Travis had a couple of hours before his train departed, so decided to sit on the street for a little people-watching. I "just happened by" and asked if I could join him. Before very many minutes, it was obvious to me that this was not just a chance meeting; God wanted me to share the good news with this young man.
Travis grew up in Stanford, Connecticut, in a family that was about as dysfunctional as one can be. He told me about how he has screwed up his life in almost every way it would be possible. He has tried everything one could imagine to find peace and fulfillment in his life, but it has eluded him to this day. When I asked Travis what he thought to be the missing element in his life, he didn’t hesitate. "A father," he said, "if I had had a father to teach me things about life and to set come kind of example for me, I think my life would have been a lot different."
Travis only saw his father occasionally as he was growing up, and those times were anything but positive. He said his dad would only come home long enough to get his mom pregnant and then it was back to prison. He told of the times his dad had abused his mom as well as him and his siblings. "I remember my mama sitting outside the bedroom crying when my old man was in the bedroom ******* another woman. I wanted to kill that *** ** * ***** since I was eight years old." He was seething with anger, and understandably so. The one man in his life who should have nurtured and trained him was doing more than anyone else to ruin his life.
I let Travis rant as long as he wanted to and tried to be as understanding as a man with a wonderful, loving father could be. Then I said to him, "Travis, I know of only one thing that can make up for all you have missed, heal you from all of your pain, and give you the life you have been looking for. Only one thing." And, of course, he asked what that might be. And I said, "to let your Heavenly Father love you in a way your earthly father never could. He can restore all that has been stolen from you and really make your life worth living."
Travis just sat there for a minute or more. He didn’t seem to know how to respond to what I had said. Then he said, "Well, that might be true, but I can’t go there right now. I need some therapy. I need to sort out all this ****. I’m too screwed up in my head to deal with God right now." And I think that’s one of the most common lies Satan tells people. "You’re got to change something, or fix something before you can come to God."
I assured Travis that he didn’t have to fix anything or change anything, that he could come to God just like he was. "In fact," I said to him, "you can’t fix anything. You can try, but it will only get worse until to give your life to the only one who can fix it."
Travis had said to me earlier in the conversation, "I lived the first twenty years of my life for my mama. She took care of me and I tried to take care of her. I loved the second twenty years for my wife and my son. I tried to raise him the best way I could. Now, the next twenty years are mine. I’m going to live like I want to live." Now, I strongly urged him to live the next twenty years for God and see what wonderful things God could do. Travis said he was willing to try that if God would help him. I assured him that God would be faithful beyond his wildest dreams. I prayed with him and told him I would have others praying for him as well. Please lift him up.
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