:36
with eyes all closed. If you need Jesus, come
28:40
on up here, let me pray for you. Well, I looked
28:42
at where he was in the center and I looked to
28:44
his immediate left. Was the new emergency exit
28:48
that they required this the city required them
28:50
to put in for a fire escape And I figured if
28:54
I could get to him and I could make an emergency
28:56
turn I could go out that fire escape and I could
29:00
get away from all this craziness So my wobble
29:03
myself to the front thinking I was gonna make
29:06
it This guy's six four two eighty hops over the
29:09
tiny little altar and he's standing in front
29:12
of me Towering over me and he says could I show
29:15
you something? I said sure just don't hit me
29:19
And he opens up his Bible and shows me, for whosoever
29:23
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
29:25
saved. And I said, what is that? And he looks
29:30
me in the eye and, you know, understand, I'm
29:33
not his bro. No one knows my name. He looks me
29:36
in the eye very seriously and says, David, God
29:40
knows about your birth defects. He knows about
29:43
your arthritis and how much pain you're in and
29:45
how it's destroying you from within. He knows
29:48
about your hemorrhaging ulcer that's bleeding
29:50
out of both ends. He knows about your nervous
29:53
breakdown. He knows about all the things that
29:55
you've done wrong. He knows. He knows that he's
29:58
protecting you from your forced suicide attempts.
30:01
Because he's got a life for you. He's got a plan
30:04
for you. And he wants you alive to live it. I
30:10
gotta tell you, I had a gun held to my head and
30:12
that didn't scare me near as bad as that did.
30:16
No doubt. I was beyond bugged out, man. I was
30:20
hysterical. It's like the woman at the well when
30:22
Jesus told her everything that was ever about
30:25
her life. Yeah, I got a full 3D version of that.
30:30
So I said, well, so what do I do with that? I
30:32
mean, I didn't know. I'd never been to a church
30:35
service, so I had no idea. He said, well, this
30:38
altar is little. There's two guys over there.
30:40
I looked over, there's converted hippies still
30:43
in their hippie clothes, but they're praying
30:44
and worshiping. And then there's this little
30:47
spot left at the altar on this side where I was.
30:49
He said, just kneel here. and cry out to God.
30:51
Well, I looked around the room. It was a little
30:53
Pentecostal church and everybody was thanking
30:55
Jesus, hallelujah, as loud as they could. So
30:58
I figured that's how you pray. I mean, I had
31:00
no point of reference. So I threw out my hands
31:03
and said, Jesus, if you're real, I give you six
31:05
months to prove yourself. If you're real, I'll
31:09
serve you with all my life. And if not, I know
31:11
where the gun is. And suddenly I was sober. Like
31:18
a snap of a finger is fast. I went from blasted
31:22
Just sober as the day I was born. He ruined your
31:27
high. Yeah, not only my high, but gave me a new
31:30
one right there on the spot. And then I felt
31:34
loved for the first time in my life. I felt like
31:36
I belonged. I felt like I was going to be OK.
31:39
I felt peace. I didn't even know what peace felt
31:42
like. And then I felt like I belonged. The thing
31:45
I'd wanted my whole life was to be loved for
31:48
who I am. And I felt it. It was earthquakeing.
31:55
I'd help in need to say I'm sorry. Now I know
31:59
it's called repent, but at the time I didn't
32:00
know anything. So I threw up my hands again and
32:03
said, Jesus, forgive me. And I listed off time,
32:05
date, and place all the raunchy nasty things
32:08
I'd done in the last three years. Man, they have
32:10
people emptied out that shovel like I was saying,
32:12
free cholera, come get a kiss. I've never seen
32:17
people move that fast, ever. But they were going.
32:21
So I just, I continued to just repent. until
32:26
I, it was like you get a balloon overfilled and
32:28
you let it go and it flies all over the room
32:30
and then lays flat. I felt at the end like I
32:34
had, there was nothing left, I just felt flat.
32:36
And I kind of just wilted onto the floor next
32:39
to the altar. You know, just crying, happy. My
32:43
fro was now wet with tears and snot and looked
32:45
like a wet poodle. And I was just laying there
32:47
on the floor going, I love you Jesus, I love
32:49
you Jesus. And I hear this voice, my son David.
