Welcome to
Celebrating Life In Recovery,
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I'm Cheri, your host
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sad and intense, but don't be
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fooled, God was right
there blessing everyone.
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Come join us as we
talk about the miracle of
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recovery, of healing.
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It's hard to
describe the sadness you feel
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when someone you love dies,
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mother, father, son, daughter.
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It's like a part
of you dies with them,
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but when they die,
when someone you love
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dies by their own
hand, by their own behaviors,
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by their own
addictions, it's even harder.
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It's a
different kind of sadness,
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and I want to talk about my dad,
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my actually step dad.
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before I do that I want
to do to introduce you to
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who's on the set,
first of all Wilma,
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I just want to say
so glad you're here.
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Wilma is on oxygen, and
so you are going to hear this
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sound the entire show.
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Hear that?
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And so you are
going to hear that sound
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and that is just her oxygen.
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We were going to have
her shut off, but you know,
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I thought if she
dies I'll feel so bad,
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So we are not going
to have her do that.
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Jack Bridges, we
have got Brenda, Pastor,
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his name is Bud, Buddy.
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Cody and Stephanie, and
you are going to hear each
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one of their
stories before we are done.
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Be blessed by them.
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Most of you know that
my real father died in a
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crack house last
year, ninety-five pounds,
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hair and nails
grown out, unrecognizable.
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When my brother found
him, or came to deal with him,
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they couldn't even
recognize him as my dad.
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My real father has died.
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My stepfather who
raised me since I was 4,
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died in December.
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I love him, I love
him, I remember flying down
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and just seeing
him in emergency room.
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Seeing him laying there
with the tubes in and all
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He is now down to eighty pounds,
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cancer's riddled
and he's got Emphysema,
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and all these addictions
are just taking over his
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life, and they're all intense.
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I remember just walking
in and saying I want so badly
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for you to be well.
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Soon as they, how can I
say this without offending
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someone, this show
may offend some people,
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just because it's
talking about how raw our
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addictions are.
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But my step dad is
laying in the emergency room,
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he's got cancer, in his
throat because of smoking
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weed, smoking cigarettes
and all that kind of stuff.
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His liver is shutting down,
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his kidneys are shot, all
that kind of thing going on.
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They have this
little, I love my dad,
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and don't if I smile,
it's just because he cracks me
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up, they put a little
thing on his finger to
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check his blood gases.
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You see when he
takes in a breath,
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how much oxygen was
actually going to his
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extremities or his hands.
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But when they put that
on, it also checks your pulse,
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so it has a light that beeps,
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or it lights up with your pulse.
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My dad put it on his
middle finger and showed
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his middle finger to
everybody that came into
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and if you know what
mean, I just had to laugh,
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Even in your death is
like you're the addict,
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it's still there.
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I held him and my
family is just not into prayer,
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God or whatever,
and they know I am.
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I held him and he just
quietly said he didn't want
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to be embarrassed by any one,
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but he quietly said to
me, are you praying for me?
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I wanted to weep,
I said absolutely,
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absolutely I just held
him for the longest time.
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It was amazing for the
next few days as he was
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dying, for me to watch as
God stepped in and loved him.
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It was amazing for me
on his death bed for him to
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allow me to pray, and
knowing that he wanted God
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It was like he
wanted God back in his life.
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he wanted forgiveness,
he wanted to come back home.
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and you know what God
did, absolutely wrapped His
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arm around him.
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It's just the coolest
thing I have ever seen.
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Absolutely the coolest thing.
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As he was dying, he had
kids from other marriages
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that showed up and we
were sitting in his room
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and I said, Mac, do
you remember the first song
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you ever taught
me as a little girl?
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And he said no.
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I said, can I sing it
for you He's like okay, and
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I just went,
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trailers for sale or rent,
rooms to rent for fifty cents.
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As a little girl, I'm singing,
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ain't got no cigarettes.
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You know that is the
song that he taught me in his
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addiction, but I
absolutely love him.
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Does anybody hear me,
I absolutely love him.
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Most people think that
people that are strung out
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in their addiction,
they don't look at them as
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people anymore, but
their family still does look at
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them as people we
seen them in their best
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times, we've seen
them in their worst times,
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and we miss them when they die.
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As soon as somebody told
my dad that he could have
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as much morphine as he
wants, he's like Yahoo!
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I watched him take
morphine almost every
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hour on the hour.
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So much that he could
even wake up to say goodbye to
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us, does anybody hear me?
