Interview with Darryl Smith, episode 87

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If you love a prodigal, you can discover, help, and hope for your wilderness journey

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right here at the When You Love a Prodigal podcast.

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And also help and hope for your own life journey.

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Today we have a special guest, a former prodigal.

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As my friend Darryl Smith tells his story, be sure to jot down anything he shares that

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will help you on your wilderness journey with your prodigal.

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Such as understanding what contributed to his choices.

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Ways you can communicate better with your loved one.

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What helped him turn around?

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Darryl is from Chattanooga on staff with CRU, where he worked with high school students

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for quite a while, and now serves with his wife, Gwen, as director of oneness and diversity

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for CRU.

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I first got to know Darryl when he was director of the CRU high school ministry in Chattanooga.

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My daughter Michelle was in college nearby and for two years served as a part-time intern

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staff working for Darryl.

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I loved the way he helped her and all his staff to try out different ministry opportunities,

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to discover their strengths and began to shine in those strengths.

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He was a great team leader, which he has demonstrated as he has taken on greater and greater responsibilities

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in CRU.

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So let's talk with Darryl.

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Hi Darryl, welcome.

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Hello, hey Judy, and I'm glad to be here.

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Happy New Year.

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And happy new year to you as well.

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And I'm glad you made it in with the flight things the way they've been.

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So I think we'll just start with letting you tell a little of your story, who you are,

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where you're from, your family.

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Yeah, Judy, as you said, I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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I grew up in a single parent home.

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I grew up in government housing.

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I'm the youngest of five.

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I have brothers and one sister.

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My oldest brother, Judy, he was killed in a car wreck.

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I'm so sorry.

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He had stole a car.

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The police was chasing him and he went through the windshield when he wrecked the car.

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But we grew up in church.

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My mom made sure we went to church.

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I played Joseph in the Christmas play and learned my Easter speech.

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I sung in the youth choir.

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And so part of my upbringing and my background was a spiritual background.

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But also with all the temptation and the challenges of the world, growing up in government housing,

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there was a lot of things, other things to get involved in, even though my mom who loved

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me wanted me to know the guy who loved me and who died for me.

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So as you were getting older and experiencing the temptations of the world, did the spiritual

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have an impact on you then or was it just what you did on Sunday mostly?

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I would say there was a consciousness, Judy.

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I knew I can remember even doing things and praying and asking God to forgive me and God

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help me.

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But I thought that I had to do it all on my own.

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I would ask God to help me.

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Now I need to straighten up.

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I need to fix myself.

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I needed to stop my bad behavior and start my good behavior.

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And Judy, I didn't have the strength to fight against the temptation.

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So I end up giving in to a lot of the temptations, especially as a teenager.

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Sure.

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But a very good thing happened to you in your latter teen years when you met Gwen.

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Can you tell us a little about your relationship and meeting and dating and getting married?

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Yes.

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So Judy, one of the temptations for me was sexual activity.

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I had a child when I was a teenager, not by Gwen.

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So I had been very involved in unhealthy relationships as a teenager.

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And through one of those relationships, I was a child born and it didn't work out for

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the young lady and I.

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And then I meet Gwen and Gwen was different.

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She was saving herself a marriage.

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Gwen had, she was brought up in the church.

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She would say she was religious.

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She wasn't say, but more behavior was important to her.

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Even though Judy, I was like, that's interesting and different, but I was attracted to it that

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she was saving herself for her wedding date.

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And so we began to date and I promised her the world.

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And Judy, in my upbringing, even though there was some foundation, I had never seen a model

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of a family.

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So I didn't know how to be a husband.

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I didn't know how to love Gwen the way Christ loved the church.

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And so it brought a lot of challenges because we married when I was 19 and she was 18.

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I joined the military and we married.

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So were you then separated because you were in the military?

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She joined me four months later.

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I went to basic training, AIT.

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And then when I got stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, she came with me to live with me in

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Fort Hood.

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And in Texas.

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In Texas.

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My audience knows that, you know, they hear about Texas fairly often.

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I'm not surprised.

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So tell me a little about your life.

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There was this good influence with somebody who wanted to be a moral person.

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And yet there were activities that you were engaged in that were probably pretty risky.

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So Gwen and I, it's interesting we get married, she moved to Fort Hood.

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I have no model of marriage.

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But what I did know, I was supposed to go to church.

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And Gwen had grew up in church.

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So in the military, we would go to church.

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We sought out a church.

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We found the church.

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We would go to church.

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But I would say I wanted enough Jesus to get me through Sunday, but not too much Jesus

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that he was going to transform my life.

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And that was our life.

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That was our marriage.

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There was a lot of challenges.

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I wanted to hang out with my friends and drink and party and then go to church on Sunday.

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That's not uncommon.

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Yes.

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And so that was the military life and eventually because of the challenges of me being married

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but want to live a single life, Gwen decided that she would go back to Chattanooga.

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So the last year that I was in the military, I was there by myself.

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And Gwen went back.

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She got a job and got an apartment for when I transitioned out the military to come back

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to Chattanooga.

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So when did you get involved with drugs?

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Well, I came back to Chattanooga and God bless me.

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Julie, I would have never said God bless me because at that time, the UPS, you had to

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be part time to be a full time driver.

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But they were interviewed once every two years, people off what they call off the street.

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So they interviewed 300 people and hired two.

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I was one of the two that they hired as a full time driver.

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And my mom was still living in government housing projects and Gwen and I was married.

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And I would use this language, Judy, we was American poor.

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I grew up in financial bondage and I wanted the American dream.

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So I would go visit my mom and a lot of the guys I played football with, sports with,

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were still living out there with their mom.

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They was young adults and they had chose the lifestyle of a drug dealer and they was making

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a lot of money.

