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My Story

Instructions to Glory
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My Story
By Wayne Franklin
January 21, 1998

I married my wife, whom I met at church (Lutheran), 5 years ago when I was 23 years old. She was divorced for the second time, with two children. James was just 12 and Nancy had just turned 10. James's biological father had abandoned my wife while she was still pregnant (he left her to join the Jehovah's Witnesses cult). When she remarried, her new husband adopted James and then had Nancy. However, the kids' dad was emotionally immature. He did not participate in parenting at all. Let's just say he did not love them as any normal or even semi-normal father would. The net of this is the emotional scarring left on his children.

Although my wife and I offered everything imaginable to our children (my step-kids really, but I like to think of them as my own) to assist them in dealing with the emotional trauma they had endured, each of them refused help. Nancy is now almost incapable of talking about feelings or anything beyond the superficial. And James has had a host of issues.

In addition to the emotional issues, James also has Attention Deficit Disorder (with hyperactivity), as well as Bipolar (manic-depressive), Oppositional, compulsive lying, and several other mental and behavioral disorders. If he takes his medication (for the ADD and Bipolar mostly), he can lead a fairly normal life. He is extremely intelligent too. However, he has worked most of his life and much more so during his teen years, at refusing help. He has worked very hard to fail in every sense of the word. His grades are extremely poor (Ds and Fs); he refuses to learn to drive (he's 17 now); he has taken up marijuana, cigarettes, alcohol, perhaps worse now. He has run away, for the second time. He sleeps on the streets sometimes; he lies to friends in order to have a place to stay; he refuses all forms of authority; and his concept of reality is quite warped.

Since James was brought up in a Christian home (his mother and me, not his adopted father), I could only come up with one logical answer: demonic possession. I believe James has allowed, or maybe even invited, evil to come into his heart. Nothing else seems to explain the destructive forces in his life. Many, many people have been praying for him for a very long time. And still more have offered him a place to stay, a good home away from my wife and me (if that's what he wants), and love. He refuses it all. We've even checked him into a hospital (against his will at first) when he was first arrested, after the first time he ran away last fall. My wife's and my hearts have been broken time and again because of this young man's actions.

Now that the stage has been set with all the terrible things that have happened to us, I'll give you the good news. The Lord Jesus has stood by each of us every step of the way. No, He has not prevented all these bad things from occurring. He has granted us all with free will. If James wants to turn his life over to evil, then the Lord allows him to do so. But it breaks my heart; it breaks his mother's heart; and it really breaks the Lord's heart. Even though He hasn't stopped James's choices, He has been with us all the while. My wife and I feel the hurt, but we are not broken. We cry often, but at the same time, we feel His presence with us. We feel His peace. We know that James is in the Lord's hands, and when it's time, He will reveal Himself to James in a big way.

I wish I could describe the overwhelming peace which Christ has granted my wife and me. I do not know what it would be like without His grace upon us. Friends occasionally tell us, "We don't know how you can do it." Well, we don't do it--the Almighty does it for us and with us. Our purpose in this world has been made clear to us, even through this turmoil. We are still given so much love and support from our Lord, that we need to give some of it away! We are very active in our church. My wife is the new congregational president this year. I am starting a Sunday school class. We attend several Bible study and discussion groups.

We tried groups like Nar-anon (for addicted people's families), but they didn't offer the kind of peace which the Lord delivers. Don't get me wrong--these groups are wonderful for support. But we could not find the time to fit it into our schedules after the Lord packed the rest of our days with His work in us. He has provided us with so much support and love; we just don't know what do with it all except to give it away again. And the Christian fellowship group at work has been an incredible source of love. My wife and I have grown closer to the Lord than we previously thought possible. We have grown closer together as well. We give thanks and praise to the Lord more now than ever before, because He is so alive in us.

The Lord is surely good. And it is true that all good things come to those who love the Lord Jesus. Our Father has given us a very good life, and we praise Him for it as often as we can. He has used us to minister to others through this time as well. In fact, there are other couples we know who have been going through very similar times. Through the experiences James gives us, and the peace and love the Lord gives us, we have been able to love these other families and pray with them like we couldn't have before.

I pray that our brief story can offer encouragement to others of God's children. He has made Himself known to us in countless ways, and carried us through these tough times. The Lord does not remove us from the world, for we are to live in it. But He says that we are not OF the world--we are from God. When we remember that we are His and that He will care for us, then we have His strength to hold us and love us. And no worldly power can overcome the Almighty!

Thank the Lord Almighty for His wisdom and love, and for His overwhelming joy and peace! Praise God! Praise God!!

Editor's note: Some names have been changed in order to protect identities. Please pray for those involved. Thank you!

My Story

Instructions to Glory

My Story
By Wayne Franklin
January 21, 1998

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My Story

Instructions to Glory

My StoryBy Wayne FranklinJanuary 21, 1998

Subscribe ...

You may also wish to read ....

My Story
By Wayne Franklin
January 21, 1998