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I wanted so badly to
grab his face and say please,
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and through all
the drugs, do you
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know that I love you?
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I wanted, it was
so important to me
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that he hear that.
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but he was so drug sickened,
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that can that he
could hardly stay
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present to hear that.
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I love God, for
accepting my father back,
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I love Him.
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I think it's a miracle to
know that in the middle of
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our addictions and
were acting like idiots,
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we think that the most
important thing for this
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moment is to get some
more drugs in our body.
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Even when it's our
last breath, God says,
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I still love you, I
still want to heal you.
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You are still
my child as much as
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anybody else is my child.
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And I'm sorry
that your addiction,
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has cause you to
come to this place.
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So this show is going
to be about addictions.
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It's got to be about families,
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it's going to be about
loss, but don't fool yourself,
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the most important
thing is going to be about
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is how incredible God is.
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Absolutely incredible
that the God of heaven,
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that created everything
waits for the addict to
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turn even his head a little bit.
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And as he turns a little bit,
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the God of heaven
says welcome home,
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Welcome home, I love you.
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If we can't take you
the body and heal the body,
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I'm just going to
heal your soul so much,
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you're not going to
care about your body.
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I'm thinking Amen,
and Pastor don't you
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don't you say Amen?
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Amen!
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Okay, The first
person I want you to meet,
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this show, it's
going to be a little bit
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different, because I've
absolutely so many folks
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for you to meet today.
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More than we have
ever had on any program,
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more than we have ever
even dreamt that it would
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be possible to have on
any program so going to go
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fast, you're going
to meet a ton of folks,
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and I want you to just pray that
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you stay with us.
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Jack I want you
to come up first,
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and Jack Bridges is
going to come up first.
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He's going to tell us
a little bit about his
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family and addiction.
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Jack, welcome to the show.
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Who are you and what you
think of what I'm talking
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about as losing
somebody you love to addiction?
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I know where you're coming from,
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because I've lived
it with my son and I,
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I know exactly
what you're saying.
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Okay, one should you
start from almost the beginning,
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because I saw a
picture, a video of your son,
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when he was
running around the house,
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as a cute little 2
or 3 year old, adorable.
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Well, that's a long story.
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If we go back that far,
Sean was our firstborn son
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and I love him very much.
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And he grew up,
like most kids do.
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He got into, what we
from what we understand from
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his friends, from
watching him grow up in
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some of the things
he did, he got into,
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started probably
smoking at age 14.
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Just smoking cigarettes,
but you know what that I
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know from just knowing you guys,
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and watching some
videos you put out,
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that Sean had a
brother that died when
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he was young.
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How old was Sean
when he lost his brother?
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He was about 41/2, 5
years old when Jason was
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killed in a car
accident in 1976.
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And that shook him.
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It shook all of us.
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We didn't realize how
badly it had shaken Sean.
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We were so tied up in our own,
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it was more than
grief, it was devastation.
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We were only
kids too at that time.
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How old were you?
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I was, probably
early 20's, would
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be about 23, I think.
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And just lost your son.
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23, and Jason
was killed in a car
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It just about
devastated all of us.
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It almost made me
forget my Christian upbringing,
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but thankfully it didn't.
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The Lord stuck with us
and brought us through it.
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But we can't understand.
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And what I want to
say, Jack because for a
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lot of people,
it's hard for them,
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but when you said,
almost made you forget your
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Christian stuff, it
almost made you step away from
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God or any thing that
you believed at that time.
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And that's what
grief does to us,
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it's like where is God when
00:10:06.36\00:10:07.82
all this is happening?
00:10:07.85\00:10:08.82
We don't understand,
but He's right there with us
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for whatever reason.
00:10:11.73\00:10:13.23
We don't know, the big plan.
00:10:13.26\00:10:15.31
We have got to have
faith that the Lord knows best,
00:10:15.34\00:10:19.65
that He is there for us
and help bring us through
00:10:19.68\00:10:26.56
the passage says that,
"He will not give us any
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more than we can bear".
00:10:30.59\00:10:31.66
And we also forget
that the Devil is real.
00:10:31.69\00:10:35.11
We have an
adversary, just if he can set us
00:10:35.14\00:10:38.04
down, if he can take
our kids or what ever.
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If he can get us
to smoke some crack,
00:10:39.73\00:10:41.88
he'll do it because
his job is to destroy us.
00:10:41.91\00:10:44.66
His goal to destroy us
because we are created in
00:10:44.69\00:10:48.19
the image of God, and it
just kills him to see us.