32:54
I sit up and look around, there's no one in the
32:56
room. My son David, I called you with an everlasting
33:02
love, and I called you to preach my word. If
33:06
you'll love my people and preach my word, I will
33:07
change the lines. If you will love my people
33:11
and preach my word, I will change hundreds of
33:14
thousands of lives. Will you love my people?
33:17
Yes. Will you preach if you teach me how? End
33:21
of the story. This voice went away. And amazingly,
33:25
the two hippie guys came over and said, hi, I'm
33:28
Tony, I'm Gary. You belong to us. We're going
33:30
to teach you how to live for God." And they were
33:34
my private team challenge. They were my own discipleship
33:37
team. They attached to me and taught me how to
33:39
live for God, how to serve God, how to read His
33:42
word, what worship is all about, and even how
33:45
to start doing kids ministry to begin my calling
33:48
to ministry. Wow. What did your mom think? I
33:53
went home and said, Mom, I gave my heart to Jesus.
33:55
I'm forgiven for my sins. I'm sober. I'm so excited.
33:58
And she said, I liked you better as a drunk.
34:02
That's a good thing you had Jesus to rely on
34:04
then and Believe it or not. I made everybody
34:08
convicted and awkward So I would came for sorrow
34:10
and ungride over family events They would invite
34:12
me because they felt guilty and when I get there
34:16
I was miserable because nobody talked to me.
34:20
They didn't know what to do with me I was from
34:24
a foreign land now and they thought I lost my
34:26
ever -loving mind and they didn't want to get
34:28
close to it in case It was contagious. Well profit
34:31
isn't welcome in their own home, apparently and
34:33
everybody else's home related to it too, by the
34:35
way I lived. Last spring, I came across something
34:40
I honestly didn't expect to pay this much attention
34:42
to. At first, I was just interested in the idea
34:45
of saving money on everyday wellness products
34:47
I was already buying anyway. But then I started
34:50
noticing people I personally know getting paid
34:53
weekly from a membership they were simply sharing
34:55
with others. That's what made me really pay attention.
34:59
Because it's not about stocking inventory, pressuring
35:01
friends, or chasing customers around. It's a
35:04
membership that gives people access to high -quality
35:07
products at lower prices, and if you decide to
35:09
share it, there's a compensation side attached
35:12
to it too. After seeing real people get results
35:14
from it consistently, I realized this could genuinely
35:17
become a long -term income vehicle for the right
35:20
person. If you've been looking for something
35:22
simple that actually makes sense in today's economy,
35:25
you should at least take a look at why so many
35:27
people are paying attention to this right now.
35:29
The info's in our About section. That year, I
35:34
began doing kids ministry. And the longer story,
35:38
since we have a couple of minutes, is they brought
35:41
in the kids crusade for the summer. They brought
35:43
in Pat and Adalitha. They were neat little Southern
35:46
gals in Michigan with their cowboy bits and their
35:49
cowboy that and their guitar that came right
35:51
out of Tennessee. And they're teaching, so I
35:56
was like. One and two and three and four, God
35:58
will take you every more. Five and six and seven
36:00
and eight, don't worry, give your heart to Jesus,
36:02
you won't be late. I mean, there's no songs like
36:04
that, but they were making them up on the fly.
36:06
And the kids were looking at them like, what
36:08
in the world is this? But they announced at the
36:13
end that on the last night, they're going to
36:15
give away a bicycle. They're going to have a
36:17
real Klon come and give the bicycle away. So
36:19
when it was done, my background in high school
36:21
and college was theater. So I had to find out
36:24
who the Klon was. I just had to know. There's
36:27
that little weird thing in my mind that said,
36:29
maybe I can help. So I walked up and said, who
36:32
does the clown? And she said, then one of them
36:34
looked at me and rolled her eyes and said, we
36:36
flip a coin, the loser has to be the clown. So
36:41
what do you do for a costume? Well, we got an
36:43
old mop head we found someplace. We put some
36:45
white goo on our face, take some lipstick around
36:48
our eyes and our mouth. And I'm thinking, in
36:51
college, when I was taking the makeup classes,
36:53
they were telling me that when you put red around
36:55
your eyes and your mouth, that's demonic. If
36:58
you're trying to scare people, that's how you
36:59
do it. And I'm going, we got to do better than
37:03
this. I don't know much. I mean, I'm probably
37:06
five months saved. I don't know much, but I know
37:09
that that's not okay. So I said, has anyone ever
37:12
volunteered to be the clown? Oh no. Who'd want
37:15
to do that? I would. You would? Yeah. So I went
37:20
to a costume shop that I knew of, rented a costume,
37:23
bought some makeup, put it all on. and went to
37:27
the, it was in the back room of that two room
37:29
chapel church and waiting for them to announce
37:32
me to come to give the bike away. And I waited
37:35
and waited and they were singing more and talking
37:37
longer. And I waited 45 minutes, no air conditioning,
37:41
just miserable. And then I hear clown, clown.
