Latest / Have A Little Faith with Delilah / A Mom Is As Close To God As You Can Get

Transcript

A Mom Is As Close To God As You Can Get · Have A Little Faith with Delilah

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hello, my friend. Welcome. Welcome to Have a Little Faith
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: with Delilah. Today, we're going to talk about motherhood. I
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: think motherhood is sacred. I know motherhood is sacred. Being
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: a mom, raising kids, closest thing to doing God's job
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: that there is, in my opinion, it's sacred. God loves, loves, loves,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: loves mamas. He loves blessing us. He loves healing us.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: He loves empowering us. He loves coming alongside us. Sometimes
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: he loves challenging us. I was blessed to have a
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: mom that loved me fiercely. She was a little cray-cray. Okay,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: she was a lot cray-cray. And the older I get,
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: the more I realize, man, My mom had some crazy
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: ways of dealing with the pain in her life. Today
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: we've got therapy and support groups and books and talk
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: shows and all that stuff to help you deal with
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: childhood trauma and abuse and neglect and addictions and blah, blah, blah.
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: But when my mom was growing up, they didn't have
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: any of that. She didn't have access to any of that. Um,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: But no matter what, no matter what bad choices my
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: mom might have made, she loved us fiercely. And we
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: knew that every day of our life. My mom loved
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: me more than life. I knew that. I never went
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: to sleep a night of my life that I didn't
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: know that I know that I know that my mama
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: loved me. I was in my mid-30s when God called
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: her home. I was blessed to have her for those years,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: 35 years. But when God called my mom home, I
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: didn't think I would ever recover. I hurt so bad
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: and I missed her so much. She was my biggest cheerleader.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: She was the person I wanted to call whenever I
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: had great news or good news or whenever I had
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: bad news and I needed to bounce something off. She
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: was who I called. She was who I turned to.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: And we certainly didn't always see eye to eye. There
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: was a couple of years I didn't even talk to her.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: I was so mad. I just shut down. I distanced myself.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: It took us a lot of work and a lot
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: of tears and a lot of talking to work through that.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: And thank God that we did before she was diagnosed
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: with cancer, before God called her home. Today on Have
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: a Little Faith with Delilah, we're going to hear from
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: some moms, a few moms that I'm going to share
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: with you in this episode. These women are all in
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: very different situations in life. Up first, I want to
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: share a conversation that I had with Tiffany, who is
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: calling to honor both her son and his birth mom.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Let's hear from Tiffany right now. Hi, Tiffany. What can
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: I do to make your night special?
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Request a song for my oldest son's birth mom.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: How old is your oldest son?
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: He is seven and a half.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: And how old was he when God brought him into
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: your arms?
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: We brought him home from the hospital.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Oh, awesome.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I actually called about two years ago and talked
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: to you. When we had just gotten our twins, all
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: three of our children are adopted. And so... We just,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: I called and talked to you a couple of years
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: ago and I've, you know, I've called a bunch of times,
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: but she's just really been on my heart. Last week
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: was His Gotcha Day, what we call it. And I
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: just wanted to call and request.
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: A song for her. Do you want to share her
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: first name?
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: Her name is Samantha.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: We'll honor Samantha and all the birth bombs, letting us
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: have the honor of loving their babies and raising the
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: ones they brought into the world.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Absolutely. Absolutely.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: And how old are the twins?
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: The twins are two.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the terrific twos.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: We are very, very busy.
• 4:36
  Speaker 4: Very busy.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Very, very busy.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Well, the night before the adoption was finalized, She said
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: she was listening to your show, and she heard the
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: Tarzan song, and she knew that she was making the
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: right choice. And so that song has always been very,
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: very special to us.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: So God used that song, especially the lyrics of that song,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: to give her the courage to do what must have
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: been breaking her heart.
• 5:03
  Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Now you're going to make me cry. I'm sorry. Aren't
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: we so blessed?
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I can't even put into words how blessed we are.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: You cannot even put them into words.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: Until you've built a family through adoption, you just don't
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: get it.