00:10:48.22\00:10:52.26
So the fact that
you lost your son,
00:10:52.29\00:10:55.76
that Sean really was
affected in a huge way,
00:10:55.79\00:11:00.00
at that point and then
got into smoking cigarettes
00:11:00.03\00:11:02.28
and doing other drugs early, 14.
00:11:02.31\00:11:05.16
He started smoking at age 14,
00:11:05.19\00:11:08.18
he probably started
experimenting with beer,
00:11:08.21\00:11:14.39
light alcohol, possibly
marijuana between 15 and 16.
00:11:14.42\00:11:18.75
At 16, we understand that
he and some of his friends
00:11:18.78\00:11:21.84
were smoking
marijuana regularly.
00:11:21.87\00:11:23.59
Sean went on to harder alcohol,
00:11:23.62\00:11:27.56
and we believe that
probably when he was
00:11:27.59\00:11:33.53
about 20 years old, he
got it to some of the other
00:11:33.56\00:11:38.28
drugs the kids were doing.
00:11:38.31\00:11:39.48
Meth and stuff.
00:11:39.51\00:11:40.48
At first, I don't think so.
00:11:40.49\00:11:42.39
From what we
understand, he started
00:11:42.42\00:11:46.45
using Pseudo ephedrine.
00:11:46.48\00:11:48.07
Here than going
with me on the truck.
00:11:48.10\00:11:49.87
He started going with
other people on the truck,
00:11:49.90\00:11:53.48
and driving more
and more and more.
00:11:53.51\00:11:55.75
And finally got his license,
00:11:55.78\00:11:57.44
got on his own and
started using Ephedrine and
00:11:57.47\00:12:01.65
Pseudo ephedrine at age
23 he lost his appendix.
00:12:01.68\00:12:06.43
They were eaten completely
up from the Ephedrine's
00:12:06.46\00:12:10.98
and Pseudo ephedrine's
from what the doctors told
00:12:11.01\00:12:14.45
us that he had
holes in it was leaking
00:12:14.48\00:12:17.21
poison into his body.
00:12:17.24\00:12:18.50
Imagine at 23, 23, Wow!
00:12:18.53\00:12:21.00
After he healed from
at for that, evidently,
00:12:21.03\00:12:23.51
he started the use of Meth,
00:12:23.54\00:12:25.34
some of the harder
drugs, because he had his first
00:12:25.37\00:12:28.33
heart attack after that, 26.
00:12:28.36\00:12:29.66
He had his first heart
attack at 26, did he stop,
00:12:29.69\00:12:36.36
off all drugs then?
00:12:36.39\00:12:37.36
He did for short
time, he was told
00:12:37.37\00:12:42.57
he couldn't work anymore.
00:12:42.60\00:12:43.62
He had put into
for his disabilities,
00:12:43.65\00:12:47.67
because he had no income,
they wouldn't let him work.
00:12:47.70\00:12:51.08
They wouldn't give
him his CDL's back,
00:12:51.11\00:12:53.13
he couldn't pass the physical
00:12:53.17\00:12:55.17
because of the
doctors and the cardiologist,
00:12:55.20\00:12:57.55
they told him
that he wouldn't be
00:12:57.58\00:13:01.17
able to work anymore.
00:13:01.20\00:13:02.64
So when it came down to
it and they had the hearing,
00:13:02.67\00:13:06.57
the doctors came in and
said sure, you can work.
00:13:06.60\00:13:09.15
So he went back
to driving truck,
00:13:09.18\00:13:11.44
then he couldn't keep
his appointments with the
00:13:11.47\00:13:14.26
cardiologists...
00:13:14.29\00:13:15.31
So you know
what I got to say is,
00:13:15.34\00:13:16.53
cause I'm going to
interview your mom too,
00:13:16.56\00:13:18.51
and so, as his father,
you watched this whole kind of
00:13:18.54\00:13:27.00
deterioration of him
physically, mentally,
00:13:27.03\00:13:28.33
and definitely spiritually.
00:13:28.36\00:13:29.70
I was on the road myself.
00:13:29.73\00:13:31.16
So you didn't see a lot of it.
00:13:31.19\00:13:33.37
I went coast-to-coast,
and then he was driving at
00:13:33.40\00:13:37.90
that time too.
00:13:37.93\00:13:38.91
So we were like
ships passing a night.