37:45
Now, when you're a little kid in my generation,
37:47
you would go to someone's door and say, David,
37:50
David. And then the mom would come to the door.
37:53
Neither say David can come play with you or no
37:55
David's doing his homework. You can't you can't
37:57
do it right now So the mom was the filter of
38:00
the door. These kids are calling for clown. They
38:03
must have seen me So I open the door and say
38:05
hey, what's going on? We want to know what's
38:07
going on in there They say well, we're having
38:10
a great time talking about Jesus having given
38:12
prizes. We're good I'm about they have a bicycle
38:14
away. Why don't you come in? We can't Our parents
38:18
say that is a devil's church. If we go in the
38:21
demons will jump all over us Yep, some of the
38:25
old religious things were real and judgmental
38:28
things were happening. So they said, well, what
38:31
can we do? I said, I got an idea. Go home, go
38:35
to the side of your bed and get on your knees,
38:38
close your eyes and put your hands in front of
38:39
them, fold your hands and say, Jesus, I don't
38:42
know you yet, but I want to come in my heart
38:45
and show me who you are. Teach me how your love
38:48
works. They ran off like I was given $100 bills.
38:53
You know, and I closed the door and said, oh,
38:55
please let this end. I want these ladies to stop
38:58
talking. It's hot. And 20 minutes later, I'm
39:03
still standing there, and I hear clown, and I
39:06
open the door. There's eight beautiful kids,
39:09
kindergarten to third grade age, weeping, just
39:13
sobbing uncontrollably. We gave our hearts to
39:16
Jesus, like you said, and He's real. We can feel
39:19
Him. And they just... they defined their experience,
39:24
things I never said or mentioned. And that same
39:29
voice that spoke to me when I was laying there
39:31
worshiping said, you said you'd do anything for
39:34
me, go love my kids. So I found a Christian who
39:40
did gospel magic. That's where you did things
39:43
you buy in a magazine and turn them into parables.
39:46
And I learned to puppeteering, I learned ventriloquism,
39:49
I learned storytelling, and then I learned clowning.
39:52
because if I was dressed as a clown, he'd better
39:54
know what to do. And the guy trained me, he was
39:57
a pro, and he taught me how to do it. And I put
39:59
together a character called Happy Go Lightly.
40:02
Happy to be going for the light of the world.
40:05
I did a one -day kids' crusade of my own. We
40:08
had 22 kids give their hearts to Jesus on their
40:10
first experience right there in the back room
40:14
of that tiny church. And the boy said, I told
40:18
you. So I could get serious. I mean, I don't
40:22
do half of anything. that the ADD in me is either
40:25
jump off the cliff or don't even get near it.
40:28
So I jumped off the cliff spiritually and I said,
40:30
oh God, I'll do anything you want. And so I worked
40:33
on it, worked on it, worked on it, and got to
40:35
the point where I began to go places. One of
40:39
the places I went was Detroit Teen Challenge,
40:41
who had an outreach to the neighborhood, in the
40:45
Ruckus neighborhood, we're talking neighborhoods.
