The Rest of the Story (My Story Part 4)

It has been a pretty wild ride. I have had to experience numerous things that I would not wish on anyone else. After all, I have not always been the quickest study. It was through these things that I was finally able to see how God had always been working in my life. As I think about where I have been, I realize how fortunate I am to be where I am at today. God has not only saved my soul, but He has blessed my life. I cannot thank Him enough for what He has done, and for all He continues to do. It is this gratitude that leads me to write these words. God has worked so amazingly in my life that I want everyone to know. He truly has transformed me, but that is not all. He has not only changed the inside, but as He has changed the inside, things have naturally begun to fall in place on the outside.

The relationship I have with my boys is so much better today because of how God has changed me. I shared earlier that they were the innocent by-standers, and that is the truth. They had to endure the bad decisions of a mother and father who were going different directions and in many cases were thinking of no one but himself and herself. As God began to soften my heart again, I began to see what I was doing to them. He helped me to see that to love them properly, I had to forget about what I wanted for myself and think about what they needed. It has become so obvious to me that God loves them more than I ever could. He has helped me to understand that it is my responsibility to teach them, discipline, direct, and train them up in the way they should go. It was as I began to fill this role that the boys and I began to connect. Today, we have a strong relationship. We laugh, play, talk, and serve the Lord together. We serve at home and around the world. We have gone as far as China together to share God’s truth. Our relationship has been repaired and I have become a good father, not by some prescribed formula. I did not gain insight or wisdom from Dr. Spock or Dr. Phil. I surrendered my life to God, and He worked in me and helped me to see what I needed to do, and who I needed to be for them.

In an amazing twist, God has also led me back into marriage, and helped me to become a good husband. I can remember sitting in my pastor’s office shortly after being divorced and being broken in two because I did not think I could be single the rest of my life. It came as a huge surprise that I came to a place about a year and a half later that I realized I no longer had that desire. I had learned to be fulfilled not by people, circumstances, material possessions, or any other temporal object. I had come to a point in my life that I was fulfilled by God. I lived this way for over a year, and I knew without a doubt that I could go the rest of my life totally consumed by God and never look back. That is when it happened; I met her. I was not looking for a girlfriend and she was not looking for a boyfriend, but without even realizing it was happening we were soon dating, engaged, and then married.

I know there are some that will read this and think that I am wrong to say that God had done this because I have been divorced, but let me assure you, I could not have picked her on my own. She is a perfect fit. In fact, I have said often that God brought her into our lives not just to give me a wife but also for my children. She has been exactly what they needed, and she has been able to identify with them on a level that has left me awestruck. Is it perfect? No, but nothing about this lost world is. God works every day in the midst of broken circumstances. We did not come to the point of marriage without intense and deliberate prayer. The circumstances of my divorce I felt easily fit all scriptural concessions. Beyond that, I also know that I continued to try to make that first marriage work and I even sought reconciliation after the divorce, but she would have nothing to do with it. I believe God has released me and forgiven me for the shortcomings I had as a husband and now restored me. Today, my wife and I serve our God and Father, with the boys, as a family. We are trusting and following Jesus Christ, relying completely upon His mercy. We love God and have given this marriage to Him. He truly is our center and starting point.

One last area that I would like to share about is what God has called us to do. You see, I do not believe that He has done this work so that we can just sit by and soak it up. I believe He has worked in us so that we can in turn be used of Him to touch the lives of others. God has been dealing with me for several years, and without me realizing it, He had been dealing with my wife as well. God was calling us to a life of ministry, and we have surrendered. He is now using us to start a local church. I never would have been able to see this coming. God is so good. I do not know exactly what the future holds for this body of believers. However, I am sure that if we remain faithful and obedient to our God, we will not be disappointed.

I have been told by many that this is a very compelling or an amazing story, but what I hope you understand from all that I have shared is that the only thing amazing is that even in the worst of times, God loved me, provided for me, protected me, and sustained me. He is the amazing one. My story would be the same as every other sad story in the world if He was not so amazing. He is an amazing Father that loved His creation enough that He sent His amazing Son, so that any who believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. He is not some distant God that is not concerned with His creation. He is a God who loves, provides and sustains. I am a witness not just to what has been shared in scripture, but I have seen it in my own life. Once I was lost and now I am found. Once I was blind but now I can see. Once I was dead but in Christ, I am alive. I have been transformed and I am continuing to be transformed by God’s loving and mighty hand.

You too can come to this place. You too can be transformed. All you have to do is believe in Jesus. He has already done the work. Turn from your life of sin and turn to Him in faith.