00:13:38.94\00:13:42.48
I seen some of it when I
questioned him about some
00:13:42.51\00:13:47.96
of the things that was
happening, in his health,
00:13:47.99\00:13:51.19
A lot of times
he would lie to me,
00:13:53.00\00:13:55.00
would tell me what he
thought I wanted to hear.
00:13:55.03\00:13:57.82
And you know, a drug
addict lying, no way,
00:13:57.85\00:14:00.58
don't even tell me.
00:14:00.61\00:14:01.63
They become perfect.
00:14:01.66\00:14:02.70
perfect liars,
00:14:02.73\00:14:03.91
perfect liars overnight.
00:14:03.94\00:14:04.92
And we don't even know
we're lying half the time.
00:14:04.95\00:14:06.31
So I just have to
say that out loud.
00:14:06.34\00:14:07.91
Just because I could see Sean.
00:14:07.94\00:14:09.98
We don't even know.
00:14:10.01\00:14:11.09
We're so convincing in
our lies that we don't even
00:14:11.12\00:14:14.58
know we're lying We
don't even know what the truth
00:14:14.61\00:14:17.00
looks like anymore,
and we alienate everybody.
00:14:17.03\00:14:20.05
I want to interview
different people in your
00:14:20.08\00:14:22.32
family and then
what to have you back up.
00:14:22.35\00:14:23.69
And I want to say
it before you sit down,
00:14:23.72\00:14:27.16
is God bless you.
00:14:27.19\00:14:29.19
God bless you, Cheri,
for what you're doing.
00:14:29.22\00:14:30.78
Getting people stories
out and helping people that
00:14:30.81\00:14:36.25
are affected with
addictions of drugs and
00:14:36.28\00:14:39.70
other addictions and
helping them find a way
00:14:39.73\00:14:43.82
to Christ,
through their addictions,
00:14:43.85\00:14:45.90
and back into the
life, and living life.
00:14:45.93\00:14:48.90
And that's what Sean was doing.
00:14:48.93\00:14:49.98
I'm going to have you
back onto talk about that,
00:14:50.01\00:14:52.96
because you're
doing that in a huge way.
00:14:52.99\00:14:54.24
Sean asked you to
do that in a huge way.
00:14:54.27\00:14:57.25
This is the Lord's message
using Sean's story to get
00:14:57.28\00:15:02.33
it out to the world.
00:15:02.36\00:15:03.33
So I'm going to step
down, go-ahead have a seat.
00:15:03.34\00:15:05.92
I'm going to step
down and talk to your mom.
00:15:05.95\00:15:07.23
The reason I want to
step down and talk with you is
00:15:07.26\00:15:11.41
because you told me
some things about your
00:15:11.44\00:15:13.05
relationship was Sean
and some of the things that
00:15:13.08\00:15:15.46
happened as he got into
his addiction and then as
00:15:15.49\00:15:20.25
he came out of that.
00:15:20.28\00:15:21.82
And so can you say,
what was it like for you to
00:15:21.85\00:15:24.78
watch your grandson
jump into a drug addiction,
00:15:24.81\00:15:28.63
be lost in that?
00:15:28.66\00:15:29.88
It was heartbreaking.
00:15:29.91\00:15:31.53
I bet it was.
00:15:31.56\00:15:33.61
Because I couldn't do anything.
00:15:33.64\00:15:35.55
I talked to him,
but I didn't know
00:15:35.58\00:15:40.88
how to talk to him.
00:15:40.91\00:15:42.78
You just knew that
something was wrong.
00:15:42.81\00:15:44.39
Except that, and
I prayed for him,
00:15:44.42\00:15:47.81
and I'd tell him I
prayed for him, and he'd say,
00:15:47.84\00:15:52.87
okay granny.
00:15:52.90\00:15:54.25
He went to church
with us when he was little.
00:15:54.28\00:15:58.40
But when he came
out of the hospital,
00:15:58.43\00:16:07.26
he had turned his life around.
00:16:07.29\00:16:14.42
But he couldn't get in
his head that he didn't have
00:16:14.45\00:16:20.29
to be baptized anymore.
00:16:20.32\00:16:21.82
He didn't
understand that he could
00:16:21.85\00:16:24.59
just re-dedicate his live.
00:16:24.62\00:16:27.53
Because he had been baptized.
00:16:27.56\00:16:28.83
And he had been baptized, Yes.
00:16:28.86\00:16:31.01
But he wanted to come
back in the water, yes.
00:16:31.04\00:16:33.07
So you know what
we jumped way too far,
00:16:33.10\00:16:35.40
because I'm thinking
wait a minute, he turned
00:16:35.43\00:16:37.00
his life around.