40:47
You would roll your windows up, even if you had
40:49
no AC. It was not a good place to be. But I went
40:53
in and I did my clown thing and I met the assistant
40:57
director and he and I became best friends. He
40:59
invited me to come back and be on their Teen
41:01
Challenge radio program. So I said, sure. And
41:06
I went home and waited for the call and he said,
41:08
come on in tomorrow. We have our slot. So I got
41:12
to work. I got in the car and drove out to the
41:14
worst neighborhood and went inside this old mansion
41:18
that had been abandoned and Teen Challenge had
41:20
converted it back into a nice place to live.
41:24
And I'm sitting in the living room, waiting.
41:27
And we're talking forever, waiting for the radio
41:29
station to call and say, OK, we got a break now.
41:32
Come in now. Drop everything and come. So we're
41:34
waiting for that call. And this beautiful girl
41:37
comes in. And I don't know about my brother here,
41:41
but when I look at a girl, I had a measuring
41:45
system. I could probably flirt this one. I would
41:48
try for this one. And then there was the one
41:50
that was so far out of my league, I would never
41:52
even try. This girl was way beyond out of my
41:55
league. This girl should be in a magazine someplace.
41:58
Beautiful. And I thought, well, you know, I've
42:01
been praying that God would teach me how to treat
42:03
Christian women, not as sexual objects, which
42:06
is all I knew them as. Our hippie guys used to
42:09
call them guys with bumps. We need to learn how
42:12
to treat girls as guys with bumps before we treat
42:14
them as girls to love. And so I thought, well,
42:17
here's a chance for me to try them. So I went
42:20
up and said, hi, my name is Dave. How are you?
42:23
She just gave me a terrible look at the upstairs.
42:26
Not a word. Oh, my. I started off out of the
42:30
wrong foot. Don't even know which foot it was.
42:33
Well, they finally called, and we went to the
42:35
radio program, did our interview, came back to
42:38
the house, and the girl comes in and says to
42:41
the director, I don't feel like going to church
42:44
tonight. I don't feel well. And he says, no,
42:47
I think you need to go. And she says, but I'm
42:49
not going to. And new convert me. I says, don't
42:53
you believe in putting up, you know, Don't you
42:55
believe they know bangos that are placed above
42:57
you in the Lord is if you do what they tell you
42:59
God's gonna bless you for it I got another horrible
43:03
look and she went upstairs changed and went to
43:04
church And I thought oh man, there's two strikes
43:08
in the wrong direction, but I had to say it Well,
43:12
I went home and I before I was leaving I had
43:16
cards for the coffee house that was in the back
43:18
of our church I taped a dime to it and said look
43:21
our coffee house meets on Saturdays It's a church
43:24
event. All we can do is just listen to cool music
43:28
and talk to friends. I would like to have you
43:30
as my guest. I gave you a dime because I know
43:33
you had zero money. You pay phone who takes nines.
43:36
Call me when you're ready to go. Okay, I will.
43:40
And as soon as I left, she put the dime in her
43:42
pocket and threw the card away. She was having
43:44
none of it. So I waited and waited. And finally
43:50
she calls. And later I found out that every time
43:54
she prayed, God would say, you promised him you'd
43:57
call. You promised him you'd call. So finally
44:01
she said, all right, I'll call him. But then
44:03
she said, but you got to show me how. So one
44:06
day she's cleaning the living room couch and
44:07
finds one of my cards in the couch. So she calls
44:11
me and I take her to church, to the Gapienos.
44:16
And we hit it off famously. And I bring her home
44:20
early. I said, can I call you again? Yeah, you
44:24
can call me again. Don't get any ideas, but we
44:27
can talk. Well, it wasn't long after that. Teen
44:31
Challenge was invited to a big dinner where they
44:35
fundraised to raise money for Teen Challenge.
44:37
And she was told to bring a date. She knew no
44:41
mails. So she asked the assistant director, who
44:43
should she bring? And he said, bring Fro. So
44:47
she calls me and says, this is not romantic,
44:53
but would you be my guest at a dinner to raise
44:55
money? Yes. So we get there, and it's a beautiful
45:01
black church. They've done a real good job of
45:04
restoring it. It's gloriously gritty. And the
45:07
pastor is a rotund man. And he's got on a very
45:11
nice suit. He's got a gold chain. And he's really
45:14
done to the nines. He's really classy looking.
