God Stories

August 24, 2018

It was around 2 PM on a Friday afternoon (Oct. 6, 2017). Julie walked into our bedroom where I was setting and stated she felt really unusual with severe pain in her head. After calling 911, the medics transporting her to High Point Regional for a C-Scan, and the doctor telling me she had an aneurism and it was bleeding and she would need to go to Forsyth Medical Center immediately, my world seemed to be unraveling. I remember Julie looking at me and saying, it will be alright.

After hours of trying to stabilize her she was taken into surgery around 12 midnight. Dr. Brown and the team all prayed with us before they took my beloved wife away. After several hours Dr. Brown came out and said the surgery was successful in stopping the bleed. He said she would be in the hospital for many weeks.

Julie spent 22 days at Forsyth Medical Center, with 20 of those days in the Neuro ICU. We met so many nurses, doctors, maintenance people, cleaning people, and many more staff members over the 22 days. We saw many families in the waiting area with the look of hopelessness because their family member was going through something similar to Julie or even worse.

God used this life changing situation in our family to open many doors for his glory.

Julie and I now serve on the Patient Advisory Council for Forsyth Medical. We also minister to families in the Neuro waiting area and our Dorcas ministry provides quilts for their loved ones.

God used Julie’s faith to carry our family through this. She often reflects on this event in her life and is reminded that God kept her on planet earth for a reason.

It has almost been a year since that life changing day for us. We give God all the glory!

David & Julie Galloway

Here is my personal story of Faith I would like to share with you...

Last year I made a decision and talked with my Heavenly Father.

"Father as you know, I lost my wife March 13, 2014 - a very sad day! I am making the decision right now in November for you, my Heavenly Father to prepare me for a special mate and bring her to me. As you have said, ‘ It is not good for man to be alone. ‘

I‘m not going to join Christian Mingle or e-hamony or write to all of my dear friends and ask to see who they know that might be a good partner/mate. I‘m going to trust YOU as I so often have in my life and as I need to everyday! I‘m going to buy her ( as I don‘t know her name ) some clothes ( blouses, slacks, belt ) and lay out on the spare bed along with the first jewelry for her, I‘m placing a Bible on her heart and a Bible on her head as I desire this very special women to love you and desire to follow you. I‘m going to start a diary that I will begin to write to her each day until you introduce her to me. I will begin to work on Sam and ask for your help to prepare me for her. Bring her to me Father. I trust you! In Jesus name, amen"

I started the diary on November 11, 2015 and also purchased two additional ones as I thought God would take his time and perhaps later in 2016 or 2017 He would introduce us to one another. Well He didn‘t wait that long. I agreed to His timing and not mine.

He brought Sharon Joyce from Virginia on December 18, 2015 and we have gotten to know each other so wonderfully! She is amazing and I am sooooooo Blessed! She says she is Blessed as well. I‘m glad! As soon as we met, we were on the phone night and day, talking sharing, praying, writing, e-mailing, texting, sending questions - answering questions. We met on January 8th, 2015 in person and that weekend I gave her the clothes, the jewelry, the Bibles and the diary that I had been writing to her even though I didn‘t know her name, where she lived, who she was or personal life story. I got to know her and she is WONDERFUL!!!

Sharon lost her Husband in a terrible motorcycle accident in October 2014 which she was also terribly injured and took a year for her to recover.

We are Blessed and striving toward becoming ‘ ONE ‘ in every way.

May we ask for your prayers as we prepare a new beginning, new Dreams and new Goals together and a committed desire to live each day together in harmony in Agape love. May we give hope to you and many others. May we love each other deeply in every way and take nothing for granted.

" Thank You Father for your love and for bringing Sharon and I together. May we be a Blessing to you and your Forever Family and every individual that you allow us to meet here on this side of eternity. Thank You Father! "

I won‘t mention what is laid out on the bed at present which Sharon and I are praying over at this very moment. You will find out soon enough.......I promise!!!

God Bless You and may you see the unseen this year!

What happens when a person does not make God a priority in their life? Let me share with you my ongoing God story…. 

