Life Stories

I Gave God One Week

When you sit down for the Thanksgiving meal, and everyone is going around the table sharing what they are most thankful for, what are you going to say?

Dhe, Kim, and their eldest son experienced homelessness in 2007 and 2008. Today, 11 years later, Dhe knows exactly what he will say when it’s his turn to share what he’s thankful for, and he’s here to let us all know.

“In 2006, I was living the life I wanted to live and doing whatever I wanted to do…until my girlfriend, Kim told me she was pregnant.

After that, I knew I had to change. I had to get myself together for our new growing family. Reaching out to God seemed like a good thing to do, so I said, ‘Okay, God. I remember somebody telling me that if I search for You, You will reveal Yourself.’

So, I gave Him one week.

Each day that week, I sat down for five minutes, beginning with a prayer like this: ‘Hey, if You’re there, this is me giving You my five minutes today. I don’t know what to talk about, and I feel stupid talking to myself right now.’ My prayers usually just got worse from there.

At the very end of that week, I felt like God spoke to me, saying that He wanted more time with me than just five minutes. He made it clear over the next 24 hours that He had a plan and a purpose for our lives.

The very next week, Kim and I began going to a church. Being involved in church became a regular part of our lives. I was being mentored and raised up to be a leader, our baby boy was born, and Kim and I got married. For the most part, things seemed to be going well.

But hard times were coming for us.

In 2008, shortly after our honeymoon, Kim, our son, and I became homeless. We bounced from the home of one family member to another, living wherever someone had a little space to spare; we didn’t have anything, and that lasted for just over a year. I had to start thinking through everything, and I realized that I wasn’t putting my trust in the right place.

I was trusting in my ability to provide. I wasn’t trusting God.

We were going to have to trust God, and truthfully, that’s all we could do. We couldn’t put our trust in my abilities any longer.

After living with my sister for a little while, Kim and I finally found an apartment that we could call home. We got back on our feet and trusted God to see us through. Now, almost 11 years later, we’ve got four kids, Kim and I are happily married, and my brother even lives with us.

My family and I have been going to Milestone Church for nearly four months, it truly is our church home. During that short amount of time, we have been welcomed into spiritual family, which is something I never even knew we needed. This spiritual family reminds Kim and I of what God said to me in 2006 – He has had a plan for our lives all along.

It’s crazy to look back and think about all that God has done for us throughout the years. He brought us out of some really tough times and has given us many things to be thankful for.

One thing we’re grateful for this year?

God provided a physical home for us in 2008 and a church home in 2019.”

-Dhe

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  • Nathan
    December 1, 2019 at 1:50 pm

    Love having you and your family, Dhe!