45:17
And he walks up and says, children, I see God
45:20
all over the two of you. And I see that God in
45:23
the calling on both of your lives. He's telling
45:26
me that you two are to be married. When is the
45:28
date? You want cold chills running up and down
45:33
your spine? That'll do it. I turned to him and
45:39
said, sir, in all due respect, I don't know her
45:41
last name. And he says, God does. And he's not
45:47
in a hurry. But you two will be married. And
45:51
he walked away. Well, there was another meal
45:55
I went to. White guy pastor, same thing. Like
45:59
they were reading a script. Five churches, five
46:02
different pastors, five different social groups.
46:06
All five pastors said the same thing to us. I
46:11
may not be the sharpest cack in the box, but
46:15
it terrified me that maybe this was true because
46:18
I was not prepared. I didn't think I was ready
46:21
for any kind of romantic anything. And I was
46:24
so afraid I'd screw it up that I didn't even
46:26
want to try. So I'm talking to her on the phone,
46:31
and I'm trying to explain how I'm feeling. And
46:34
it's that same voice from the night I got saved
46:37
says, ask her to marry you. I broke out in the
46:42
silence, man. I lay on the bed just crying my
46:44
eyes out. I'm so sorry, but God told me to say
46:48
this. I'm going to ask you. You don't have to
46:50
answer, but I have to ask you, would you marry
46:53
me? She was quiet for a minute, and then she
46:57
says, took you long enough. How long have you
47:01
known each other? I met her in February, took
47:05
her to church the first week of March, and we
47:08
married June 8th. Wow. And she wanted nothing
47:14
to do with you initially. found out later that
47:17
the way it happened was that right before I came
47:21
in, the day before I came to that building, she
47:24
had just graduated Teen Challenge. She was never
47:27
drunk or high, but she'd been verbally abused
47:29
badly by her father, and she didn't know that
47:32
God would even have her. So on her 18th birthday,
47:34
she ran away from home and went to Teen Challenge
47:36
to learn how to live for God. So she graduated
47:39
the program at six months instead of a year and
47:42
became a secretary. So in her prayer life, she
47:45
was asking God that this boy that she'd been
47:48
engaged to before she linked, was he the man
47:50
for her? And if so, make it clear, and if not,
47:54
make it clear that that same day a phone call
47:58
came in, it was the guy. Diane, I finally found
48:02
your phone number. I gotta talk to you. Okay.
48:06
I need the ring back. We're not gonna work out.
48:11
I've got a relationship now with one of our mutual
48:14
friends' moms. And I want to give her the ring.
48:20
Can you get plainer than that? No. That's about
48:24
as plain as you can get. You could be blind to
48:27
read that one. Yeah. That's like an 18 miller
48:31
hit you at 60. You know? So when she met me,
48:36
she looked at me and went, oh, not a guy right
48:39
now. Then the voice comes to her and says, this
48:42
is the one I've chosen for you to marry. And
48:45
that's why she treated me like an old dead cold
48:48
fish. Huh? Because I didn't know the rest of
48:52
the story. So in her prayer life, God kept saying,
48:57
he's going to ask you, and you're going to say
48:59
yes. I've given you a love for him. So when I
49:04
proposed, it was like a relief for her. Everyone
49:08
we met was thrilled with it except her parents.
49:12
They were traditional old -style Catholic, go
49:15
three times a year, and I'm a Catholic. And when
49:19
he found out that I was not only not a Catholic,
49:22
But I was administering training for another
49:24
group. Her father had a conniption fit. The same
49:29
father that was verbally abused and treated her
49:31
terribly was now being overprotective. You can't
49:36
marry till you got $40 ,000 in the bank. We're
49:38
talking making 70 money. You get that $40 ,000
49:42
in the bank, you got to be 30 years old, and
49:45
you've got to have a job that'll support you
49:46
the rest of your life before you can date. It
49:49
thinks he wasn't a minor. So on her 18th birthday,
49:53
when she was no longer a minor in Michigan, she
49:55
was a client growled out her bedroom window and
49:57
was searching after God. When they got word that
50:01
we're getting married, her mother tried to kidnap
50:04
her to please her father. And realized what was
50:08
going on. I said, mother, you put me back where
50:10
you dropped me. We're not doing this. You love
50:14
me too much to let that happen. So mom took her
50:16
back and we changed the date of the wedding.