I had a wife, 2 children, 2 dogs, a nice home, and a rental house. The world would say I was doing pretty well. I would say I was doing pretty well. 

The cost was a lot of work, spending more time in the factory than being at home chasing money. Often Sundays were spent making double time pay. It was easy to justify working instead of going to church. After all, I was supporting my family. In turn my family grew for 11 years having only a superficial relationship with God. As the father I allowed it. I allowed easy excuses. I allowed worldly treasures to justify a life void of walking with Jesus. This would become my greatest sin.

It all came crashing down one morning when my wife of 11 years said our marriage was over. She needed space and time. She said maybe someday we might reconcile. I tried to fix the issues she said existed, but it was to no avail. I had done nothing that would be considered a biblical justification for divorce. However, what was I to expect after not making the Bible a priority in my family? 

God could have stepped in and fixed it. However, I never opened the door for Him to come into our lives. God had sent Jesus to testify, teach, and die on the cross. What more did God need to do? He laid plainly the path to salvation, and I chose to ignore it.

I went from having a vibrant home to having an empty house. Some nights I just slept in the car so I could avoid going inside. Days were spent growing bitter and resentful. My kids spent half their days with me and the other days with their mother. I felt like everything had been taken from me. When I was at the lowest point in my life, I felt Him. God had always been there. Through all my neglect God never stopped fighting for my heart. 

God started working on me, even though I felt my situation was unbearable. I was finally the piece of clay ready to be molded by the Master. No longer was I telling the Master what type of pottery I desired to be. 

Every time I wanted to give up, I turned on the radio in my car and just the right K- Love song would play. I knew God was there. You see, I started to leave the door open for God. I never turned the dial off of that Christian music station. I tuned God in and in return, God would be there when I needed Him the most. 

We started reconnecting with the Deep River church of Christ. I was ashamed to go back. I was a broken man, a divorced man, a part time member of the church for the past 6 years. Yet God’s righteousness showed in the Deep River family, and they welcomed us with open arms and no judgement. 
Gods glory continued. I heard other testimonies of pain, of suffering, and of hardship. God was there through all of it. He was there for them as He was there for me. In every hardship, God’s light overcame, and His Glory was shown. All of a sudden, my story was not as bad, nor as lonely as I had perceived. ne can never be alone when they have brothers and sisters in Christ.

As I suffered through anxiety and panic attacks, God was there. I hid my tears behind sunglasses. God was there. As I prayed, I felt a presence that I had never experienced. It was comfort, warmth, a spiritual arm wrapping around me. God was there, keeping me going, pushing me forward, forming a relationship with me that I had put off for far too long. My children saw their father turn to God, and finally I was teaching them the right lesson. As God became my priority, He became their priority as well. 

God set to work in me. I began to feel the urge to forgive my ex-wife and soon began praying blessings for her. While listening to the word of God and through the fellowship at Deep River, the Holy Spirit guided me, and I felt the desire to let go of all ill feelings towards her. God triumphed over Satan in my heart. 

God became first. I stopped working weekends; reclaimed my children. We started committing to Wednesday night Bible studies. The kids signed up for church activities. My children started asking to make sure that we weren’t missing any Wednesdays or Sundays. God was working. They began developing a Christian view of the world and are frequently trying to help others. Video games stopped being played and true family activities began. God was working. Together we are getting to know the scripture, some for the first time, and other passages with a deeper understanding. The more we let God in our lives the better our lives become. 

It has been nearly two years since God set in motion His plans to reclaim my children and me. It has not been any easy road, nor will it be. Days I do not see my kids are the hardest, but I take great joy in knowing that God is with them, working on their hearts as He is mine. An event that could have broken a family was used by God to shape it and glorify His kingdom. 

I pray, perhaps someday my children may bring their mother to know Christ and a soul will be saved. I pray that my children grow up in the church and walk with Jesus. I pray that the Holy Spirit bless those that are going through trials just as it has me, opening up their hearts to let God work. I also pray that if it would glorify God that He may bring someone new into our lives. Together we might glorify God and His kingdom. But if it is God’s will that I walk this road alone, I will.   

One thing is for certain, for now and for the rest of my life, God is a priority.