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: You're right.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: You know, I don't remember if I was as naive
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: as other people. But when people say to me, you know,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: which ones are your real kids? All of them. I'm like,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: are you kidding me? Or people will... They just say
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: such strange, strange things. When my son Sammy passed, I
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: lost count of the number of people who said, well,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: thank goodness it wasn't one of your real kids.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah. My husband and I have a ministry. We go
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: around and speak to churches about foster care and adoption.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: And I'm sure you've heard some of the same things
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: as well. You'd be shocked to hear some of the
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: things that people say.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: With 13 and having fostered as many as I have
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: and adopted 10, we could share, you know, compare notes
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: at the foolish, heartless things that people say. But I
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: choose to believe it's out of ignorance, not out of cruelty.
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. I don't want to believe that people are really
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: as cruel as they come across when they say things
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: like that. I choose to believe they're just ignorant.
• 6:35
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: So thank you for having a ministry to help people understand.
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you for yours as well.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: And when you look back through history, I mean, let's
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: think about it. Jesus was adopted.
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Jesus, you know, Queen Esther, Moses.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Adoption is at the very heart of how God loves us,
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: that we are adopted to be His own. All right, Tiffany,
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: you'll be in my heart for Samantha and all the
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: birth moms listening tonight. The next mom I'm going to
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: share with you is a conversation that I had with Stacey.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Her daughter is truly amazing. And Stacey wants to sing
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: her praises right now.
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: Hi, this is Stacey.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: I cannot believe I got through.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Hi, Stacey.
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: I listen to your show like all the time, every day.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: And I've never gotten through.
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: Never in years.
• 7:33
  Speaker 5: I never got through in years.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm sorry you never got through in the past,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: but I'm glad you're here tonight. What can I do
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: to make your night special?
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: Well, I just wanted a short little quick thing. I
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: won't go into much detail, but there is my daughter
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: who I had on brain surgery in 2003. And she
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: helped bring me back, like, because I had to relearn everything.
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: I mean, adding, driving a car, the whole business, right?
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: And she took over everything when she was 15.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: I'm paying the bills. Hi, I'm doing this.
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: Hi, I'm doing that. At 15?
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: I have a 15-year-old daughter. I'm just trying to picture
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: her taking over something like, I don't know, emptying out
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: the dishwasher.
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: That doesn't happen. I'm like, honey, put away the dishes. Honey,
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: please put away. Honey, can you please put away the dishes?
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: I just, you know, people come along in your life.
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: I truly believe this.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: It saves you.
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: And by that, I don't mean like they give their
• 8:49
  Speaker 3: life over, you know what I mean, for you and
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: do everything. But they help bring you to be a
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: better person, you know. And she's helped me so much.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: And I'm just so proud of her. And I love her.
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: And I think she's fantastic.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: And, you know, one day your mom can do all
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: the billing and the next day she's like, what, what, what?
• 9:13
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: So why did you have brain surgery, can I ask?
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I had a brain tumor.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: It was acoustic neuroma that had grown out of the
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: right side of my ear and onto the brain stem
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: and was basically taking all the blood out of the
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: jugular vein back there.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: And now you're okay.
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: I'm good.
• 9:34
  Speaker 5: I'm really good. I'm really good.
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: Lots of therapy. I mean, five years of physical therapy,
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: and then I had some.
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: Uh, like therapy. So I didn't open my big mouth
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: because when I got out of surgery, I had a
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: very big mouth. I had no frontal guidance at all whatsoever.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: No, no filter.
• 9:56
  Speaker 4: Nope.
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: Do you want to know what's amazing?
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: What's that?
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: I've never had brain surgery, and I struggle with the
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: same problem. A thought forms in my head, and it
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: spills out of my mouth before I can stop it.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: Well, sometimes that happens. But, you know, I mean, for me,
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: there's moments I don't have to, like, intentionally, like, hurt
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: somebody just because I can say it, you know? Anyway,
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: she just, she's been so great to me and she's
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: done so much for me and helped me learn how
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: to handle money again and how to do all these things.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: And I'm just amazed.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: And how old is she today?
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: 35.
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: Wow. So you guys have been through it. You have
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: been through it.
• 10:41
  Speaker 5: She's amazing.
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: She's amazing.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: And you know, there's ups and downs and give and
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: take and, But we always find a way to make it.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: What's her name, Stacey?
• 10:52
  Speaker 5: Her name is Caitlin.
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: And you know what?
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: I just want you to know you're so, it's so
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: needed right now.
