We overcome by the word of our testimony and by the blood of the Lamb!
 |
This is my testimony. The next 15 minutes may be hard for you to read, but it paints a vivid picture of a life heading directly to Hell. But thank God for Jesus Christ, it was His sacrifice on the cross that paid for my sins and yours. Well I hope this testimony reaches someone. If even one person reads this and comes to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior then my life story will have been worth living through. Thank you Jesus for Strengthening me. Amen!
I was born in New York City on the lower East Side of Manhattan. For those of you not familiar with the city of New York. Imagine your worst nightmare and multiply it by 10! I was one of 6 children. Three sisters and two brothers. I can recall around the age of 5 or 6 years old having to step over I.V. Drug Addicts in the dimly lit stairwell of our apartment building. I know to some of you reading this it may sound like a bad movie, but trust me this really happened.
As I got older, probably around 10 or 12 years old, my mom would not allow us to go out side and play. I realize now why she wouldn't let us play, but I didn't realize when I was a child the reasons for it. See in our neighborhood, shootings, stabbings, robberies, rape, (that's right even boys get raped) happened on a daily basis in my neighborhood; so mom was trying to protect us.
At the age of 15 years old, my father and I had an argument. After he said a few choice words, he threw me out of the house with what I had on my back and forbid my mom from helping me in any way. So at this point I am homeless, living on the street, I can't go to mom for help, and I really had no friends to stay with. So I decided to take care of myself.
Those of you with children probably could not imagine what I was taking on, and neither did I. First I needed to drop out of school; I was in 9th grade. I lived in abandoned cars and ate food from garbage cans and dumpsters (that is even hard for me to believe looking back), but when you have no money you do what you must do to survive. This went on for about three months. I don't recall exactly when I said to myself, "you had better get up and get your life together, because no ones coming to help you!"
During this time, the people I was living on the streets with were overdosing on drugs and some died of diseases. This was a very difficult time in my life; just talking about it is painful. But you must know the environment I was living in. So at the age of 16 I got a job, found an apartment, and went back to night school for a G.E.D Diploma. My life was starting to turn around and the next two years were better then the last two. At 18 years old I signed up for the ARMY. I was feeling pretty good about my life. Right before my 20th birthday my mom told me that she was dying of cancer. I felt like I was back on the street. The same 15 year old little kid playing at being a man but at that time my mom sat me down and told me this story.
This is what she told me. ...
When I was 5 years old after returning from a trip, my mom put me to bed. It was like any other night, except this time I stopped breathing. They called 911 and took me to the hospital. After several days and nights and all kinds of tests:
They did EEG test with needles placed in my head; there was no brain wave activity.
They ran electricity up my spinal cord, and I had no reaction to it.
At this point they told my mom they did not believe I would make it back, and if I did I would be a vegetable.
During this time my grandfather passed away. Shortly after his passing I woke up from my state of coma and first thing I said was, "I want to go back to grandpa!"
I didn't know about this event until my mother told me at her hospital bed. But it seems clear to me, that God has a purpose for my life that had not yet come to be and he had given me a second chance.
"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord" Jeremiah 29:11
All of the sudden it was so clear to me. I had a peace and an understanding about dying.
But, I was still not ready to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
I was now 20 years old.
I lost my mom to cancer; she was the closest thing to me.
At this time I got married, maybe to try and fill a void that was in my heart. But after 9 years in that marriage it ended in divorce. While that marriage was falling apart so was my life. I was drinking, smoking, taking all kinds of drugs (pills, Cocaine, weed etc...) it basically fit into my lifestyle.
I was 6 foot 3, 195 pounds, and both arms from wrist to shoulder are heavily tattooed.
Not exactly your average "church going" person.
Also during this marriage my body was falling apart. The doctors told me if they didn't take part of my stomach that I would be dead by 25. They took part of my stomach also gallbladder, appendix, and part of my lower intestine (all in a 6 month period of time)!! When I left the hospital I weighed in at 114 pounds and looked like a skeleton!
It was my second wife Vicki, whom I love with all my heart, who turned me around; she saw something in me, that I didn't even see in myself. After some time I stopped drugging and drinking and smoking and this is the amazing part: On November 11, 1998 I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Savior!
And you know something? As screwed up as my life was, Jesus didn't care!
When you accept Him, He removes all guilt of past experiences.
It took me 14 years to realize I needed Jesus in my life. But after I accepted Him, I realized that even when I was 15 years old living on the street eating from garbage cans, He was with me. Also when I was 5 years old dying in that hospital bed, He was with me. And I believe in my heart, Jesus longs to be with you.
I spent my life looking for missing pieces and I felt like a big puzzle with a missing piece. JESUS CHRIST is that missing piece! All things are possible with Jesus Christ, who lives in me and strengthens me.
After receiving Jesus Christ I was blessed to find friends like Shannon and Shawn Bailey. It seems to me that God decided that we must be brought together to help one another through some things. God bless both of them, they are truly my best friends!
I hope this testimony helps someone. I pray that whoever reads this will find the peace that Jesus longs to give each of us. In closing I would like to leave you with two verses in the Bible that mean a lot to me. Maybe they will mean something to you too!
"God has a plan" Jeremiah 29:11-14 / "Do not worry"! Matthew 6:25-34
Photo added July 2002
Photo added Nov. 2005
Photo added Mar. 2006
"God bless and may the Lord look over you always." Lenny Scott McDonough
Go to Testimony List
S i t e
|
http://webusers.warwick.net/~u1030443/rw2len.htm
Site layout and design (c) Aug. 2000 Elaine Dantzler: Webmaster