The Stories Coming Back to Me — With a Grateful Heart

The book is out, people are reading it, and I continue to be amazed by the response.

I've received calls, emails, messages, and comments from people who knew me years ago, people who know me today, and people I've never met. Some are sharing what the book has meant to them. Others are sharing pieces of their own stories with me.

To everyone who has purchased the book, shared it, reached out, prayed for me, or offered a word of encouragement—thank you.

I mean that sincerely.

My publisher has ranked Jonah: From Rebellion to Redemption—A Life Redirected by God as #3 on their bestseller list.

I have to admit, my first instinct was to jump up and down a little.

That's probably the old me.

Humility has not always come easily for me. Anyone who knows my story—or reads the book—will probably understand that. Pride and believing I could handle life on my own were part of what led me down some very wrong roads.

Thankfully, God has been patient with me.

Very patient.

Today, I am reminded of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”

So rather than simply celebrating what I have accomplished, I want to stop and recognize what God has done.

Praise the Lord.

Hallelujah!

None of this would be possible without Him.

The book itself is a testimony to that. It tells about rebellion, consequences, brokenness, and mistakes I cannot undo. But more importantly, it tells about a God who didn't leave me there.

And now He is allowing that story to reach other people.

One response in particular recently touched my heart.

Years ago, after I had come out of prison, I met a young man who wanted to fly. He wanted to become a pilot.

I remember telling him:

“I'm still a pilot. They couldn't take that away from me.”

I didn't think much about that conversation afterward.

But he did.

He recently told me those words stayed with him and encouraged him to pursue his dream of flying. In the winter of 2003, he went through Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Today, he is a Standardization Instructor Pilot with approximately 6,000 hours of flight time.

A conversation I barely remembered became encouragement someone else carried with him for years.

That's humbling.

And perhaps that's one of the lessons God is continuing to teach me through this experience.

We don't always know how He will use us.

We don't know when a conversation, a word of encouragement, a failure we've survived, or a story we're willing to share might become part of someone else's journey.

I thought I was finally telling my story.

Instead, people are beginning to tell me theirs.

And I'm discovering that those stories mean far more to me than I could ever have dreamed possible.

If my life teaches anything, I hope it is that God can take what is broken and redeem it. He can take our failures and use them for His purposes. He can take a man who spent too much of his life saying, “I've got this,” and patiently teach him to say:

“Lord, You've got this.”

So today, my heart is full.

I'm thankful to friends old, new, and strangers.

I'm thankful to every person reading and sharing the book.

I'm thankful for every story you're sending back to me.

And I'm humbled that God would allow my story—all of it—to be used in this way.

The book may have my name on the cover.

But the glory belongs to God.

Praise the Lord, and Hallelujah to Him for what He has done—and for whatever He chooses to do next.