00:16:37.03\00:16:38.08
So I want to ask you,
there was a time that you
00:16:38.11\00:16:41.89
said what you just
said that I told him I was
00:16:41.92\00:16:44.65
going to pray for
him and he said okay.
00:16:44.68\00:16:46.75
Do think that he had
any idea the power that he
00:16:46.78\00:16:49.02
gave you, that you could
actually take his face to
00:16:49.05\00:16:50.84
the throne room of
God as his grandmother?
00:16:50.87\00:16:53.18
No, He didn't,
but you prayed every,
00:16:53.21\00:16:55.51
I'm sure you prayed every day.
00:16:55.54\00:16:57.60
I'm sure that you love this kid.
00:16:57.63\00:16:59.80
He was my first grandchild, Yep!
00:16:59.83\00:17:03.67
So, when you said, he
turned his life around,
00:17:03.70\00:17:05.89
I want to hear
that, what happened,
00:17:05.93\00:17:07.65
because I know
he's a Meth addict,
00:17:07.69\00:17:09.38
He's fried his brain.
00:17:09.41\00:17:10.65
There's literally
holes in his brain,
00:17:10.68\00:17:12.48
he's having heart
attacks, he can't hardly think
00:17:12.51\00:17:14.58
clear, and how did he
turn it around, what happened?
00:17:14.61\00:17:16.50
Well, he just give
his life back to the Lord.
00:17:17.47\00:17:21.25
You took care of him when he was
00:17:21.28\00:17:23.95
out of the hospital.
00:17:23.98\00:17:25.08
Partly.
00:17:25.11\00:17:26.22
You said there
were times you couldn't
00:17:26.25\00:17:27.73
even lift his head.
00:17:27.76\00:17:28.73
He couldn't when he
first came home, and he didn't.
00:17:28.74\00:17:33.22
I prayed for him then.
00:17:33.25\00:17:34.60
But he didn't ask for
anything and then as he
00:17:34.63\00:17:38.98
got better, he
asked for a Bible.
00:17:39.01\00:17:42.76
I got it for
him, got him my Bible.
00:17:42.79\00:17:45.68
Did it for thrill your heart?
00:17:45.71\00:17:48.49
Yes, and I
stood there and cried.
00:17:48.52\00:17:51.72
Of course.
00:17:51.75\00:17:52.92
So, I read him
some and then he'd say,
00:17:52.95\00:17:58.84
let me read it.
00:17:58.87\00:18:00.32
So he'd read John 3:16.
00:18:00.35\00:18:03.80
Do you remember what it says?
00:18:03.83\00:18:05.61
"For God so loved the
world that he gave his
00:18:05.64\00:18:11.36
only begotten son,
that whosoever believe in me
00:18:11.39\00:18:16.51
shall not perish but
have everlasting life. "
00:18:16.54\00:18:20.10
And whosoever at that
point was a Meth addict,
00:18:20.13\00:18:23.52
with holes in his brain, yep.
00:18:23.55\00:18:25.33
So when somebody says,
whosoever don't you ever
00:18:25.36\00:18:27.98
read that passage
again without knowing that
00:18:28.01\00:18:29.67
whosoever is an addict,
with holes in his brains.
00:18:29.70\00:18:32.67
Whosoever is an
alcoholic, that just ran over
00:18:32.70\00:18:35.51
somebody during a
drunk driving thing,
00:18:35.55\00:18:37.30
whosoever is anybody that says,
00:18:37.34\00:18:39.78
God I am so sorry look at me,
00:18:39.81\00:18:42.81
I can't even lift my head.
00:18:42.84\00:18:44.12
I'm at my grandmother's
house, she has to feed me,
00:18:44.15\00:18:46.80
I'm on feeding tubes,
I just had heart attacks,
00:18:46.83\00:18:49.31
and God says, whosoever is Sean.
00:18:49.35\00:18:51.63
That's right.
00:18:51.77\00:18:53.53
And I just want to say,
from the time I met you,
00:18:53.56\00:18:57.06
I love you, the fact that
you had so much love for him.
00:18:57.09\00:19:00.16
And I even see the love
you have for him looking
00:19:00.19\00:19:02.80
at me knowing that I
went through a little bit of
00:19:02.83\00:19:05.41
what Sean went through.
00:19:05.44\00:19:06.46
And when he got able to
hold his head up and ride
00:19:06.73\00:19:14.02
in a regular wheelchair,
he'd want to go to church.