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And so even though God had blessed me with a job, I wanted more of the American dream.

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And I wanted to dream it on Monday and wanted to be a reality on Tuesday.

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So I engaged in that lifestyle and Satan rewarded me, Judy, with killing, stealing and destroying

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people dreams, their goals, young ladies who cheered for me, guys who played sports.

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I destroyed everything in their life by selling them crack cocaine.

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And Gwen, I hid it from Gwen as long as I could and she found out.

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And again, not a believer, but religious activity was still part of her life.

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She was still going to church.

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More excellence was part of her life.

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And so she didn't want no part of that lifestyle and it caused tension in our marriage.

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And I became bitter at Gwen because we was born in financial poverty.

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Now here's a way for me to get us out.

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We're going to get everything that the world say will make you happy.

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We're going to have cars, clothes.

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We're going to be able to do.

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And not only did I destroy people lives, Judy, I destroyed my marriage.

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And so Gwen and I legally separated and eventually we divorced because of my lifestyle.

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And then you became even more involved in your drug dealing?

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Yes.

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I have never used drug for me.

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It was a business.

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I was a businessman and I will go to Atlanta, come back and distribute the drugs to people.

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But Judy, I will never forget.

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I remember laying in my apartment.

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I'm divorced.

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I have my own apartment, one bedroom, and I'm praying.

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I'm asking God to protect me.

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I'm asking God to forgive me.

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Everything that I knew, I knew it was wrong, but I was justifying wrong.

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And because I was in a community where wrong was the norm, I was able to justify.

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Night after night, not every night, but I could remember crying out to God and asking

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for forgiveness.

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And I'm sorry, God protect me.

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Really, I wanted God to give me the loaves of bread and fish.

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I didn't want him.

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I just wanted more.

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Jesus said, you didn't seek me because you wanted me.

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You sought me because you was hungry and I fed you.

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And so I wanted protection from the Lord, but I didn't want the Lord.

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And what happened?

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Well, God answered my mom's prayer.

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My mom had been praying that God would protect me, protect me in my foolishness.

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And God did.

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So your mom knew what was going on?

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Oh, yes, she knew.

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She knew.

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And I remember, Judy, she telling me, Darryl, when your money run out, your fun gonna run

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out.

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You're looking for peace, but you're trying to find happiness, but you really want peace.

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And she wasn't an educated woman, Judy, but she didn't know theology.

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She didn't know Hebrew or Greek, but what she knew that the God of creation loved me

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and wanted a relationship with me.

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And so she would tell me and I would get mad, Darryl, I'm praying for you.

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And I'm like, why are you praying for me?

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I need money.

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I don't need prayer.

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And so Judy, but God answered her prayer.

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On September the 21st of 1990, I was stopped on the interstate coming from Atlanta back

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to Chattanooga.

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And I had over $20,000 worth of drugs, 4,000 in cash and two automatic weapons.

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Not one person could have told me that was God's protection.

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And God answered my mom's prayer.

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But God was rescuing me and he was starting the process.

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Seeds that was planted.

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The Bible say one plant, another water, but God gave the increase.

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Seeds had been planted, seeds had been watered, and God was going to put me in a physical

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prison to set me free from a spiritual prison.

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He was going to give the increase.

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I love that.

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I love that.

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So you did go to prison.

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Yes, I went to prison.

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I'm divorced.

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I'm in prison.

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I'm facing 30 years.

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Eventually, I'm sentenced to 10 years to serve for.

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Judy, I feel like a failure.

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I lost my job, which was a career paying job.

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I went to UPS, I lost my family, and now I'm in prison.

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So what I'm thinking about is, do I want to live?

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Is life worth living?

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Should I just end my life?

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And then it come over on the intercon or something.

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I get something.

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There's a spiritual service.

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There's a Christian service I can go to.

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And because I had been brought up in church, I was not afraid against spiritual conversation.

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There was a young man who reached out to me, Judy, in prison.

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And we are real good friends now.

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He was in for murder.

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And he had became a believer.

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And he shared with me the four spiritual laws.

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And this is what I told him.

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All of the stories are not success stories.

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So now I told him, I don't need Jesus.

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I need a lawyer.

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Do you know a good lawyer?

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But God kept working in my life, and I would go to worship service.

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And Judy, I would go, and really my motives was wrong.

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I wanted to go so God would get me out of prison and award and would see me as a good

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person so I can live a life.

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But God's motives was that he loved me.

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Even though my motives was wrong, God loved me and he was drawing me into himself.

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No man come to the Son unless the Father draw him.

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And Judy in my prison cell on March 11, 1991, I fell on my knees and I loved the old hymn.

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When heaven came down in glory filled my soul.

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I can remember saying, Lord, I have tried everything.

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I have had money.

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I have cars.

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I have had clothes.

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I have had fun.

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If there's Jesus I keep hearing about, I keep reading about, the one that my mama told me

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about, if he's real, I need him.

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Judy, in the product of the Son story, it said, and when no man gave to him, he came

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to his senses.

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God put me in a place where no one can give to me so I can come to my senses.

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I said, I want to go back home.

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That's what the Son said.

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And I didn't say it in that type of language, but with tears running down my face, I asked

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Jesus to come in my life.

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I didn't want moral excellence anymore.

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I didn't want religious activities.

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I wanted a relationship with the one who loved me and who died for me.

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That's beautiful.

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And the way God does it for so many people.

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And I'm sure for our listeners, that's where a lot of them are.

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They grew up understanding a lot, knowing a lot about the Lord, but hadn't really come

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to that relationship.

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Or even if they had, they decided they could do it on their own.

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And yet you're saying, no, you couldn't do it on your own, and you didn't really have

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that relationship.

