My name is Brian L, and I want to share some of the things that God is doing in my life. First of all, I want to thank all of the people who live, work and support the Washington City Mission.I don’t know where I’d be without all of your help. I’ll start by saying that this isn’t my first time at the Mission. It’s my 3rd. The first 2 times I was just passing through. I came with ulterior motives. I wanted to find what seemed to be normal wants for most men. Shelter leads to a good job, help with housing, and don’t forget that beautiful woman to top it off. And those first 2 times I got exactly what I wanted. But I failed to leave with the most important thing the Mission has to offer, and that is a personal relationship with God. Today I understand that accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior and having that personal relationship with God is the most important thing in my life. When I have those things, everything (and I mean everything) else that I ever wanted will be given to me. What I’ve found out was that my priorities were in the wrong place.
I’m just gonna share one of the testimonies that I have about how God has worked in my life here at the Mission. I’m a 46 year old man. I’ve never knew my biological father. I’ve always wanted to just look at him and see his face. I didn’t want anything from him and I wasn’t mad at him. I just wanted to see him and ask him a few questions. Nothing to deep, just things like: What is your favorite color? and Do you have any health problems. Just simple stuff. I guess just like any kid who didn’t know a parent would want to ask. But I thought that that would never happen. And I was ok with it. Matter of fact it was one of the last things that was on my mind. But not God’s.
Ever since I’ve been here at the Mission God has been breaking strongholds in my life that were keeping me from being the person that I know I was capable of being. God has given me a peace and joy that I thought only other people could have. He’s put people around me who really care about my well being and most important my soul. Thanks again Washington Mission. But anyways I happened to get a hold of my biological dad’s phone #. I had it for about a month but kept putting off calling him because of my fear.
I didn’t know how this man was going to react and I was fearful of being hurt. But a friend told me that all fear was is False Events Appear Real and he was exactly right. But you know how it goes when you’ve lived all your life in fear (Fear of love, Fear of success, Fear of getting hurt) it’s really hard to break its grips. But with God everything’s possible. And I truly believe that. So it was time to put it to the test.
I picked up the phone and made the call. His wife answered the phone and I asked to speak with John. As she was handing him the phone I lost all faith and fear rose up again and I hung up. I just couldn’t do it. Too many feelings started to arise and I had given up. I cursed myself for being a sissy and swore I would call sometime in the future. Now here’s where God steps in. You know they say that you’re supposed to do all that you can then God will do the rest. Well it’s true! My phone rang and it was John A. my biological father. We talked and he wanted to have a DNA test done. He would pay for it and he seemed anxious just like myself about the results.
So we had the DNA test done and true enough he was my father. He lived in Virginia but he was coming to Washington in about a week. To make a long story short we met and went out to dinner and had that talk that I always wanted to have with my father all my life. I didn’t particularly like the man but I got a chance to see what I would look like when I got to be 65. We opened a line of communication that needed to be opened. And I’m thankful. The lesson I’ve learned from all of this is that there’s nothing too big or small for God. He allowed me to see that I really didn’t miss that much not having that man in my life growing up. I’m not like my father. Although he’s a big deacon and very successful I’m so glad I’m not like him. He’s shown me that being brought up with 3 women was truly a blessing. And he’s shown me that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Thank you Washington Mission because if it weren’t for you, none of this would have transpired. I wouldn’t have had a safe place where God could mold me into exactly what he wants me to be. Oh and my father’s favorite color is blue – just like mine.
