THIS IS MY STORY! – James B
For most of my life, I was mad at God. I was so far from Him that you couldn’t even tell me there was a God. If there was, why would He have caused so many bad things to happen in my life?
Growing up, I had three brothers and a mom and dad who loved me. We even went to church together as a family. But things took a hard turn when my mom passed away when I was just 10 years old. It devastated our family and shook us to the core. Mom was the one who glued the family together. So without her there, we all went our separate ways—away from each other and away from God.
Moving forward I got married and had children, but things kept getting more and more tough. One of my daughters, Andrea Renee, died when she was just a baby. I walked through a painful divorce and kept experiencing tragedies. God was not in my life, and I wanted nothing to do with Him.
For a few years all I had was my daughter, Sarah. She was there for me when I had no one. She pushed me to move on and start living again and it was her that pushed me to meet DeeDee.
Dee was my one glimmer of hope. She loved me like no one else ever had. I knew when I first saw that smile that she was special.
When we started dating, I noticed that there was something wrong with me physically. I would lose my balance and shake at times but just blamed it on different things. I didn’t want to worry DeeDee. At our wedding I nearly fell off the stage but told her it was probably my sugar.
In August of 2015, I finally went to the doctor and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. If it wasn’t for DeeDee’s encouragement, love, and support, I would have ended my life. I didn’t want to put my family through this. I digressed very quickly. Within a month I had lost all facial expression. My body would spasm so violently while sleeping that I would often end up hurting DeeDee in the middle of the night. I needed a cane plus my wife’s arm to get around. I would wear out a pair of shoes in a month because I couldn’t pick up my feet to walk, and stairs were pretty much out of the question.
DeeDee would ask me to go to church, and my response was always the same: “You aren’t getting me to church; it ain’t happening.” On New Year’s Eve 2016, she asked me to go to Faith Family. I said, “No,” but my daughter, Sarah, asked me to go too. Now Sarah was just like me. She had no interest in church at all. So when she asked, I decided to go with them.
I wanted to sit as far in the back as possible. I don’t like to be in front, I am a behind-the-scenes kind of guy.
Pastor Mike gave an invitation to receive Jesus, and I sensed a strong pull on my heart. I felt God knockin’ me on the head telling me, “You need this. Stop running.” I struggled with it and tried to suppress it, but God wouldn’t let up. As I raised my hand, I looked over to see that Sarah’s hand was in the air too. That night both Sarah and I gave our lives to Jesus Christ.
I saw an instant change in Sarah—a freedom from the pain and anger that had been in her life. As for me, I felt a huge weight lift knowing I had been forgiven for all my wrongdoings. I felt at peace for the first time in my life. And the crazy thing is, even though I haven’t seen my mom and daughter, Andrea, for so many years, God brought back lost memories of them. It made me feel so close to them again even though they were in heaven. I felt love like I had never felt before.
Two weeks after I accepted Christ, I met Chris, a pastor at Faith Family. When he learned that I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, he asked if he could pray for me. He let me know that Jesus died not only for my salvation but to walk in healing. We prayed and I went on my way.
My watch was programmed to alert me four times a day letting me know to take my medicine. When it came time that evening I reached for my handful of pills and felt God leading me not to take them. He said, “You don’t need them. Go to bed.” In the morning when my alarm went off again, I felt the same leading. I felt like God was saying, “You’re good. Go to work.”
At work that day, instead of walking to my office I turned the opposite way and started toward the steps. It was like my brain was on autopilot. When I stopped I realized I had just climbed five flights of stairs. I called DeeDee to celebrate. I was healed.
I have been free from Parkinson’s for over 3 year now and I walk 7-8 miles a day.
The more I learn about God, the more I realize how merciful He is. He is full of love, healing, and deliverance. I now know God is for me; He is my help in time of need.
I shouldn’t be able to walk right now without a cane. I stand tall and tell you I am saved and completely healed by the mercy of my Lord Jesus Christ.