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And God pursued you.

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And he rescued you.

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But you are still in prison at that point.

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What happened?

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Yeah, I'm still in prison.

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And, Judy, I was a lot younger and a lot slimmer, and I love sports.

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So at that time, I'm playing basketball every day.

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Now I'm a believer, and I fall in love with God's Word.

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I pull back on the sports.

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I'm sitting in a corner, and I'm just reading the scripture.

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There's no playing the catch to go speak.

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There's no devotion to do.

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I'm reading the Word because for the first time I know, yes, Jesus loved me.

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This I know, for the Bible tell me so.

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Didn't know Greek, didn't know Hebrew.

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Was no engagement.

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I wasn't studying the Word for a talk.

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I was studying the Word because I wanted to know Him.

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And I began to just grow.

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And I'm sure I wasn't rightly dividing it, but God was great.

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God's okay with it.

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Yeah, He's okay with that.

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He wasn't giving me a test.

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He was revealing Himself to me.

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And in that, God began to speak to me about His intent for Gwen and I, the marriage, that

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He had never intended for us to divorce.

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Judy, what I don't want the listeners to hear, that if they'd been divorced and they didn't

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00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:30,440
remarry the person, that they missed God.

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I'm saying for Gwen and I, this was God's will for us.

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So God began to speak to me that He would have us to reconcile.

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And so out of obedience, I called Gwen and told her what God had told me.

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And she kind of laughed and said, you got me once, you won't get me twice.

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If you are a Christian, I see you in heaven.

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And Judy, I understood the hurt that I had caused.

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00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,400
I had caused a lot of hurt and pain.

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Here's a young lady who grew up in a single-parent home, dreamed of being married, probably playing

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with her Barbie dolls and having weddings and the American dream life.

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And what was a dream became a nightmare.

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And I had caused a lot of that pain and that hurt doing that.

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And so during the three-year process that we was divorced, my lifestyle was very reckless.

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I was a prodigal.

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When the Bible talk about the things that...

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I was that guy and Gwen was still preserving herself, honoring God.

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00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,720
And so I'm talking to her and she knows some of the things that I have did.

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And she said, girl, I can't do it.

304
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But the same guy who was speaking to me started speaking to her.

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00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:42,200
And when she tell us stories, she said she was driving because she had went back to college

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00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,360
to get her education degree.

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And God was speaking to her and she pulled over crying and hit the steering wheel and

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said, God, no, he don't deserve me.

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And God said, you don't deserve me, but I love you and I need you to love him.

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And so God brought me out after serving right at three years of the 10-year sentence.

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That must have been a miracle.

312
00:18:02,260 --> 00:18:05,720
That was a miracle, Judy.

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I got the paperwork saying that you're going to be released on March the 6th of my birthday.

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It's March the 6th.

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And I didn't believe it because I was like, this is a mistake.

316
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And so I had my sister that called the parole office to make sure.

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And they was like, yeah, we see no reason to keep him in prison.

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And I didn't know God was working behind the scene.

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And so he brought me out and Gwen and I kept the same wedding date.

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00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:42,480
We remarried August the 28th of 92.

321
00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,220
We had married August the 28th of 84.

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So we kept the same wedding date.

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00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:52,600
And Judy, the interesting thing, when I asked Gwen to remarry me, she said she needed to

324
00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:58,040
watch me for three years and see if I was going to lose my faith gene.

325
00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,760
Because she was wondering if I had jailhouse religion.

326
00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,800
And I can remember looking at Gwen and saying, Gwen, you're going to have to marry me by

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00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:04,800
faith.

328
00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:10,000
If God has spoken to you and has spoken to me, we need to remarry by faith.

329
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:15,520
Because in the 35th year, I can lose my mind and do crazy stuff.

330
00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:23,120
And Gwen, against all odds, Christians, family, they counsel her not to marry me.

331
00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:25,840
And Judy, she married me by faith.

332
00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:28,680
She obeyed God instead of the other voices.

333
00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,720
And I see those tears.

334
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:33,280
What a gift.

335
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,160
And a gift especially from God.

336
00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:42,880
That he not only did a lot of things for you, but he spoke clearly to her.

337
00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:43,880
Yes.

338
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,480
And revealed to her the things in her heart.

339
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:51,840
For the first time, Gwen said, Dara, you are not the only problem in the marriage.

340
00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:55,840
God showed me how I was not the wife that he would have me to be.

341
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,000
And yes, what you did was doing was more colorful.

342
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,640
But if this marriage is going to work, I need God to work in my heart.

343
00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,040
And Judy, it haven't been without challenges.

344
00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,080
God forgives some sin leads scars.

345
00:20:09,080 --> 00:20:12,720
In the product of the son, they say he went to a far country in the King James.

346
00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,840
It don't tell us how far he went, Judy.

347
00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,840
But we know sin will take you farther than you want to go.

348
00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:22,040
I'm convinced that there's people who love their sons and daughters where sin have taken

349
00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:23,840
them farther than they want to go.

350
00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:28,680
And not only did it didn't say how far he went to get to that country, it didn't say

351
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:30,400
how long he stayed.

352
00:20:30,400 --> 00:20:33,800
So sin not only take us farther than we want to go, but it keep us longer than we want

353
00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:34,800
to stay.

354
00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,380
And then he said he lost everything in loose living.

355
00:20:37,380 --> 00:20:39,920
It cost us more than we want to pay.

356
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,200
And that's what happened in my life.

357
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,400
Sin took me farther than I wanted to go.

358
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:48,160
Because I thought I was just a dabble in some things and be okay.

359
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,360
And then I end up staying there long way longer.

360
00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:56,420
And it cost me everything, my family, my reputation, everything.

