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I worked seven days a week, 16 hours a day.
Carnival life is very hard on a family.
I grew up extremely rebellious.
I took a 90-degree turn on a road at 90 miles per hour.
Fear gripped my heart.
Have you ever created memories you wish you could forget? I have. My family was in the carnival business for 17 years. I literally grew up in it. My family traveled all the northern states. I worked seven days a week, 16 hours a day, during the summer months for many of my teenage years. Carnival life is very hard on a family. During the school year, my father would be gone five months out of the year while my mother stayed home with my younger brother and me. There were many challenges with my family relationships. I grew up extremely rebellious and making wrong choices in my life. By age 16, I had become a reckless fool.
One night, my brother and I used our parents’ Mustang car and went drinking and driving with our two friends. I was at the wheel when I took a 90-degree turn on a road while speeding at 90 miles an hour. The car flipped and rolled several times, eventually coming to an eerie stop. One of my friends was pinned under the car and critically injured. I do not recall being thrown out of the car, but I landed about 75 feet away from the accident. I woke up, sitting down, leaning against a fence post. That accident should have killed me, but I walked away from it with very minor scratches. My friend ended up at a hospital fighting for his life. My brother and our other friend survived the crash buckled in the car and were fine. The car was totaled.
The accident did not change me. We, as human beings in our own power, cannot change because it is our inborn nature to do what is evil. Fear gripped my heart at the possibility of having been killed in that accident, but I brushed that thought away. Later, I would understand that if I would have been killed then, I would have gone straight to hell, as God was not part of my life. God, the Father, in His infinite foreknowledge knew that I would come to Him, later on in my life at the age of 19. Although some people’s nature is better or more acceptable than others, we are all sinful in the sight of God and come short of His glory. Our only hope is for Him to redeem us though His plan of salvation for mankind.
During my high school senior year, three female friends relentlessly “hammered away” the gospel of Jesus Christ at me with great love. One night, in the solitude of my bedroom, I was lying down in bed. I was tired and worn out from a guilty conscience of all my wrong doings. I was full of shame, sin, and guilt. I slipped off the bed and got on my knees, knowing I needed Jesus Christ in my life. That night, I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins. What a special favor poured out into my heart! After a prayer of salvation, I felt clean, whole, light, joyful, and full of hope of a future. For 10 years, I lived and breathed the Word of God. I could not get enough of His Word, the Bible. I would read two to three hours a night. My nature had changed to be Christ-like. My old ways became foreign to me, and I no longer desired sin. The Lord started using me to talk to others about Him and confront them of their lifestyles. I was encouraging them to come to Christ and then leading them to Christ for salvation. What an honor!
At age 21, I decided to quit dating. For a year and half, I prayed for my future wife and asked the Lord to guide me in my prayer. During my prayer times, I knew she would be of Hispanic descent. One month before I met my life mate, I felt the Lord telling me that I would meet my future wife shortly, and I did! A month later, I met her, and I knew she was to be my wife. Without a doubt, I knew the Lord had given her to me because she was everything that I had prayed for. My wife and I have been serving Jesus together since we met. Our home is a Christian home. Our children and grandchildren enjoy the blessings of a wholesome, loving family, and Christ continues to be the vibrant center of our lives.
For over 40 years now, I have lived a wonderful life in the Lord. He has been my guiding light at all times without fail. It is wonderful to have the freedom to read the Word, pray, and tell others about the eternal life and peace that Jesus Christ can offer. Through the years, it has been an honor and a privilege to have been part of other people’s conversion as they come to Christ, with the assurance of a more wholesome and abundant life here on earth and an exhilarating eternal life later. What a great fulfilling and satisfying life!
I would like to share with you how to have peace, a peace that surpasses anything you may be experiencing. If your life seems to have no meaning and no purpose, try Jesus. He will meet you where you are. Jesus knows who you are and the things you have done. I was in a place at one time in my life that was no good. I allowed Jesus to come into my life and take away the guilt, the shame, and the sin. These are three things that will wear you out quickly. What I am saying is the truth. This is my personal experience with my friend, Jesus Christ, who has made Himself more real to me than life itself. He has been so good for me, despite of all life’s hardships, mistakes, and problems that come at us as part of life itself. He is waiting for you to turn to Him for help. Like He says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Please turn to Jesus. He will never let you down!
Real Life Stories Christian Testimony Books
Jim and Carla Barbarossa
Phone: 219-762-7589
Email: jimbarbarossa7@gmail.com or jim@step-by-step.org
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