"THAT MOMENT ON
APRIL 15, 1983 CHANGED
MY LIFE FOREVER."

In the thirty-nine-year process, I was locked up in ten different states. I rode over 2500 miles in handcuffs, leg irons, and waist chains. I have been in riots in prisons, escaped once from prison, and have been in over twenty-five car and motorcycle wrecks—eight of which I should have died in. I overdosed several times and had two heart attacks from doing cocaine.               

I got involved with the Kansas City underworld and ultimately became an enforcer for them. I liked what I saw in the lifestyle of the guys I was working for, and determined in my mind to become one of them.

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By 1982, I had achieved the goals I was after. I was implicated as being one of the leading cocaine dealers in Kansas City, Missouri, and was selling enough cocaine that I had enough money to do anything I desired. If I wanted to spend $10,000 today, I did, because tomorrow I would have another $10,000. I stayed in $500 a night hotels, rode in limousines, and even bought $20,000 worth of cocaine for a one-night party. So, I finally had the money I always wanted.

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I found out one day that I could make a phone call and have someone killed. So, I finally had the power I always wanted. I had enough influence that when I was arrested on an attempted-murder charge, I was out of jail in less than twelve hours without ever seeing a judge. I was arrested at 2:00 pm on Sunday, September 5, 1982, and when a person gets arrested on a weekend, they usually aren’t going anywhere until Monday morning when a judge arraigns them and sets their bond. When I was allowed to make my phone call, I called a city councilman that I was selling cocaine to and told that person to make a call. They, in turn, called a judge I was selling cocaine to and that judge instantly got the ball rolling. I walked out of jail at 1:30 a.m. Monday morning, less than twelve hours after I had been arrested. If you are selling cocaine to a judge, he doesn’t want you in jail.

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I finally had the money, power, and influence I had always wanted, but there was still something desperately wrong. There was no peace in my life. If I saw a girl scout I got nervous because she wore a uniform, and that represented authority to me, and authority scared me. If I was in a restaurant eating and a cop came in, I went into the bathroom and climbed out of the window. He probably wasn’t even after me, he was just hungry. The Bible says the wicked run when no one is chasing them (Proverbs 28:1).

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I was feeding a $500 cocaine habit and smoking three packs of non-filter Camels every single day. Sometimes I would drink two quarts of whiskey all in one day. I smoked tons of dope and did any pill I could. I tell people I would have taken a birth-control pill if I could get high on it. I used to kiss my wife goodbye and say, “I’ll see you tonight”. Then I wouldn't come home for three or four weeks. I carried two pistols everywhere and sometimes carried a briefcase with an UZI. I never saw my kids and didn’t care about anything except what made me feel good and making the next drug deal.

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My criminal case was reduced from attempted murder to first-degree assault with intent to kill. That carried fifteen years to life in the state of Missouri. I was also facing five to fifteen on another charge.

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On April 15, 1983, while sitting in an old farmhouse out in the country, I said, “God, if you’re real, and you can change me, I will live my life for you”. I have not done an illegal drug since 1983. I’ve not taken a drink of alcohol, smoked a cigarette, or kissed another woman except my wife since 1983. God has given me a peace I never knew was possible. 

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I feel like the richest man on earth because He gave me back my wife. How much would you pay to get your wife back? God gave me back my four children. How much would you pay to get your kids back? He gave me back my mind. Before I gave my life to the Lord, I couldn’t carry on a conversation without forgetting what I was saying in the middle of a sentence because my mind was so burnt up with drugs and alcohol. How much would you pay to get your mind back?

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God kept me from going to prison. How much would you pay to keep from going to prison? He delivered me from drugs and alcohol. How much would you pay to get off drugs? It's free . . . just ask Christ into your life.

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That moment on April 15, 1983, changed my life forever. Thanks to Jesus, I will never be the same.