A story of God's Grace

Post your testimonies here about how you found Jesus and was saved in the beginning or returned after being lost! We want to hear!
Post Reply
User avatar
Eye
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:59 am
Location: Lafayette, GA
Contact:

A story of God's Grace

Post by Eye » Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:02 am

I grew up in a small town in north Georgia. It was a town that when you walked the streets you would sometimes hear gospel music coming from the houses you pasted. The troubles of the rest of the world were far away. People went to church every Sunday. All of the stores in town closed every Wednesday at noon in respect for Wednesday night Bible study. At the age of nine I accepted Christ. I recall that one of my first thoughts was “I want to be a Pastor when I grow up.” At 10 my father past away; still very young and naïve I thought I was supposed to take control of the family and provide for them or at least do things that my mother could not do.

I entered high school. I was now being exposed to things that I had never heard of before. I also spent the summers with my cousin in Orlando Florida. (He was my father figure) he was a good man but had become involved in drugs. At some point I experimented with them myself, I also began to drink. This allowed me to socialize with the “IN crowd”. At the age of 19 I joined the Navy. More alcohol and more drugs; all of this time I was drifting away from the true source of my strength. My third year in the Navy I turned from all things to do with drugs and have not touched them to this day. It was over. But I did not leave the alcohol until I married.

My first marriage brought me home. No alcohol, church every Sunday, a beautiful wife and two beautiful children. Life was good. I did not have a lot of money, but Jesus was back in my life, (He never left, I was just being a stupid kid) after 7 years of what everyone at church and work thought was a perfect marriage, (so did I). She told me one day that she was not sure she loved me. My world fell apart. I started to drink again. Years past I went to school, worked hard, but Christ was in the background. I became very successful. But something was missing. I could go anywhere in the world, I could eat at the 5 star restaurants and not give it a thought of where the money was coming form…there was plenty. Three hundred dollars on one meal…was easily spent. Yet I was so very lost.

I was by now married to a Jewish lady. The name of Jesus was only mentioned in vain never in praise. I was so miserable. I came home every day and prayed. I prayed that some how I could come back to Him. I prayed for the peace that I once had when I followed in His word. Be careful what you pray for., the answer may not be what you hoped it would be. But it will be the only answer to those prayers that will work.

He took everything, my home, my wife, my great job everything. In a matter of a few months everything that I had worked so hard for was gone. A few months after I began to study scripture more than I had ever done in the past, I understood things. But with all of this I was still confused. Then one day, I was camping at a park just north of here. I was reading scripture. I got up and went to the dock to read, it was almost sunset. The people in the campground were talking, the dogs were barking, the ducks were quacking, the lake was calm. I sat down and began to read more. At some point I laid my Bible in my lap and looked up. Weeping, I prayed to Him…”what is it that you want me to do”. At that moment every sound in the campground went away, total silence. Out of the silence came a voice that I have no words to explain it said, "I am Not finished with you."

When Jesus was on the cross He spoke these words "It is finished". God had at that point had given all of mankind everything that we need to understand God's plan for the ages. From that point on there was no need for man to try to add to what was complete. But He is not finished with us. He is constantly molding and shaping us. His glory shines brighter through the meek and the humble.

It is still painful at times when I think of the worldly things that I was once able to do. The flesh misses them.

1Co 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

But I now have something eternal. I accepted it when I was 9 years old. I only understood it when I was blessed to hear the very voice of God Himself. He speaks to all of us in many ways. Please do not ignore that voice, answer His call. Jesus knocks…He waits with patience. Time is of no significance to Him. Please do not waste so many years as I have to proclaim Jesus our king and wonderful savior. Amen.

In his service forever,
Eye

User avatar
lemon
CR Member
CR Member
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2018 12:51 am

Re: A story of God's Grace

Post by lemon » Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:23 pm

Eye wrote:
Tue Oct 03, 2017 5:02 am
edited:
I grew up in a small town in north Georgia. It was a town that when you walked the streets you would sometimes hear gospel music coming from the houses you pasted. The troubles of the rest of the world were far away. People went to church every Sunday. All of the stores in town closed every Wednesday at noon in respect for Wednesday night Bible study. At the age of nine I accepted Christ. I recall that one of my first thoughts was “I want to be a Pastor when I grow up.”