361
00:20:56,420 --> 00:20:58,520
It cost me my freedom.

362
00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:00,840
But God redeems all that.

363
00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:04,200
And he allowed me to come back home.

364
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:06,200
Praise God.

365
00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:10,280
So then things began to change.

366
00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:18,360
You all were married again, and looking to what you were going to do with your life,

367
00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:24,240
your great money earning hadn't really panned out too well.

368
00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:30,280
And so where did y'all pick up and start moving forward with the Lord?

369
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:31,640
So I get out, we get married.

370
00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,160
Gwen is a believer now.

371
00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,080
She had an encounter with Jesus.

372
00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:42,320
It wasn't just the Luke 18, the moral excellence in the religious activity.

373
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:44,100
She knew Jesus.

374
00:21:44,100 --> 00:21:48,320
She was in a small church with about 25 people.

375
00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:52,400
And remember, I grew up in church, so I'm in a big church growing up.

376
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:54,800
I'm used to the big choir.

377
00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:58,680
And the preacher got charisma.

378
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,720
And I'm in this small church and the music is terrible.

379
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:03,720
I'm in a small church.

380
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,600
And you got to drive the church van.

381
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:12,040
All the stuff that come with being in a small church that I wasn't used to.

382
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,780
But the pastor was teaching the Word.

383
00:22:14,780 --> 00:22:17,360
He was teaching line upon line, precept upon precept.

384
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,360
And Gwen wanted me in that church.

385
00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:21,400
And he started discipling me.

386
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:27,360
He started discipling me and started teaching me how to rightly divide the Word.

387
00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:29,400
And was teaching me the foundation truths.

388
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,280
And he said, Darryl, you'll never know how to rightly divide every scripture.

389
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:37,520
Even if you get the foundation truths down, you'll know when somebody wrongly divided.

390
00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:42,880
And so he taught me and was giving me opportunities to teach in the church.

391
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:49,400
I didn't know, Judy, that God was preparing me to be with a large global mission or organization.

392
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:55,360
I'm preaching in the same people back at Evening Service.

393
00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:59,500
The pastor wouldn't have used the word that he was developing me, mentoring me.

394
00:22:59,500 --> 00:23:01,640
He probably said he was discipling me.

395
00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:06,600
So now I'm growing and I'm growing to love Gwen and he's helping me.

396
00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,840
And we both get career paying jobs.

397
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:11,800
I get hired as a convicted felon.

398
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,600
The pastor told me not to lie on my application.

399
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:15,600
I get an interview.

400
00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,560
I tell the guy, I'm going to give you a second chance.

401
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:20,400
And that's redemption right there.

402
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,480
I didn't really know that word at the time.

403
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:24,880
I've known that word.

404
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:30,520
And for Gwen and I, both inner-city kids, with our jobs, we bought our first house,

405
00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:31,520
was the major thing.

406
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,880
We bought our first new car.

407
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:34,880
And we are going okay.

408
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:36,240
We're in church.

409
00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:40,320
We have a good life.

410
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,520
We live in the American dream.

411
00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,400
And God interrupted.

412
00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:47,920
I'm on my way home from work.

413
00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:50,360
I'm working third shift.

414
00:23:50,360 --> 00:23:54,560
And I get home and I lay down and the Holy Spirit wouldn't allow me to sleep.

415
00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:59,440
And the Holy Spirit said, I need you to make a difference in the community for your father,

416
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:03,120
the Father of Light, Jesus Christ.

417
00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:04,840
And I share that with my pastor.

418
00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,240
And he's excited and everything.

419
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,240
But I don't know what to do because I don't know anything about mission.

420
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:14,720
So I start working in the church, working with the youth, take them to the skating rink,

421
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,780
bowling alley, Gwen and I.

422
00:24:16,780 --> 00:24:22,360
And I'm at work and I share with a pastor, you pastor, about my passion to reach inner-city

423
00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:23,360
kids.

424
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:24,960
And he says, so do you want prison ministry?

425
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:27,000
I said, no, I want prison prevention.

426
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,840
I want to reach teenagers before they go to prison.

427
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,080
I don't want them to go through what I had to go through.

428
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:39,680
And so he told Campus Crusade for Christ at the time, the high school ministry, the

429
00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:43,400
venture, Young Life LCA, and nobody called me.

430
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:44,400
Nobody called me.

431
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:46,840
I was a convicted felon, had been in prison.

432
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,360
It was going to be hard to raise support.

433
00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:56,640
And the guy, Jim Hines, who was the director of Chattanooga, when he tell the story, Judy,

434
00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:01,080
he said he threw my number in the garbage after having it for a month and the Holy Spirit

435
00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:02,480
said, call him.

436
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:03,800
He called me.

437
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:04,800
We met.

438
00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:06,840
He told me about Campus Crusade for Christ.

439
00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:10,480
And he started talking about the Great Commission.

440
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:18,600
And it registered with my heart because Judy, I knew what it meant to be lost, but I knew

441
00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:22,560
what it also meant that the world saw me as a loser.

442
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:25,160
And Jesus came to seek and save that loss.

443
00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:27,600
And I was, I wasn't thinking about a profession.

444
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:32,280
I was thinking about my passion to reach people who didn't know Jesus.

445
00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:38,400
And here was a platform and he told Gwen and I that we both were out to leave our jobs

446
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:41,280
and raise support.

447
00:25:41,280 --> 00:25:45,360
And Judy, we know how to be passive aggressive as Christians.

448
00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:49,800
So we grinned and smiled and nodded and got in the car, to be honest.

449
00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:50,800
And laughed.

450
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:51,800
And laughed out loud.

451
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:56,440
Instead of this white guy think we're going to quit our jobs and go beg people for money,

452
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:57,440
I've lost his mind.