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: And at least for me, I feel like it is
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: because I don't watch the news then. You know what
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: I mean? I listen to the stories and the music and,
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: you know, and that helps put me in a better
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: headspace than anything.
• 11:14
  Speaker 5: I love it.
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: So it works for me and I love it.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: If you watch the news, honey, you're going to get
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: scared to death. It's terrifying. Yeah.
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: I'm like, you know what? I can't have that in
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: my head. But she's wonderful. She's just the best.
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: I mean, just the best. The best.
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: I knew when she was born that she was special.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: And I just didn't realize how special. You know, she's just,
• 11:41
  Speaker 3: and never belittled me or anything. made me feel bad.
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: She's the best person ever, like ever, like better than me,
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: a hundred million times better. So I want great things
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: for her.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: Let me play that song for you. Thank you for calling.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: You have a great night.
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: You too.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: You know, one of the things I love most about
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: doing this show is the fact that it is a
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: generational show. What do I mean by that? I mean,
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: parents listen. Grandparents used to listen. We're still listen if
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: they're here. Kids listen. Now grandkids are listening. And I
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: love that. I love when people say, oh my gosh,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: you remind me of my mama because we used to
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: listen when I was a kid in the car and
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: Now I've got my own kids or my own grandkids.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: I love sharing words of wisdom or encouragement with generations.
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: I love being a part of your family. And in
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: just a moment, I'm going to celebrate with a sweet
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: woman who is thinking and appreciating her mama. She is
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: so appreciative of the time that she has spent despite
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: the challenges with her sweet mama. That call and song
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: are coming up next. Hi, Angela. Welcome to The Delilah Show.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Who is on your heart tonight?
• 13:16
  Speaker 5: I have a lot of people, but one in particular,
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: which is my mom. She battles every day with short-term memory.
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: And every time I see her, I just thank God
• 13:29
  Speaker 5: for letting her know see.
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: Me still the way a.
• 13:34
  Speaker 5: Mother should see their child. And I mean, it's heartbreaking
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: to see her drift slowly with her memory, but I
• 13:41
  Speaker 5: know it's the way life is when you're a certain age.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: So has your mom got dementia?
• 13:47
  Speaker 5: She has short-term memory. I mean, she takes medicine for
• 13:51
  Speaker 5: it to slow it down a little bit, but I'm
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: just very blessed to still have her on earth with
• 13:58
  Speaker 5: me and just share it Many memories.
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: So you're close with Mama, and it's breaking your heart
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: to see her struggle with the short-term memory, but you're
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: enjoying and rejoicing in the blessing that she's still alive.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Can I ask how old your mom is?
• 14:15
  Speaker 5: Early 80s. Wow.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: So you are very blessed. Angela, what's her name?
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Karen.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: I will play a song to let her know how
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: much you cherish her. And thank you for being grateful
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: for every moment. I wish, man, I wish more people
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: had that attitude. If they only knew how everything can
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: change in an instant.
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: Oh, yeah. And some of us go through just wondering.
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: And it's not even just wondering. It's just you love
• 14:46
  Speaker 5: the people like your parents, like I do with my mom.
• 14:50
  Speaker 5: I mean, she says, I'm so sorry. I'm a burden
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: to you. You're not a burden. You took care of me.
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: Now it's my turn to take care of you.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm going to play a sweet song for your mama.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: You have a great night. Thank you for calling. The
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: last caller I want to share is a woman named Linda.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: While she always had the love of her kids, she
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: found herself in a whole lot of trouble. Linda chose love.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: Linda chose God. Let's hear her remarkable story right now.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: This is Linda. How you doing?
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: Hi, Linda. I'm wonderful. What can I do for you?
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: I listened to you like forever, and I don't believe
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: I finally got through. I try every night on my
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: way coming home from work, but I'm glad I got
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: through tonight because I just like to send a song
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: out to my daughter. She's my inspiration. She's my everything.
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: I've been through a lot, but she's always there. always,
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: always been there for me through everything I have heard through,
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: my kids through. I mean, she was always there, and
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: I just want to send a special shout out to her.
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: All right, Linda, what's your daughter's name?
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: LaShawn.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: And what is the toughest thing that you say, you
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: said you put them through? What's the toughest thing they
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: had to go through, Mama Bear?