At 10 my father past away; still very young and naïve
I entered high school. I was now being exposed to things that I had never heard of before.
At the age of 19 I joined the Navy.

My first marriage brought me home. No alcohol, church every Sunday, a beautiful wife and two beautiful children. Life was good.
I did not have a lot of money, but Jesus was back in my life, (He never left, I was just being a stupid kid)
after 7 years of what everyone at church and work thought was a perfect marriage, (so did I). She told me one day that she was not sure she loved me. My world fell apart.

I was by now married to a Jewish lady. The name of Jesus was only mentioned in vain never in praise. I was so miserable.
I came home every day and prayed. I prayed that some how I could come back to Him. I prayed for the peace that I once had when I followed in His word.
He took everything, my home, my wife, my great job everything. In a matter of a few months everything that I had worked so hard for was gone.

A few months after I began to study scripture more than I had ever done in the past, I understood things.
Then one day, I was reading scripture. I sat down and began to read more. At some point I laid my Bible in my lap and looked up. Weeping, I prayed to Him …” what is it that you want me to do ”. Out of the silence came a voice that I have no words to explain it said, "I am Not finished with you."

But I now have something eternal. I accepted it when I was 9 years old.
I only understood it when I was blessed to hear the very voice of God Himself.
He speaks to all of us in many ways. Please do not ignore that voice, answer His call. Jesus knocks …He waits with patience. Time is of no significance to Him. Please do not waste so many years as I have to proclaim Jesus our king and wonderful savior. Amen.
In his service forever,
Eye
Eye in reading your testimony, which I have condensed in the quoted portions, I can not help but think that you are in essence a "PASTOR" to this site. What you allow and not allow is what a pastor does. What is here, is a helping site for those who have trod that hard road of alcoholism and drugs, but you have included other areas of addictions and abuse also.

If you had not walked the road you done, and if you had of had the help to save your first marriage, would you have experienced the highs that you have? It makes me wonder if the pastor of the church that you and your first wife went too, if he had the experience to help your marriage, would you still be with your first wife and how would it have turned out for you. This will never be known in this life-time.



I am so very grateful for all you do here and the intention of this site to help others and support each other. The forums (old and new) hold such a treasure of resources that are worthy of having available and to be able to review at various times of our lives. We need to go back, to see the progress forward. We also need to go back, and read past postings and past contributions of old leaders to refresh or to learn from the resources that are held and been shared in the past in the forums.


Two days ago I had a bad day, but it was one of many over the last few months (details have not been shared to anyone). Tonight I was able to read the forums, but two days ago I was reading the forums and was quite emotionally grieved. "Today" was a quite a good day. I went to bed early and yes I woke up 2-3 and half hours later, I still felt good, even though it is the middle of the night (2 am at the moment of writing), but I know tomorrow will be a good day - just cause I chose it to be, and I will do my best to maintain this.
I know my marriage has not been easy at times, and it has been the decision to be married that has kept me committed to my husband, and him with me. My husband was brought up in a church going family also, but he also experienced drinking alcohol from his teenage years. But he was at the time of meeting me wanting to stop drinking alcohol. I guarded my heart until he had completely stopped drinking and going out with his drinking mates, and he had made the commitment to get to know me that we drifted into a love relationship. He was attending church with me. In that last year or so before we got married we would have one drink of alcohol very occasionally, and was not driven to drink more. It has never been a problem since. I appreciated having experienced this and understanding the pull of it. Alcohol and abuse has been in both my parents families. It has been in my own family I grew up in, when we were grown up. And also in my own children and partners, when they were grown up.
As a young teenager I twice heard Gods audible voice "above me" and no one else was around me.

Post Reply