00:19:14.05\00:19:19.02
Amen.
00:19:19.05\00:19:21.42
So we took him to
church. - In a wheelchair!
00:19:21.45\00:19:23.44
In a wheelchair!
00:19:23.47\00:19:24.44
Every Sunday, or every
time we went to church,
00:19:24.45\00:19:28.85
right down that
isle he'd want to go,
00:19:28.88\00:19:31.32
and he couldn't get it
in his mind, he was okay,
00:19:31.35\00:19:39.77
that God would forgive him,
00:19:39.80\00:19:42.97
and he was
going to go to heaven.
00:19:43.00\00:19:45.19
He just simply couldn't
understand that because he
00:19:45.23\00:19:51.23
thought he had
to be baptized over.
00:19:51.27\00:19:53.91
So every time we go to church,
00:19:54.22\00:19:58.41
right down that aisle he'd go.
00:19:58.44\00:20:00.13
He got to where he
would even go himself,
00:20:00.16\00:20:03.28
nobody had to push him.
00:20:03.31\00:20:04.53
It's just like I want
to get that water again,
00:20:04.56\00:20:05.76
because are you
sure I'm forgiven.
00:20:05.79\00:20:07.15
That was the cry of his heart.
00:20:07.18\00:20:09.30
So finally, brother
Jake, he had been out with back
00:20:09.33\00:20:15.92
surgery, and he came back
and he preached that time,
00:20:15.95\00:20:20.70
And so he explained to Sean.
00:20:20.74\00:20:25.56
He didn't know how, but
that he would figure out
00:20:25.60\00:20:33.21
a way to baptize him.
00:20:33.24\00:20:34.79
But he was in such a shape,
00:20:34.82\00:20:38.40
because he's so sick.
00:20:38.43\00:20:40.48
He had heart catheter here,
00:20:40.51\00:20:45.57
that dripped down all the time,
00:20:45.60\00:20:48.28
it went straight to
his heart for it to beat.
00:20:48.31\00:20:52.66
To keep him alive.
00:20:52.69\00:20:54.05
Yep, he was on a feeding tube,
00:20:54.08\00:20:56.21
and he was on a
feeding tube and a catheter.
00:20:56.24\00:20:58.38
And so to dunk him in water,
00:20:58.41\00:21:00.11
people were just
scared, how do we do that.
00:21:00.14\00:21:01.46
Yeah, so he was
satisfied after brother Jake had
00:21:01.49\00:21:06.66
explained it to him.
00:21:06.69\00:21:09.50
I remember when I
first came into the church is
00:21:09.53\00:21:11.88
that I knew in my whole heart
00:21:11.91\00:21:13.73
I'm a heroine
addict in recovery.
00:21:13.77\00:21:15.48
I have never been loved
at all and I finally feel the
00:21:15.51\00:21:18.35
love of God and
the grace of God,
00:21:18.39\00:21:19.72
and someone says that I
could be baptized, right.
00:21:19.76\00:21:23.00
And I wanted to run around
everybody, and dodge them,
00:21:23.03\00:21:26.29
and just jump in the
water myself because I didn't
00:21:26.32\00:21:28.07
want to get out of that water.
00:21:28.22\00:21:29.28
Because I had found
God, and I want to talk,
00:21:29.31\00:21:32.14
I'm going to leave right now.
00:21:32.17\00:21:33.35
I'm going to go back on
the platform and I'm going
00:21:33.38\00:21:36.35
bring the Pastor
that talked to Sean up.
00:21:36.38\00:21:39.54
But first of all
I just want to say,
00:21:39.57\00:21:41.90
you know that I love you.
00:21:41.93\00:21:44.12
I love you too.
00:21:44.15\00:21:46.03
Okay Amen, Amen, And
I praise God for you.
00:21:46.06\00:21:48.45
Thank you, and you too
reading the Bible to him,
00:21:48.48\00:21:51.78
God bless you, okay.
00:21:51.81\00:21:53.84
Pastor Buddy, come on up.
00:21:53.87\00:21:55.61
So now I just have to
say that we have heard from
00:21:55.64\00:22:04.95
Sean's father, talking
about the fact watching
00:22:04.98\00:22:09.16
his son go into this addiction,
00:22:09.19\00:22:10.70
being helpless as the
father not understanding
00:22:10.73\00:22:13.79
what was going on.
00:22:13.82\00:22:14.79
Sean lying, and all that
kind of stuff every thing
00:22:14.80\00:22:17.38
that is common,
in an addictive guy.
