The Introduction Within My Book
Introduction
During my early years of life, I learned how to enjoy being alone. I rarely had any friends to play with, so on many occasions I enjoyed evenings of fun by myself. My family and I lived in a compact 10-unit apartment complex in the small town of Bearden, Arkansas, where everyone knew each other. I frequently played alone in front of our unit, and my parents had no reason to worry about my safety. There were very few dangers around town. At that time, kids played outside well into the evening hours, and nothing ever happened to them.
One evening, my playing ventured a little farther than usual. When I reached the edge of our building, I noticed a guy standing in the pathway. I recognized him. I didn’t know much about him, besides the fact that he suffered from a mental illness and that he was somewhere between 18 and 19 years old. Still, he had always been nice and never a threat. Except, this time, something seemed a bit off. He looked at me intensely while cracking an odd smile, his right hand hidden in the pocket of the large trench coat he wore. I knew instantly that something was wrong. He revealed that he had a gun. “You have five seconds to run as far away as possible, and then I will begin shooting.” I froze in fear. Do I call for help? Do I scream? What do I do? “Run now,” he yelled. He wanted to see if I could outrun the bullets of his gun. I didn’t move; I knew that I could not run faster than bullets. I could tell that reasoning with him would be impossible. “Run,” he shouted angrily. My feet stayed glued to the concrete.
Suddenly, I felt led to say something that would baffle him. “Go home,” I yelled with as much fire as a child’s voice could create. His mouth began to move, to utter some words, but I interrupted him. “Go home,” I repeated. This time with more force. He took a few steps back. I repeated it again, and he moved back further. Each time I spoke, he’d take more steps backwards. After telling him to go home more times than I could count, he was out of my sight. My heart continued to race from the adrenaline of the moment as I ran to my apartment unit.
When I got inside, I kept quiet. I didn’t tell anyone what had happened. I have been silent about that day until now, as I write this book. Reflecting on that moment, I can now see that the incident that night marked the beginning of many tough occurrences throughout my life. There would be several times in the future when I would find myself in danger, but somehow, God always made a way for me to escape the danger or some form of temptation, which would have destroyed me.
There is no way that I would have spoken up to that guy in the way in which I did that day on my own. I truly believe God gave me the boldness to do so in that moment. Months later, I heard about another incident that he was involved in, and I learned more about his mental state. I then understood the danger that I was in on the day that I encountered him. It could have been me. I could have been his victim. This story is an introduction that points to the overall purpose of this book: to show God’s incredible invention at various points in my life.
While trying to complete this project, I endured an unbelievable amount of turmoil and disappointment. I experienced setbacks in my health, which unfortunately still impact me, as I am in pain every day to some degree. I also suffered severe financial difficulties.
Midway to its completion, I made a difficult transition to a new city, all while continuing to suffer in both my body and finances. I also struggled with sinful pride in my heart as the stories of my life started to take shape while writing this book. I began to realize just how much I didn’t want others to know about me. I wanted to draw back and give up and allow some of these stories to remain untold. However, through it all, I learned to relinquish my sinful pride so that this book could be completed and made available to the people who need to read it.
I also reached a point at which it was evident that this effort was something God wanted me to do, so I had to follow through until it was completed, even if that meant tearing down my defensive walls and being uncomfortably transparent. I believe one of the greatest things a Christian can do is be open about his or her failures and flaws because, in doing so, others who are struggling in the same areas can see a witness of God’s power to love and restore even the most broken individuals. As you dive into my story, I pray that it ministers to your heart in an amazing way.
An updated version of the book was recently released. click on the button below for details.