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: I've been there and back. I'll put it like that.
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: I've been there and back, and I've been clean for
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: like 15 years. And through those times before I got clean,
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: I mean, I took them through hell and back. And
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: my daughter was always there with me, always. And she
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: just stood by me and believed in me. And if
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: it wasn't for her, I don't know where I would
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: be right now.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: So how old was your daughter when you got clean,
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: when you came back?
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: She's 40 now. So I guess around.
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: 29, 30.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: And is she loving having her mama back?
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: Oh, she loves it. We talk 24 hours, seven days
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: a week. And she tells me everything. And I tell her, LaShawn,
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: you don't have to tell me everything. Just keep some
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: things to yourself, you know? But I mean, we have
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: the greatest relationship, you know, so many people envy us
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: because they wish they had a relationship like my daughter
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: and I, but you know, um, Through the time when
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: I did get cleaned, I mean, it still was some
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: rough patches to go through. But like I say, she
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: was there every step of the way. She's my everything.
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: She's my BFF. I mean, it's like she's my heart.
• 17:25
  Speaker 4: And I love her so much.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: I had someone say to me when I was young
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: and making crazy decisions, and I had a little boy.
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: He's a police officer now. He's all grown up. But
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: I had somebody say to me, he is your little rudder.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: And I said, what? And they said, a ship, a
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: huge ship has a tiny little rudder. that helps them
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: to steer. And without that little rudder, the ship would
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: run aground or crash. And they said, your son is
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: your rudder. God gave you that child with such a
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: good heart to be your rudder, to make sure your
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: life was steering in the right direction. And it's true.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: And it sounds to me like this daughter was a
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: gift from God to be your rudder.
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: She is. She is. I mean, she's my everything. She's
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: my heartbeat. And you know what the worst part is?
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: I have two other kids, and they've just been there,
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: you know, just as much as my daughter. But if
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: something about my daughter is just like I just can't describe,
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: you know, and now she's got a daughter on her offer.
• 18:32
  Speaker 4: She's five years old. You know, and she's a teacher, and,
• 18:35
  Speaker 4: you know, she's just so inspirational to me. She's my everything.
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: I mean, I look up to her. It should be
• 18:42
  Speaker 4: the other way around, but I look up to her,
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: and she's always, always, always.
• 18:47
  Speaker 5: There, you know.
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: And if I can give her the world, I will
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: give her everything in this world that her heart desires.
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: I mean, you just don't know how my heart goes
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: out to her, you know, and. You know, she's doing good.
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: She's a teacher. She's got her own little, you know,
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: daughter now, which she'll be turning five pretty soon. And,
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: you know, she's everything to me.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: You are a blessed, blessed woman.
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: Yes, I am. Truly blessed. Truly blessed. And I just
• 19:16
  Speaker 4: want to send out a special song for her, you know,
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: and just let her know I love her so much.
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: I love all of my kids.
• 19:23
  Speaker 5: I love them.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: I love them.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: God bless you, honey. I'm so glad you found your
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: way to sobriety.
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: Yes, I am too. I would never turn back, not
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: at all. And then like I'm going to school now
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: to be a counselor so that I can show somebody
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: and tell somebody they don't have to live that life.
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: They don't have to be out there struggling. You know,
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: if I can give somebody that strength and hope, like,
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: you know, people have given me. to let them know
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: they can believe in themselves and if i can make
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: this through they can because i was there and back
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: and up the corner around the corner down the street
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: up the hill every which way possible and i'm here
• 20:02
  Speaker 4: you know i got a good job i got my
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: own place i mean You know, if I can do it,
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: they can do it. If I can encourage somebody to
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: give them that strength, I want to do that.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: So if one of my listeners, honey, is listening right
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: now who's struggling with addiction, alcoholism, drug addiction, crack, meth, oxy, porn, gambling,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: what would you, as somebody who's been around the block
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: and came out alive, what would you say to them?
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: Don't give up. Don't give up. There is glory around
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: the corner. You just don't give up. You know, it
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: may not look good today, but tomorrow is going to
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: be an awesome day. You know, it's going to be
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: a great day. The only thing I can say is
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: don't give up. Please just keep the faith.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: So what got you to that point where you decided
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: that you were tired, sick and tired of being sick
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: and tired?
