A Story of Salvation – The Lower End of the Food Chain.

Our story of salvation is unique. Our story is ours and ours alone. Nevertheless, an encounter with Christ is at the heart of each one.

Story of Salvation

Life is made of a series of events. How we handle them defines who we are. This is the telling of experiences that led to my salvation. In no way  am I looking for any attention or sympathy for these events.

Though I will be focusing mainly on the negative events in my life, there were some  positives, with my salvation being the top. I hope the outcome from this is a better understanding of what the kids in the poorer areas of our towns and cities could be going through.  

My Short Lived Family

I was born to a family that did not last too long. Before I was 5 my parents divorced. My sister (who is 2 years younger) and I, were at that time,  living with my mom. I do not remember this part of my life; I guess I was too young. I do remember at around the age of 5 my dad visiting me  and my sister at my grandma’s house to ask us a question. That question was; “How would you like to come live with me”. It was not so much a  question but more of “Your mom can’t handle you and your sister, so you are coming to live with me”. 

A New Family

So, my sister and I moved in with my dad and his new family. He had married again, and his wife already had three sons from her earlier  marriage. So now I had a step mother and 3 step brothers.

My sister and I became the lower end of the food chain, sort of sounding like a Cinderella story. My dad and his new wife had a daughter a couple years later, so now I also have a half-sister. 

A Sleepover At Mom’s

One night, when I was around the age of nine, my sister and I had a sleepover at my real moms house. While we were there, she was beaten by  her boyfriend. We tried to help but we were too small. I had to go run into the street to yell for help. I have tried to forget this event and at  times I think it is a bad dream. 

Tough Tonka Toy Trouble

Five months later at the age of ten I was playing in our driveway with my Tonka front end loader and my dad came rushing out of the house  with my step mother right behind yelling at him. He got into his car and was about to drive away and before I knew it, my step mother had  grabbed my Tonka truck and began beating his car with it (they sure made toys tough back then).

She managed to take off his mirror before he  could get away. She rushed back in the house, and I was left there in the driveway trying to understand what just occurred. Once I realized what  had happened, I bent over and grabbed a stone from the driveway and threw it at God and yelled at him.

A funny thing happened a couple seconds after I threw the stone at Him, he threw it right back at me (gravity is his creation after all).

Feeling Unwanted

My dad and step mother were no longer together and my sister and I were left with my step mother for another 2 years. These were a couple of the toughest years for us. The feeling of not being wanted, being left with a person who is not really your family and being treated as such. We felt alone. 

Fighting Between Moms

After 2 years, at around the age of 12, I received a new bike from my real mom. This bike became more my step brothers then mine and my  mom took exception to this. One day while we were watching one of my step brothers play baseball, my mom came racing into the park, found  my step mom and began beating her. Right in front of everybody. I still have visions of the event to this day.

Going home that day with my step  mom was terrifying! I did not know what to expect or if I would be the object of her retaliation. She did not lay a hand on me, but she really did  yell at me and my sister waving the chunks of hair at us that my mom had pulled out. 

Living With My Grandparents

A couple days later my dad came and got us. I started to get excited because he was taking us to live with him. What I didn’t know at the time  is that he had found another wife, and she did not want us, so we were going to his parents, my grandparents to live because he had nowhere  else to take us.

My grandparents lived in a pretty cool spot. My grandpa was custodian of the city court house and a perk was that he lived in  the lower level of the building. Let’s just say, I locked my sister in the jail on more than one occasion. 

Back With My Mom

A week or two passed and my mother stopped by my grandparents to take us to live with her. This was the start of my life in a poor part of  town. My mom did not have a very good paying job and now she had two mouths to provide for. I give my mom a lot of credit for all she did for  us with so little. 

A Tough Neighbourhood

Between the ages of 12 to 15 there were a lot of events that took place. It was a tough neighbourhood, especially for a new kid. I ran countless  times from many other kids who wanted to give me a beating. And there were times when I was not fast enough.

I have memory of being  circled by a group of kids while one of them punched and kicked me and did not stop even while I was on the ground trying to protect myself.  Or how in my grade 9 gym class my clothes would always go missing.  

With all this happening, my mom had a boyfriend who was not exactly the nicest person, he did provide for us, but I was afraid of him. He  would smack me in the back of the head and say I was stupid. I could not escape the terror. Scared to go out in the neighborhood, scared to go  to school and scared to go home. 

