Post by Hardcase on Feb 4, 2008 8:23:34 GMT -5
First let me tell you a little about myself. I’m just an ordinary guy like most of the other outdoorsmen you know. I’m retired from public service in Kentucky (State Employee). I worked there for 34 years. It’s was a good job and I enjoyed it, but it was not my passion. Hunting and Trapping were my passions.
I thought I'd share a testimony about what God and Jesus has done for me. Well here goes. I was not raised in what you would call a Christian home. I did go to church and Sunday School a lot when I was young with Mom and my Grandparents. We lived on a dairy farm, so Dad was always busy milking or doing farm work. Dad went to church sometimes, but not often. Of course, the older I got the more I helped on the farm, which caused me to miss church. Dad was not very religious in that he did not talk about it a lot, but the things he did spoke to his beliefs. Dad was my hero and best friend we worked together, hunted, and fished together.
Since Mom worked outside the farm, my Aunt cooked for the farm hands. Mom did go to church, but she was not overly religious. My Aunt was very religious she taught me a lot. She quoted scripture a lot to me, and it hit home with me. My Aunt died from breast cancer when I was in my early teens that hit me hard. Both my grandfathers and one grandmother died when I was young too.
I always felt the Lord was with me. I can’t really explain it. I look back now and I know he took care of me several times or I might not be here today. I always liked being in the woods of course like many people I felt most close to God in the woods so I hunted all the time. I married the first time when I was 18 way to young for me. It lasted 11 years, but like so many others, I got divorced. I went wild after I got divorced. Then I met Debbie, and we hit it off. I was still pretty wild. She came from a very religious background her grandfather was a Baptist Preacher, and her parents were strong in their church. She had a son Andy from a previous marriage. Andy and I hit it off immediately. He became my son when we married. We were still not in church, but after we married, we bought a farm close to a small church. Andy’s friends there went to the church so he started going. We did not go except on Christmas when Andy was in the Christmas play. We went along OK for years, but I felt something was missing, and later Debbie told me the same.
Then our world started turning upside down. Debbie’s job changed and she was miserable, which made it hard on us. Then on December 26th 1999 everything changed. Andy had spent Christmas with us for the first time in a few years. Christmas night he decided to see some of his friends. He never made it home. He got within a mile of home and hit a tree. He was in front of my brother’s farm. No parent should ever bury their child. It almost killed Debbie she and Andy had been even closer than most Mothers and Sons, and he was an only child. At first we were both numb. As time went on it got harder and harder to deal with it. We started to get on each other’s nerves. We tried everything to cope with things alcohol, prescription drug (antidepressants), other things, and nothing helped. We were drawing farther and farther apart, we were near going our separate ways. I was setting one night feeling sorry for myself and worrying about everything. I started praying, the first time in a long time. I was at the end. I knew I could not handle it anymore, I asked the Lord for help. Things started getting better. I sat down with Debbie and asked if she would go to church with me. She was not sure at first. We finally went, and we dreaded it. We got there no one had pressured us to go. The first sermon hit home. We went home and started talking we realized we both had started talking to God. As time went on we realized that a ton of people had been praying for us. The power of prayer does work we are proof.
Then in May of 2002 I had another big upset in my life, my Dad past away. I was very close to my Dad. He was in a lot of pain at the end that really hurt to see him go through that. I had never asked Dad if he was saved. I talked to him many times about the Lord the last few years, but I had never asked that question. I found out after he died that the hospice Minister had made sure he was ready to meet the Lord I’m thankful for that. I’m still not over Dad’s death, but I know the Lord will bring me through it. He is really the only true way!
I have been blessed my whole life, it’s too bad it takes so long to realize it. I owe it all to Jesus
I thought I'd share a testimony about what God and Jesus has done for me. Well here goes. I was not raised in what you would call a Christian home. I did go to church and Sunday School a lot when I was young with Mom and my Grandparents. We lived on a dairy farm, so Dad was always busy milking or doing farm work. Dad went to church sometimes, but not often. Of course, the older I got the more I helped on the farm, which caused me to miss church. Dad was not very religious in that he did not talk about it a lot, but the things he did spoke to his beliefs. Dad was my hero and best friend we worked together, hunted, and fished together.
Since Mom worked outside the farm, my Aunt cooked for the farm hands. Mom did go to church, but she was not overly religious. My Aunt was very religious she taught me a lot. She quoted scripture a lot to me, and it hit home with me. My Aunt died from breast cancer when I was in my early teens that hit me hard. Both my grandfathers and one grandmother died when I was young too.
I always felt the Lord was with me. I can’t really explain it. I look back now and I know he took care of me several times or I might not be here today. I always liked being in the woods of course like many people I felt most close to God in the woods so I hunted all the time. I married the first time when I was 18 way to young for me. It lasted 11 years, but like so many others, I got divorced. I went wild after I got divorced. Then I met Debbie, and we hit it off. I was still pretty wild. She came from a very religious background her grandfather was a Baptist Preacher, and her parents were strong in their church. She had a son Andy from a previous marriage. Andy and I hit it off immediately. He became my son when we married. We were still not in church, but after we married, we bought a farm close to a small church. Andy’s friends there went to the church so he started going. We did not go except on Christmas when Andy was in the Christmas play. We went along OK for years, but I felt something was missing, and later Debbie told me the same.
Then our world started turning upside down. Debbie’s job changed and she was miserable, which made it hard on us. Then on December 26th 1999 everything changed. Andy had spent Christmas with us for the first time in a few years. Christmas night he decided to see some of his friends. He never made it home. He got within a mile of home and hit a tree. He was in front of my brother’s farm. No parent should ever bury their child. It almost killed Debbie she and Andy had been even closer than most Mothers and Sons, and he was an only child. At first we were both numb. As time went on it got harder and harder to deal with it. We started to get on each other’s nerves. We tried everything to cope with things alcohol, prescription drug (antidepressants), other things, and nothing helped. We were drawing farther and farther apart, we were near going our separate ways. I was setting one night feeling sorry for myself and worrying about everything. I started praying, the first time in a long time. I was at the end. I knew I could not handle it anymore, I asked the Lord for help. Things started getting better. I sat down with Debbie and asked if she would go to church with me. She was not sure at first. We finally went, and we dreaded it. We got there no one had pressured us to go. The first sermon hit home. We went home and started talking we realized we both had started talking to God. As time went on we realized that a ton of people had been praying for us. The power of prayer does work we are proof.
Then in May of 2002 I had another big upset in my life, my Dad past away. I was very close to my Dad. He was in a lot of pain at the end that really hurt to see him go through that. I had never asked Dad if he was saved. I talked to him many times about the Lord the last few years, but I had never asked that question. I found out after he died that the hospice Minister had made sure he was ready to meet the Lord I’m thankful for that. I’m still not over Dad’s death, but I know the Lord will bring me through it. He is really the only true way!
I have been blessed my whole life, it’s too bad it takes so long to realize it. I owe it all to Jesus