453
00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:02,960
Judy, I get home and I start reading the scripture and the just shall live by faith just jumped

454
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:03,960
off the page.

455
00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:07,280
I went and shared with Gwen, I think God is in this.

456
00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:09,880
And Gwen looked at me, Judy, and I'll never forget.

457
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,480
She said, Darryl, I'm willing to follow you as you follow Christ.

458
00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:15,400
Just make sure you follow in Christ.

459
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:16,400
And we stepped out.

460
00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:18,160
That was 27 years ago.

461
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,640
And we've been missionaries with CRU for 27 years.

462
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:23,280
And we're so glad.

463
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:29,560
God have taken two innocent kids, one that was a prodigal, redeem him, put his spirit

464
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:34,080
in him and have given us the platform to take Jesus all over the world.

465
00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:36,360
Judy, it's not because we're good.

466
00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:40,920
It's because God is faithful and he answered the prayers of my mom.

467
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,480
My mom couldn't fix me, but she prayed for me.

468
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,840
I want to say to your audience that's listen, don't try to fix them.

469
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:52,440
Pray for them and allow God to do a word.

470
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:54,280
Awesome.

471
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:59,320
So give us a little understanding of what you were doing as you then worked with the

472
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,280
high school ministry.

473
00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,960
So when I first started, I would go on a campus.

474
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:10,120
So I was assigned to a local campus in Chattanooga and I would go and we and Bill Sena, I would

475
00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:12,160
try to win lost teenagers.

476
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:14,200
Gwen and I did it together.

477
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:17,720
And so we was working with young men and young ladies.

478
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:18,880
We would try to win them.

479
00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:19,880
We would do outreach.

480
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:20,880
We would do peace outreach.

481
00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:23,920
We would do hundred banana split.

482
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:29,240
We would take guttos and put bananas and ice cream in it and they would come to our outreach

483
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:34,320
and we would share the gospel and we would collect the cards and then we would follow

484
00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:35,320
up with students.

485
00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:37,320
And so we were out to winning them to Christ.

486
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,840
We tried to build them in their faith.

487
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:44,520
We would disciple them, pour into them, help them understand the spirit for your life.

488
00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:51,480
And then we wanted to send them back on campus because we knew that one day it was possible

489
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:55,680
that we couldn't go on campus, but the students could go on campus.

490
00:27:55,680 --> 00:28:00,640
And so we wanted to win kids, build kids, send them back, get them plugged.

491
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,320
Part of the building was getting them plugged in the church.

492
00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:08,120
Gwen and I had grew up in church so we believed that the local church is part of God's plan

493
00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:09,500
for the believer.

494
00:28:09,500 --> 00:28:11,600
And so we wanted to honor that.

495
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:18,960
And Judy, I have married kids who said that our marriage was a model for them.

496
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,680
That's so redemptive.

497
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:29,560
That's just so redemptive that the thing that was not true, that your marriage was not okay

498
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:35,640
at first and yet God redeemed it and it became a model for these kids who would have the

499
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:36,640
same temptation.

500
00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:37,640
Yes.

501
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:43,080
And because of the school I was working in, 95% of the kids probably was in single parent

502
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:44,080
homes.

503
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:45,800
And so we was the first...

504
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:50,120
I can remember a teacher calling us in the office and I think, let me say in her room,

505
00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:55,480
and I think we're in trouble because we're talking to kids about Jesus and with tears

506
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,880
in her eyes she said, I'm so glad you're all here.

507
00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:04,040
For some of these kids, you're all are the first black, godly family that they have ever

508
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:05,040
seen.

509
00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:07,880
And keep doing what you're doing.

510
00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:12,680
And Judy, you don't get involved for those counter accolades or those...

511
00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:15,040
You do it because you love people.

512
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:19,840
And Gwen and I, the Bible say, he who has been forgiven much, loved much.

513
00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:24,840
I was loving students because I knew how much I had been forgiven.

514
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,960
And that love was compelling me.

515
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:31,080
And Judy, I don't get it right in my behavior every day.

516
00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:34,280
I wish I could obey God 100%.

517
00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:39,040
But what I do know, Judy, that I cried out unto the Lord, the son of Jesus says, and

518
00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:42,840
he heard my cry and inclined his ear unto me.

519
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:49,120
And he rescued me from the pit and set me up on a rock and gave me a new song.

520
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:54,080
Judy, Jesus has given me a new song and I have to keep singing that song over and over

521
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:55,080
again.

522
00:29:55,080 --> 00:29:56,080
I got to be like David.

523
00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:01,600
I have to remember his benefits and never forget his benefit who poured me of all my

524
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,120
sins and who rescued me.

525
00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:11,120
And all of those things in the midst of wanting to love Jesus and love people, I need to experience

526
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:12,640
the gospel myself.

527
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:14,200
I don't just need to share the gospel.

528
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,720
I need to experience it in my own life.

529
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:23,440
Well obviously, God has enabled you to do that a lot and to pass that on to a lot of

530
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:24,840
people.

531
00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:29,280
So let's talk about your family.

532
00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:34,480
How has all this impacted them growing up in a missionary home?

533
00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:35,720
Yeah.

534
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:39,320
When Gwen and I divorced, Ashley was three.

535
00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:44,600
Well, when I left, Ashley was three and Elliot was two weeks old.

536
00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:45,600
And so...

537
00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:46,600
Wow, that's hard.

538
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:47,600
Yes.

539
00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:49,440
And Skeeter was not even born.

540
00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:51,640
And so we remarried and now we have three.

541
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,280
Eventually we had another child once we remarried.

542
00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,880
And Judy, we have been honest with them.

543
00:30:57,880 --> 00:30:59,480
They know our story.