50:20
Had my cousin who was a Detroit policeman come
50:22
armed. and did the wedding. And it was beautiful.
50:27
Like a shotgun wedding, but different. Yeah,
50:30
but for the good. So that was May 2nd, 73, I
50:37
got saved. June 8th, 1974, we got married. Wow.
50:43
And we've been married 52 and a half years. That's
50:46
incredible. You know, I've almost died seven
50:50
times and God keeps me alive. And going back
50:52
just a little ways, when I met those doctors,
50:55
they told me I was going to die. We had our first
50:57
child, which I couldn't have because, obviously,
51:00
I was told I was sterile. When we wanted kids
51:02
three years after we were married, we laid hands
51:05
on each other's tummies and prayed, God, fix
51:07
what's broken. We want to have the child you
51:09
told us we can have. And four months later, she
51:12
was pregnant. No science, just the old fashioned
51:15
way. We had three healthy children, nine grandchildren,
51:20
and I'm 74 and still talking. Wow. Miracle after
51:25
miracle. That's incredible. What an incredible
51:28
story that you have. I mean, that's just one.
51:33
It's an entire life of miracles. You are the
51:37
epitome that God still works in our lives today.
51:39
You are literally if you can't pick one story,
51:42
pick the other 17, right? You've got a whole
51:45
lifetime of God showing you. insurmountable favor.
51:49
And this is I believe 100 % that God wants to
51:52
show us all this and just yours is more plain
51:55
or blatantly obvious to you. But I believe that
51:58
the God works in all of our lives in that way.
52:00
And I just want to thank you so much for sharing
52:02
that story with us and our listeners for being
52:05
vulnerable over the horrible things about the
52:07
demonic things about the alcoholism, about the
52:10
suicides, or the attempts of them and how God
52:13
Literally blocked you on every attempt of hurting
52:15
yourself permanently. I just love hearing the
52:19
story I love this woman that you described as
52:21
a model worthy is your wife I love that you saw
52:25
her for who God wanted you to see her as and
52:28
the only limitation was your own Self -esteem
52:31
that he had to fix as well. I just love your
52:34
story. I love you I don't even know you know
52:36
you but I love you and I am so grateful that
52:38
you shared with us today I love your wife. I
52:41
love that woman that first brought you to church
52:43
God bless her family. Yeah, her name is Barbara
52:46
and she and her husband I reconnected in California
52:49
and we're dear friends today I am so grateful
52:52
to hear that I think that she deserves everything
52:54
for being a bold warrior for Christ and all that
52:57
story right there that part touched me the most
52:59
that she did that and in defiance as a brand
53:01
new Christian against other set in their ways
53:04
Christians because that's what we need to be
53:06
and I am so grateful that she let the love of
53:09
God permeate through her to come to you despite
53:12
preconceived notions and personal ideologies
53:14
based off of our own beliefs. I just in love
53:17
with your entire story. What an amazing person
53:20
that you are in Christ. And at no point did you
53:22
not give credit to God, right? And so I'm very,
53:25
very grateful that you came on our show today.
53:27
I'm very grateful that you shared your story
53:28
with us. I'm very grateful to hear about the
53:31
nine grandchildren, you know, that's things that
53:34
should never have been. You know, it seems silly
53:37
to some people, but for you, it was the most
53:40
important thing. And if you're listening, if
53:42
you listen to this whole story, it should feel
53:44
important to you too, because this is what God
53:45
wants for all of us. It's not just a pity party.
53:48
He's not just trying to lift our chin up so that
53:50
we can see the road ahead. He's literally trying
53:52
to lift us up completely. And it's not just to
53:55
redirect us, but it's to repurpose us. And I
53:57
thank you so much for sharing with us today.
54:00
Well, I think it's important that people realize
54:02
that we are not who people say we are We are
54:06
not the people that we've defined ourselves by
54:08
the things we've done wrong We're not the person
54:11
that's who that we've been defined by what's
54:13
been done to us We are defined. This is our history
54:18
book. We are defined by today and what we do
54:22
with our today and if we give our trust to Jesus
54:26
Regardless of what's happened to us God takes
54:29
us the way we are, warts and wounds and all.