00:22:17.41\00:22:19.98
And then, heart attacks,
catheters and feeding tubes,
00:22:20.01\00:22:24.29
and not being able to
lift his head, near death.
00:22:24.32\00:22:26.70
Many, many times,
grandmother having to feed
00:22:26.73\00:22:29.34
him all the time and
then Sean gets a sense that
00:22:29.37\00:22:35.03
I want to get back into church.
00:22:35.07\00:22:37.43
So tell me when you met him,
00:22:37.47\00:22:39.80
did you hear
anything about him before
00:22:39.83\00:22:42.53
he came into the building?
00:22:42.56\00:22:44.03
Yes, briefly, because
I was the Pastor of Wilma
00:22:44.06\00:22:47.03
the grandmother and
the husband, Leonard.
00:22:47.06\00:22:49.70
Of course Wilma and
Leonard would always have
00:22:49.73\00:22:53.49
us pray for
Sean, knowing that he
00:22:53.52\00:22:55.36
was going through struggles.
00:22:55.39\00:22:56.55
Can I just offer a
quick and look I wanted to say
00:22:56.59\00:22:59.59
prayer is absolutely crucial.
00:22:59.62\00:23:01.68
All of heaven moves, we
may not see it we may not
00:23:01.71\00:23:05.39
sense it, we may not
even see it in a persons life,
00:23:05.42\00:23:07.47
we think nothing is happening,
00:23:07.50\00:23:08.88
everything is happening.
00:23:08.91\00:23:10.12
Absolutely.
00:23:10.16\00:23:11.13
Alright.
00:23:11.14\00:23:12.11
So, the first time I
had actually met Sean,
00:23:12.12\00:23:14.27
was after evening
service, through the week,
00:23:14.30\00:23:17.49
and I turned around as
I was locking the door,
00:23:17.52\00:23:20.22
he was just standing there,
00:23:20.25\00:23:21.64
didn't know him at that time.
00:23:21.67\00:23:23.53
I say, could I help
you, and he said yes.
00:23:23.56\00:23:26.65
Are you the
preacher, I said Yes.
00:23:26.68\00:23:29.20
Who are you Buddy.
00:23:29.30\00:23:30.27
He said I need to
talk to you in private,
00:23:30.28\00:23:32.38
and I said, certainly.
00:23:32.41\00:23:33.42
So we went into my
office, in the church,
00:23:33.46\00:23:36.22
and he pointed his
finger at me and he said first,
00:23:36.26\00:23:38.88
I don't need to be preached at.
00:23:38.91\00:23:41.41
I said all right, fair enough.
00:23:41.44\00:23:42.84
So what do you want
to talk to me about,
00:23:42.87\00:23:45.02
and you know, the Word
tells us that our light,
00:23:45.05\00:23:48.80
our eyes are a
light into the soul,
00:23:48.83\00:23:51.40
and there was
an emptiness there.
00:23:51.43\00:23:53.67
He could see it.
00:23:53.70\00:23:55.97
Yes, and he said I'm
really struggling, he said can
00:23:56.00\00:23:57.96
trust you, I want to
know if I can trust you and I
00:23:57.99\00:24:01.65
said, absolutely.
00:24:01.68\00:24:02.65
I have to ask you
is this something I
00:24:02.66\00:24:04.77
can share with my wife.
00:24:04.80\00:24:06.02
If you don't want me
to share with her I won't.
00:24:06.05\00:24:08.02
He said right now, I
don't want you to share it.
00:24:08.05\00:24:10.42
I said okay, so
he started telling me
00:24:10.45\00:24:12.79
that he was struggling.
00:24:12.82\00:24:13.79
He said, I'm really searching.
00:24:13.80\00:24:17.62
I don't have any
peace in my life,
00:24:17.65\00:24:20.37
and I don't know what to do.
00:24:20.40\00:24:22.62
I said, Sean, I
think you do, you are here.
00:24:22.65\00:24:24.89
So I think you do
know what you need to do.
00:24:24.92\00:24:27.81
He said, you don't understand.
00:24:27.84\00:24:30.22
I'm struggling, I am an
addict, and I need help,
00:24:30.25\00:24:34.97
and he said, I know
I need to get my life
00:24:35.00\00:24:37.01
straightened out before
I can accept the good Lord.