544
00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:06,080
They have traveled with us to winter conference, fall retreats, and I shared my testimony with

545
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:07,720
Gwen's shirt.

546
00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:09,480
And we process it with them.

547
00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:11,840
How do you feel?

548
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:17,480
They grew up as staff kids with us in church.

549
00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:22,420
And our oldest daughter went to Christian school.

550
00:31:22,420 --> 00:31:25,880
So we kind of did the Christian thing.

551
00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:31,200
And to be honest, there have been challenges off and on with that's y'all faith, that's

552
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,360
not my faith.

553
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:39,780
And now I'm having to learn how to pray for them and not try to fix them.

554
00:31:39,780 --> 00:31:44,320
And that's hard because it's easy for me, Judy, to extend somebody.

555
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,600
And I want the audience to hear this.

556
00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:51,000
It's a lot easier to extend grace to other people's kids when they're struggling than

557
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,760
it is your own kids.

558
00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,200
Because other people's kids are not a reflection of me.

559
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:57,960
My kids are reflection.

560
00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:01,520
And God had to show me, Darryl, it's not about what your kid's going through.

561
00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:03,120
It's about how they're making you look.

562
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:10,240
And you're more concerned about how they are making you look than what they're going through.

563
00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:14,960
And God had to bring me to a place, Judy, that I had to extend them grace.

564
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,600
And now the relationships are great.

565
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:22,680
I would say they all are doing okay spiritually.

566
00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:27,040
Never for a parent, I don't know if they ever get to the place.

567
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:28,760
We want them to be.

568
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:34,120
And so what I had to learn, I stopped praying that they would be good kids.

569
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:36,600
And God, I want my kids to be godly.

570
00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:43,280
And whatever you have to do to break them to be godly, help me be able to endure it.

571
00:32:43,280 --> 00:32:45,320
And so I want my kids to love Jesus.

572
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,360
I want them to love him enough that if he wake them up at two o'clock in the morning

573
00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:54,360
and tell them to move to another country, that they would go in the room, wake their

574
00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:56,920
spouse up and say, we have to go.

575
00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:01,440
I want my kids to follow Jesus wherever he will lead them.

576
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:02,880
That's the love I want them to do.

577
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,000
Because that's what Gwen and I want to do.

578
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:09,280
Judy, life, crude life hasn't been easy for Gwen and I, but we would never...

579
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:10,720
I'm sure that's true.

580
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:13,240
But we're in the center of God's will.

581
00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:21,200
We are following a person, not a position, not property, but a person.

582
00:33:21,200 --> 00:33:22,960
And that person is Jesus Christ.

583
00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:25,160
And that's what I want for my kids.

584
00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:27,600
My youngest son is getting married.

585
00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:28,600
Gwen and I were...

586
00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:29,600
Skeeter.

587
00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:30,600
Yes, Skeeter.

588
00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:31,600
He's getting married in March.

589
00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:34,520
He's marrying a staff kid.

590
00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:36,920
And so we are preparing for that.

591
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:38,360
The other two are single.

592
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:41,720
And we're having to trust God with that.

593
00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:46,160
And I think as parents, when your kids are going through stuff, the enemy whispering

594
00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,560
in your ear, you are a failure.

595
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:49,840
It's because of you.

596
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:50,840
See everything...

597
00:33:50,840 --> 00:33:53,960
Oh, God is punishing you.

598
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:58,960
It's because of your bad parenting, those things in your life that you know that nobody

599
00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,280
else knows, God is punishing you.

600
00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,480
And God is reminding me, that's not who I am.

601
00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:05,960
I'm the father who redeems.

602
00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:07,440
I'm the father who forgives.

603
00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:09,280
I'm the father who restores.

604
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:11,640
I make all things new.

605
00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:16,720
And Darryl, I'm making your family new, but I'm still doing the work in your life.

606
00:34:16,720 --> 00:34:17,880
I love that.

607
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:19,240
That's very special.

608
00:34:19,240 --> 00:34:26,040
And it's certainly something that any of my listeners would be glad to hear.

609
00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:29,800
Because all of us are always...

610
00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:36,120
Because we have an enemy who yells at us or whispers, but who tells us what failures we

611
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:42,560
are and how we are not living up to, quote, our commitment to God.

612
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:48,600
And that there are things that we've done and that we still do things that are not honoring

613
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:53,760
to God and not the model we want for our children.

614
00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:59,400
And yet, that we can come back and he says, no, I forgive.

615
00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:00,960
I'm a God of mercy.

616
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:02,280
I'm a God of love.

617
00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:04,920
I'm a God of redemption.

618
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:10,400
And that's true for these loved ones of our listeners as well.

619
00:35:10,400 --> 00:35:16,120
They are struggling with their own failures and the impact that that may have had on their

620
00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:21,480
kids or other people that they love.

621
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:32,120
But to understand that that's actually an important way that God will use their lives.

622
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:36,880
If they are seen as perfect by these who have made wrong choices, then they're going to

623
00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:39,240
think, well, I could never be like you.

624
00:35:39,240 --> 00:35:42,640
Well, you wouldn't want to be really.

625
00:35:42,640 --> 00:35:44,760
Amen.

626
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:54,360
And so that's just a beautiful testimony of God's redemption, of his mercy, of his grace.

627
00:35:54,360 --> 00:36:05,520
I just marvel at his grace and his pursuit not to condemn us, not to spank us, but to

628
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:12,320
redeem us and to bring us to who he wanted us to be, who he's created us to be.

629
00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:14,280
Yes, he loves us, Judy.

630
00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:18,320
In the story of the product of Son, Judy, you remember the son said, I'm going to go

631
00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:22,520
back to my father and I'm just going to be like one of his hard men.