Assaulted

At around the age of 14 an event happened that took place in which I will never forget. It would affect me physically and mentally. There are only two people who know what happened at this point in my life. It is very hard for me to say this, but I was sexually assaulted. It plagues me  to this day. If it were not for events a couple years later in life, I may not be here today. Guess what the 2nd leading cause of death for a  teenager is – suicide. 24% of all deaths in Canada are a result of this. At this point in my life the thought was there. I was at the lowest of lows.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 says,

The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.  

2 Thessalonians 3:3

Difficult Times

This was a very difficult time. I did manage to make some friends, I had four. I spent a lot of time with them. I also stayed in contact with my  step brothers. One of them and I had become very good at stealing things. If it was not tied down, we would steal it. I could get out of a store with a model airplane kit with no one seeing me. We were very good at it for 14 year-olds.

Unlocked Doors

One Sunday we found a store that forgot to lock their doors; basically, we cleaned out all their stock and hid it. I told my friend Michael about this. The next day I walk in my house and there was this strange man at our kitchen table. He introduces himself as a Detective from the police department and wanted to know if I had  something to say. So, I said what any other 14 year old boy would say “I didn’t do anything”. He proceeded to explain to my mother that he was informed by a parent of my friend of what I had done.

So off to court I had to go. I remember the judge yelling at me for not talking loud  enough. The outcome was 2 years’ probation and a $260 fine, which I had to hand deliver to the owner of the business. 

Psalm 46:1 says,

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

Psalm 46:1

Ball Diamond Church

At age 15, my friend asked if I wanted to go play baseball with him. So, I grabbed my glove and off we went. Near-by there was a large open  plot of land with a ball diamond that was part of a church property. While playing, a man who was an elder at that congregation approached  me and asked if I would be interested in coming out to Christian Service Brigade (CSB for short). I went to CSB every week and enjoyed the  games, especially floor hockey (I was pretty good at it). I enjoyed the people I met there and the things I learned.

Memorable Things

During my time at CSB we did a lot of memorable things. We went on camping trips locally and as far as Calgary. I was learning all about God and his son the Lord Jesus Christ.  But with all the good that was happening, it almost was all undone. I was a very nervous and non-trusting kid because of my past experiences. 

Jesus and the Cross

After a hike I was driven home by a young man. When we got to my house he stopped in front of my house and did not want me to leave the  car because he wanted to talk to me. I was terrified. Is he going to do something to me? What do I do? Do I run? What if he really does want to  talk to me?

Against my emotions I stayed, and he proceeded to explain what Jesus had done for me at the cross. All though he had good  intentions, I did not really listen to what he said as I had myself worked up too much. Lesson from this is to not force Jesus on to anybody; you  may be causing more harm than good, at least in my case. 

Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames

At age 17 and after two years of attending CSB we went to a play called “Heavens Gates and Hells Flames”. Basically, it showed what happened  when you die. How the unsaved would be dragged to hell and the saved be taken up to heaven. The play has been criticized for using fear to  persuade people. You know something, it scared me to death.

I had been going to CSB for two years by then and knew that Jesus died on the  cross for my sins, but I never asked him into my life. I was one of those people who coasted along thinking I had time to decide. This play  displayed that our time may come at any moment, only God knows when our time will come.

At the end of the play, we were invited to come  to know Jesus as our personal Saviour. You know what I did; I didn’t go up and do it then. I waited until I was alone at home that night and  prayed for salvation. I prayed for Jesus to come into my life. I thanked him for taking my sin to the cross and dying. I thanked God for Christ’s resurrection 3 days later. And to this day still feel that I do not deserve what he did for me at the cross for I have done so many things wrong.  But you know what; he still loves me despite it all. 

Thinking Back

To this day I still think back to those dark times in my life. But it is a whole lot more bearable knowing that the Lord is at my side. He has blessed  me with a wonderful wife and kids for they help keep my mind on the more important things. I am so thankful for the people of that local church, especially the leaders at CSB who guided me (perhaps unknowingly) through some tough times. I still have a tough time in social  environments; I still try to avoid them whenever possible. 

If there is one thing, I would like to be remembered from all this, it would be: do not give up on any child. No matter how terrible they seem to  be. You never know what they are going through in their life. You may be their only guiding light in this dark and terrible world. And if you turn  that light off, they may be lost forever. 

Two Verses

Matthew 5:16 says,

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in  heaven.  

Matthew 5:16

Proverbs 22:6 reads like this,

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

What is your story of salvation? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.