00:24:37.04\00:24:40.63
And I said, "hold it time out",
00:24:40.66\00:24:42.59
what you need to
understand is what the
00:24:42.62\00:24:44.29
gift of grace is all about,
00:24:44.32\00:24:45.55
and the gift of
grace says that God accepts
00:24:45.58\00:24:48.75
us as we are.
00:24:48.78\00:24:50.63
He takes us, He
takes a drug addicts,
00:24:50.66\00:24:53.89
He takes a prostitutes,
He takes the person that
00:24:53.92\00:24:56.41
had an aborted baby
and He takes us as we are.
00:24:56.44\00:24:59.51
We wouldn't be able to do it.
00:24:59.54\00:25:01.43
We can not scrub ourselves
up, and I quoted to him.
00:25:01.46\00:25:05.29
I said, I'm not
going to preach to you,
00:25:05.32\00:25:06.63
but Philippians 4:13
says, "we can do all things
00:25:06.66\00:25:09.47
through Christ
who strengthens us. "
00:25:09.50\00:25:11.22
First we've got to have Christ,
00:25:11.25\00:25:13.08
He takes us as we
are, we accept Him.
00:25:13.11\00:25:15.52
We will draw strength
from that point forward.
00:25:15.55\00:25:18.28
And he look at
me and said Grace,
00:25:18.31\00:25:20.77
I said yes Grace is
something that we don't
00:25:20.80\00:25:23.39
deserve, grace is
something that God freely
00:25:23.42\00:25:26.96
gives to each
and every one of us.
00:25:26.99\00:25:29.17
If it was not for that
merciful gift of grace,
00:25:29.20\00:25:31.44
none of us would have a chance.
00:25:31.47\00:25:32.77
So Sean started
unbuttoning his shirt,
00:25:32.80\00:25:34.62
I kind of looked at
him, what are you doing here
00:25:34.65\00:25:37.98
Sean, and he starts
unbuttoning his shirt.
00:25:38.01\00:25:39.90
Let me show you
exactly what I'm talking about,
00:25:39.93\00:25:41.75
and so he had tattoos on
his body and he pointed to
00:25:41.78\00:25:47.07
the left side of the
arm, and it was evil.
00:25:47.10\00:25:49.98
He said over here
is evil, and he pointed
00:25:50.01\00:25:52.96
to the right side.
00:25:52.99\00:25:53.96
It had the cross and
some good things over here,
00:25:53.98\00:25:56.37
and he said this is the
right side, this is good,
00:25:56.40\00:25:58.79
but the evil always wins.
00:25:58.82\00:26:00.74
What do you think
about that preacher?
00:26:00.77\00:26:02.96
Don't you think we
all struggle with the same
00:26:02.99\00:26:05.37
thing, you visualized it for me,
00:26:05.40\00:26:07.31
but we all struggle
with the carnal and the
00:26:07.50\00:26:09.91
spiritual minded
and you know Sean,
00:26:09.94\00:26:12.07
you are not so far
gone that you can't be
00:26:12.10\00:26:17.40
accepted by God Almighty.
00:26:17.43\00:26:19.75
Amen!
00:26:19.78\00:26:20.80
And I said, you know, you
got to understand that Sean.
00:26:20.83\00:26:22.96
Okay, you know what preacher,
00:26:22.99\00:26:23.99
because you cannot let a
preacher start talking 'cause
00:26:24.02\00:26:26.43
you'll lose the show.
00:26:26.46\00:26:27.68
But I want you to,
we're going to break and come
00:26:27.71\00:26:30.74
back for the second half.
00:26:30.77\00:26:31.74
I want you to again share
some stuff, but right now.
00:26:31.75\00:26:35.42
We are going to go
ahead and take a break and I
00:26:35.45\00:26:37.55
just want you to hear.
00:26:37.58\00:26:38.55
This is a guy that
got lost in his addiction.
00:26:38.56\00:26:41.99
His father, his mother,
and wife, his grandmother,
00:26:42.02\00:26:47.60
everybody praying and
wanting him to come back.
00:26:47.63\00:26:50.06
And as he starts
walking back it's absolutely
00:26:50.09\00:26:52.76
unbelievable, but stay tuned,
00:26:52.79\00:26:56.01
because the next step
in this, it will WOW you,
00:26:56.04\00:26:59.91
of what God had
planed for Sean, in his life,
00:26:59.94\00:27:02.82
and the people around him.
00:27:02.85\00:27:04.11
In some believable, and
it just makes me want to
00:27:04.14\00:27:06.62
kiss God on the
face, stay with us.
00:27:07.83\00:27:08.95