Since this thread is titled "This is why I believe" and not lets bash people for what they believe. I will state why I believe.
I grew up in a lower middle class home with two loving parents that did not believe in God. I often heard criticism about God from my parents. So I was not brain washed from an early age as so many claim happens. I was raised in the Florida public school system in the City of Tampa. I was arrested my first time at the age of 9 for burglary and by the time I was 16 I had been convicted of 1 burglary, 2
marijuana possessions, 1 grand theft auto, 1 destruction of private property, 1 misdemeanor battery, 1 felony assault, and 1 misdemeanor assault on a school board member.
I just want to stop here to say that none of this is a reflection on my parents as they did everything in their power to control me. But I did what ever I wanted to do with no fear of any consequences. With that said my neighborhood and school was dead smack in between the projects and the suburbs. Needless to say I moved my family out of that area. I moved out of my parents house at 16 and supported myself by selling weed, coke, acid, rolls, roofies, stolen goods, guns, and what ever I thought I could make a dollar with. Hell I even use to sell direct tv H cards back when you could program them yourself. Needless to say I barely finished high school.
I had a daughter at 17 and a son at 19. The realities of having a family motivated me to go back to school and get my degree. I ended up with a decent Job working in the field that I went to school for. Everything seemed good and I had for the most part separated myself from most of the people I had previously associated with. But that did not last long. After 911 the tech market crashed and massive layoff swept through the industry. I ended up loosing my job and could not find work in that same field for quite some time. This mixed with the inability to let go of the ideals of my childhood led to the demise of my marriage.
So there I was with no Job and no family. I was angry that I had done all the things that society taught me is the way to go and I still ended up out on the streets. So that is what I reverted to. I went back to the only other way of life that I knew. I went back to the only other thing that I was successful at. So there I was back on the streets that I had barely escaped from as a teen. It wasn't long before I was back in trouble with the law and found myself in county jail on several different occasions. One particular visit to the county jail was when my journey to God began. I was in on a simple driving on a suspended license charge which came with the usual 1 week maximum sentence. Normally you would just spend the night and see the judge in the morning and receive a fine and then released.
So right from the get go all the normal processes where thrown out the window. First I did not get to see the judge that first morning. Then I was transferred from the short term intake facility to the maximum security facility for violent felons and people with sentences longer than 6 months but less than a year unless they are still waiting trial. This was very unusual given my misdemeanor driving charge. Then I was placed into a trustee pod (which I was not. only long term inmates could become trustees) I just assumed that the docket was full for court that day and figured I was in for the maximum of one week.
The first day I was in the long term facility I ran into a friend from my old neighborhood. You know how every neighborhood has that one crazy kid that just always got into the most trouble and was always instigating things. Well that was this guy. He was actually friends with my older brother and had always treated me like his younger brother. Well he was in there waiting trial for attempted murder and armed robbery of another drug dealer. He had waived his right to a speedy trial and had been purposely postponing his trial in hopes that the dealer would disappear. Which he did oddly enough. So anyways he introduced me to another guy that I wish I could remember his name. My friend and this other guy began preaching the gospel to me every day. I just blew it off for the first week and wanted nothing to do with it. But then that week turned into two and then three. The whole time being preached to. They basically bribed me with canteen to get me to do Bible studies with them. I finally got bored enough to start studying with them. I then found some of it quite interesting. This was the first time I started really reading the Bible.
Every day I would go ask the guards to tell me what the hell was going on as I had been in for three weeks and still did not have a court date. Even the guards said that this was very odd for the charge that I was booked on. Every morning I would pick a random spot in the Bible to read. Three days in a row I opened the book to a passage that talked about fasting. I mentioned this to my friend and the other guy and they explained how and why I should fast. Needless to say I was very skeptical of this whole fasting thing since it made no sense to me at all. But seems how the food sucked any way and I knew I could trade my food for other crap I decided to give it a try. So the next day I skipped all three meals and spent the whole day in solitude reading the Bible and praying to God. It was not till later that night that I went to the Bible study and during the group prayer I felt this overwhelming feeling come over me. I physically felt the presence of Jesus and the holy spirit coursing through my veins. It traveled from my head down to my toes. I felt a physical transformation. It was like a whole new insight was given to me at that moment. I went to bed that night wondering what that feeling was.
At this point no one had any clue as to why I was still in jail. All the other inmates thought I must have been in for something much more serious and just did not want to tell anyone. But then that same night I was awaken by a guard. He proceeded to tell me that I was being released for time served. Now I still had not gone to court so there is no way for me to have been given time served. It was at that very moment laying on my slab staring up at this guard that I realized the power of God. I understood at that moment what God had done. I was released with no other explanation of what had happened.
From that moment forward it was like there was an unstoppable force compelling me to change my ways. I have since reconciled my marriage with my wife and am once again a father to my children. Shortly after I was released from jail I received a job offer from a company that I had not even applied to. They said my resume was forwarded to them from the collage that I had graduated from as part of a job placement program that I did not sign up for. Keep in mind this was almost 2 years after I had graduated. That company was then bought out by a company based out of Colorado and they paid for me to move up. Every since that final day in county jail the Bible has been speaking to me and instructing me on how and where I need to improve on my life. It has changed everything that I ever perceived as reality. I can now see a new reality, a reality that completely contradicts what society teaches.
Before I was saved it was every man for himself and anyone who got in my way was dealt with swiftly and cruelly. Now that I have been saved its more like how can I serve and help. Don't get me wrong I still struggle with the temptations of every day life. I am not perfect and still sin on a daily bases. But there is no logic to what has happened to me. The only answer is that I was saved by Gods grace alone. And without God I surely would have ended up with my friend awaiting trial for some violent crime.
I am sure many will criticize me for this post but I felt compelled to share. I just hope that this post can serve as an example of Gods wondrous works and glory. If any other Christians have a story than I would encourage you to please share. Share your story and possibly show others God's true works of love and compassion towards those who do not deserve it.