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: You know, it's strange because the person that I was with,
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: they was getting, you know, getting high too. And somehow
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: God made a way so that they had to go
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: to jail. And my daughter... She came to the house.
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: She said, Mom, I'm getting you out of here now.
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: And I don't think if that person went to jail,
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: I wouldn't have not have came out. But my daughter came,
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: and she said she put me on a plane. She
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: brought me here to Texas, and here I am. That's
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: what got me, and I haven't turned back since. I
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: haven't been back since.
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: So maybe it was an angel that led your partner
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: to jail that opened that door so you could think clearly?
• 21:32
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: And do you know if they have gotten their act together?
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: I don't know. I really don't know. The last I heard,
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: they were trying, but I don't know how far they
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: have gotten. But all I know is I'm not never,
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: ever going back. And if I can encourage that person
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: to straighten up their act and be strong, there's nothing
• 21:56
  Speaker 4: out there. There's nothing out there for you. And if
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: I can tell them that, I would. So I'd rather
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: stay a distance from that person.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Good for you. Wow. You have got a whole lot
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: of wisdom to share.
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: God has brought me so far, you know, and like
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: I said, with my daughter being my inspiration to, you know, oh,
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: I got a story that I know I got a
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: testimony that could change a lot of people's lives. And
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: like I said, I'm born in school now. Hopefully, you know,
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: I can reach out to at least one person. That's
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: all I need, one person. So that one person can
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: spread it to another person. And God knows where this
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: world could be with a lot of people that's out
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: there using.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm going to say a prayer that God opens
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: those doors, that you're able to do that counseling because
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: I can tell your joy is infectious.
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: Yes, thank you.
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: Your joy, your hope, your hope for the future. God says,
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: I know the plans that I have for you. I
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: know the plans, plans for a hope and a future,
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: plans to prosper you. You not only know that, you
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: live it.
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: Yes, yes. Like my daughter always told me, Mom, because,
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: you know, we talk about certain things that happened in
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: the past. And she said, Mom, I'm glad that you
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: went through what you went through because maybe I wouldn't
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: be where I am today. Like I said, she's a teacher.
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: You know, she's a doctor. She's great. She got her
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: daughter into gymnastics and dance and everything. You know, and
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: she said everything happened for a reason. I had to
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: go through what I had to go through in order
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: to be where I am right now today. So, you know,
• 23:35
  Speaker 4: like I said, she's so inspirational to me. And I
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: just want to continue to inspire everybody else, you know,
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: just every day, every day, every day, every day.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: God bless you, honey. Thank you for calling and sharing
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: your hope with others.
• 23:50
  Speaker 4: Thank you so much. And Delilah, you are awesome. I
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: don't believe I finally got through. I don't believe it.
• 23:55
  Speaker 4: But thank you so much and keep doing what you're doing.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: Wow. Just wow. What do you say? Oh, my goodness.
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: Linda and her kids, an absolute miracle. What an inspiration
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: Linda is. Thank you, God, for her life. Before we
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: close this episode, I want to acknowledge that many of
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: you listening do not have a loving relationship with your moms. Maybe,
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: like Wilma Dean, my mom, she's gone to be with God.
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: Maybe she isn't a part of your life because of abuse,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: because of mental illness, because of addictions. I want you
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: to know I understand. I really do how painful that is.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: I also want you to know that the Lord loves
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: you so very much, so much, even with that huge
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: mother wound in your soul. With prayer, with faith, you
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: can turn that pain into purpose. To all the moms
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: out there and the dads that have to be moms
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: that have chosen to take on this role of love,
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: I know how much you give of yourself, the sacrifices
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: you make. I know, I know the sacrifices you make,
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: the tears you cry. how you close the door and
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: don't want your children to hear you sobbing, how you
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: put on a happy face so they never know the
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: weight that you are under. It is all worth it.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: I promise you there is no stronger love on this
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: earth than the love of a mother. Lord bless all
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: of you. Thank you for joining me today. And remember,
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: if you want to share your story, If you want
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: to share your faith, if you need a prayer, call
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: me in the evening, Monday through Friday, 1-888-633-5452. You'll find
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: me in my studio. I will be back next week,
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: but until then, remember the Lord loves you even more
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: than your mama does. So never forget to have a
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: little faith.