632
00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:28,880
And he used language that we understand, I'm not worthy anymore to be called his son.

633
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:33,920
His worth, he thought, was based on what he have done, not based on who he is.

634
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:38,520
And the father, when he saw him coming, the father running, meeting him and hugging him

635
00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:41,520
and kissing him because he was his son.

636
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:44,040
And they both was using personal pronouns.

637
00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:45,480
I'm going to go back to my father.

638
00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:47,440
My son has come home.

639
00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:49,400
That relationship never changed.

640
00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:51,560
Fellowship was broken.

641
00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:58,560
And what God has taught me with my three kids that I have a relationship with them, they

642
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,320
are Smiths and nothing would ever change that.

643
00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:06,760
There's things that they do that can break fellowship, bring disappointment to me.

644
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:11,840
But the same way God redeemed me and allowed me to come back home, I need to allow them

645
00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:12,840
to come back home.

646
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:13,840
And I need to give them a sign.

647
00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:17,440
God has given you and I a sign that we can come home no matter what.

648
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:18,440
And that's the cross.

649
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:21,320
I want to encourage the listeners.

650
00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:24,680
If you ever need a sign, always look to the cross.

651
00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:32,720
The cross is a statement that you and I and our kids can always come back home.

652
00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:34,600
That's beautiful.

653
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,400
So I'm going to ask you about your first son.

654
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:43,480
Just because you mentioned him and listeners are perhaps wondering, well, what happened

655
00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:44,480
to him?

656
00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:45,480
Yes.

657
00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:54,800
My oldest son, I had when I was a teenager and him and the mother didn't get along and

658
00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:56,360
I would use the language.

659
00:37:56,360 --> 00:38:02,080
She kind of got, I want to be careful because I don't want to attack her.

660
00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:05,760
But we, I didn't get a chance to see him like I wanted to see him.

661
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:07,440
Let's say that.

662
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:15,200
And so when he got to the B 18, 19, I started reaching out to him and we began to build

663
00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:22,600
a relationship against his mom wheel.

664
00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:24,360
But it was okay.

665
00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:27,000
And he became addicted to drugs.

666
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:32,880
And about two years ago, Judy, I get a text message at three, four in the morning from

667
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,720
his wife that he had overdose.

668
00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:40,840
And everything, the enemy beat me up.

669
00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:49,120
Judy, I can remember saying if I was in his life, I could have protected him.

670
00:38:49,120 --> 00:38:50,960
I could have did something about it.

671
00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:55,760
I kind of knew he had a drug addiction, but I probably was in denial.

672
00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:57,040
Didn't want to believe it.

673
00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:01,120
And so when you're in denial, you don't try to, yeah.

674
00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:07,520
And so I was probably in a denial and now this reality and Judy, the enemy was telling

675
00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:10,160
me, Darryl, you travel all over the world.

676
00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:15,680
You have seen teenagers and young adults come into the kingdom, but you couldn't rescue

677
00:39:15,680 --> 00:39:17,880
your son.

678
00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:20,600
Your faith is not real.

679
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:24,840
And Judy, honestly, I've wrestled with that today.

680
00:39:24,840 --> 00:39:30,160
How could I travel all over the world telling people about the love and forgiveness of God?

681
00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:36,480
But I failed as a father and I know that's a life from the pit of hell, but it's still

682
00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:39,200
something that worked with me.

683
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:44,080
Look on me as a believer and a follower of Jesus.

684
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:46,120
I need God to help me in my unbelief.

685
00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:50,440
The disciples said, we believe, but help us in our unbelief.

686
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:57,080
God, why am I not believing that you love me and this was not a reflection of me?

687
00:39:57,080 --> 00:39:58,600
This was a reflection of you.

688
00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:00,400
So I don't know what I'm...

689
00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:03,200
Yeah, you know, sometimes your theology go out.

690
00:40:03,200 --> 00:40:05,080
Oh yes, it does.

691
00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:06,880
When you're experiencing something.

692
00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:15,520
And so very hard for me going and walk through it with me and love me through the process

693
00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:18,400
that was shame and guilt.

694
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:20,440
How do you show up at the funeral?

695
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,240
Don't know how I'm going to be received at the funeral.

696
00:40:23,240 --> 00:40:29,760
I have eulogized hundreds and hundreds of people I grew up with and now I'm at a funeral

697
00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:34,880
that is my son and I don't even know if I'm welcome to be there.

698
00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:41,720
And it was not enough money to bear him and Gwen and I decided that we were participating

699
00:40:41,720 --> 00:40:45,200
in that and we called the funeral home and said, we are not...

700
00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:47,320
Because usually whoever pay for it get the...

701
00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,400
We was like, nope, let his mom make all the decisions.

702
00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:53,240
We just want to be a part.

703
00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:57,680
And Judy, what I didn't know it was going to do, people who knew what was going on came

704
00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:01,860
up to me, even the funeral director coming in the office and said, I have seen people

705
00:41:01,860 --> 00:41:02,860
fight at funerals.

706
00:41:02,860 --> 00:41:09,040
I have seen so many disagreements, but I've seen you model Christ.

707
00:41:09,040 --> 00:41:12,800
What you was able to do is just supernatural.

708
00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:14,800
And Judy, that's to the glory of God.

709
00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:16,520
That's not because...

710
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:19,940
Because I know that was a mother who...

711
00:41:19,940 --> 00:41:20,940
She had lost her son.

712
00:41:20,940 --> 00:41:25,120
And the last thing I wanted to do, Judy, was make it about me.

713
00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:27,120
I didn't want it to be about me.

714
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:33,200
I wanted her to be comfort, even though the relationship was not...we are not in a good

715
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:34,800
place and probably never will be.