54:31
He doesn't say, come get well and then I'll save
54:34
you. He says, come as you are, broken, drowning,
54:38
whatever it is, whether it's just a little bitty
54:41
thing, but it's a big thing to you, or it's a
54:44
lightning bolt like I had. I think the greatest
54:47
testimony is not one who's had to go through
54:48
all this stuff I have, but the person who gave
54:51
their heart to Jesus at 12. And he kept him and
54:55
prevented them from all the pain and the suffering
54:57
and kept them so that they could have a wonderful
54:59
life for him all the days of their lives. But
55:02
see, comparing testimonies is not right because
55:06
ours is precious the way it is. Our relationship
55:09
with God is personal. And so it's cool to hear
55:13
them, but to pull them side by side and say,
55:15
well, I don't have anything. No, yes, you do.
55:18
If God has you and you have him, you have everything.
55:22
Would hazard to say that if you're that person
55:24
that found Jesus at 12 and never had a hardship
55:26
Because you followed Jesus closely that you've
55:29
had a harder time Than somebody who hasn't because
55:32
you're following Jesus without him having to
55:34
prove anything to you Then you have a love for
55:38
him without him having to pull you out of something
55:40
for you to develop that love you like you said
55:43
to Jesus like give me six months to prove yourself
55:45
and I will give you my heart and This 12 year
55:47
old never gave that promise never had to and
55:50
kept his promise And I just, so I can love and
55:53
respect both perspectives of that. Yeah. First
55:57
thing I did is I wrote a book. My testimony,
56:00
my story is called When the Doctors Say No, God
56:04
Says Yes. And that's available on Amazon. The
56:09
second thing I did, now that I'm no longer able
56:12
to travel the world, I've hit 49 states and 20
56:14
countries. And now that I'm no longer in a wheelchair
56:17
half time now, so I can't be traveling the world.
56:20
So now I'm doing podcasts. So my podcast is God
56:24
Says Yes. And there's one more piece, and that's
56:30
the website that has begun out of that, which
56:32
is a chance to minister in many ways. And that's
56:35
the GodSaysYesPodcast .com. And if you go to
56:39
GodSaysYesPodcast .com, just put your name on
56:42
the mailing list. You'll immediately get to download
56:44
my book and a book of encouragement for free,
56:48
just by just putting your name and email address
56:50
on. There's no money needed. I would rather you
56:54
know the love of God than me make a nickel because
56:57
the love of God is eternal and more precious
56:58
than any nickel or a million dollars for that
57:01
matter. So I would invite anyone who is interested
57:05
to check it out. It doesn't cost a thing to try,
57:08
but we are already seeing since we put that podcast
57:11
up four months ago, the website is four months
57:14
old. The podcast is much longer, but the website
57:17
is new. We're already leading people to the Lord
57:19
and we're already dealing with trauma. I'm a
57:22
certified trauma specialist, and I've had all
57:25
kinds of training. We're providing all these
57:28
supports for people who can't find them right
57:31
on the website. Awesome. We'll put the links
57:34
in the show notes. And I would welcome the two
57:38
of you to not only check it out, but join it
57:41
as well, because we just put up a live chat last
57:44
night. We're doing everything we can. There's
57:46
a blog post. There's all the things that people
57:48
like to communicate with. We now have them available
57:51
so that we can love people in more ways. Wonderful.
57:56
Well, I hope this has blessed listeners as it
58:00
has me. I was definitely in tears at the one
58:03
point, as usual. If you guys wanted to help get
58:07
this show in more hands, it would be helpful
58:09
if you're listening in Spotify, rate the show
58:12
with the stars. And then if you're in Apple Podcast,
58:15
if you can leave a review that... literally will
58:18
help this show get into more hands and encourage
58:21
more people. And it's free as well. So with that,
58:25
we will talk to you next week. Before you go,
58:30
if this episode encouraged you or made you think
58:32
of someone in your life, share it with them.
58:34
You never know how God might use one story at
58:37
the right moment. Thanks for spending this time
58:39
with us today. And don't forget, God is always
58:42
working, miracles still happen and your story
58:44
matters too. We'll talk to you next week.