716
00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:38,080
And I have to be okay with that before the Lord.

717
00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:39,520
But it was a hard journey.

718
00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:41,320
It was a hard process.

719
00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:48,400
And this is what I say that, God forgive our sins, but some sins lead scars.

720
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:52,480
And every now and then the scab come off.

721
00:41:52,480 --> 00:41:54,280
And that's what happens in my life.

722
00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:55,280
I was a prodigal.

723
00:41:55,280 --> 00:41:56,920
I'm back restored.

724
00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:59,600
I was in that hall pen.

725
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:01,760
I was doing all the things the prodigal did.

726
00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:05,680
And so, sometimes the enemy brings those things up.

727
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:07,560
And I have to keep running back to the cross.

728
00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:12,640
And remember, there's nothing, nothing that can separate me from the love of God that's

729
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:13,640
in Christ Jesus.

730
00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:14,640
Praise God.

731
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:18,600
Praise God for that.

732
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:24,800
In the redemption, there's still sometimes the consequences of the actions.

733
00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:31,420
Our son is...one thing he did all the time was maneuver around at the time when cell

734
00:42:31,420 --> 00:42:37,320
phones were just happening and get a phone here and then they would shut him down because

735
00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:39,800
he didn't pay and he would get one here.

736
00:42:39,800 --> 00:42:46,840
And he went through a whole lot of cell phones and those that hurt his credit for years and

737
00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:47,840
years.

738
00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:55,240
And he says, I am still paying the price for decisions I made back in my prodigal years.

739
00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:58,360
And so, that's a little example.

740
00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:04,680
Yours is a much more challenging example, but it's the truth.

741
00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:08,640
God doesn't just wipe the consequences away.

742
00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:11,840
Sometimes he does, but he doesn't always.

743
00:43:11,840 --> 00:43:18,040
And he lets us maybe there is a reminder of what we've been forgiven and what we've been

744
00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:20,480
saved from.

745
00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:25,920
But I told you then when I heard about your son and I would say it again, I'm so sorry

746
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:30,480
for that loss because it's hard.

747
00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:31,480
It is.

748
00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:40,120
And yet, the father, in a sense, lost his son in order to pay the penalty for our sin.

749
00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:46,200
And so, any last words you would have for our listeners?

750
00:43:46,200 --> 00:43:49,320
I would encourage you to not lose hope.

751
00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:55,160
In Luke 18, Jesus says, he tell a parable that people should always pray and not give

752
00:43:55,160 --> 00:43:57,120
up, not lose hope.

753
00:43:57,120 --> 00:43:59,320
I want to encourage you to not pray.

754
00:43:59,320 --> 00:44:01,080
Cry out day and night.

755
00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:02,960
Cry out day and night.

756
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:04,960
We should never question God's ability.

757
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:06,560
The God we serve is able.

758
00:44:06,560 --> 00:44:07,560
He is able.

759
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:13,640
But if he don't, we still going to walk with him and trust him and be obedient.

760
00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:18,940
And the act of obedience, if you have a prodigal right now, is to cry out on their behalf and

761
00:44:18,940 --> 00:44:19,940
pray for him.

762
00:44:19,940 --> 00:44:22,880
And so, Judy, I would encourage him not to lose hope.

763
00:44:22,880 --> 00:44:25,360
Don't faint some version.

764
00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:27,040
Always pray and not lose hope.

765
00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:31,640
And when the son of man come back, he'll find us being faithful because we'll be crying

766
00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:33,560
out to him.

767
00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:35,560
Thank you, Darryl.

768
00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:43,880
We're really grateful for your coming and your honesty and sharing your life and what

769
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:52,200
God has done on your behalf and can do for each of us, but also for those that we love

770
00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:57,760
who are walking in another place than is a good place.

771
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:08,280
And so, I pray that people will be able to keep hope and keep praying and keep loving

772
00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:14,960
and trusting that God will do his good work, even if we can't make it happen the way we

773
00:45:14,960 --> 00:45:18,320
want for it to happen.

774
00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:25,520
So thank you, Darryl, for giving us a glimpse of your very redemptive story.

775
00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:33,120
And I've heard your story before, but this was more detail than I had heard.

776
00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:40,800
And my listeners, my friends, be sure to stop and ask God, what have you said to me here?

777
00:45:40,800 --> 00:45:47,920
And write down something, a step you can take, an action step, or a change in the way you

778
00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:54,080
respond to your child or the person that you've been praying for.

779
00:45:54,080 --> 00:46:03,800
What do you want to apply, as Darryl has shared so passionately and just so helpfully, ways

780
00:46:03,800 --> 00:46:12,760
that we can not give up, but keep believing and keep praying.

781
00:46:12,760 --> 00:46:22,000
Next week, we will be beginning a series on the gifts that we can find in a prodigal wilderness.

782
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:24,800
I hope that sounds a little intriguing.

783
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:26,720
There are gifts in this journey.

784
00:46:26,720 --> 00:46:30,560
Oh, there are amazing gifts in this journey.

785
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:37,480
We're going to spend a few sessions trying to uncover them in that wilderness and see

786
00:46:37,480 --> 00:46:43,740
how God is blessing us, even in the hard parts of this journey.

787
00:46:43,740 --> 00:46:48,440
You can learn how to connect with Darryl in the show notes.

788
00:46:48,440 --> 00:46:56,800
And I am glad to be with you and praying for you.

789
00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:04,400
Sometimes the start of the year, which should be a hopeful time, is even a more scary time.

790
00:47:04,400 --> 00:47:12,520
So may God surprise you with the ways that he's going to speak to you and through you

791
00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:17,000
and work in your life as well as your prodigal's life.

792
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:18,840
God bless you.