Gratefullness, Giving Back, and What Really Matters for Eternity: Twiggy's Story (Part 2)

Twiggy shares more about how her faith and her gratefulness to God led her to give back and be an encouragement to others during her time at Grace House.  Her testimony is a powerful example about the power of giving back and about what really matters in the end.  Twiggy testifies that it was the Word of God that carried her through her darkest days.

Transcript

Phil Shuler 0:00

HellO, and welcome to Renew, Restore, Rejoice, the Safe House Ministries podcast, where we share stories of the power of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. Safe House Ministries is based out of Columbus, Georgia, and we are a ministry that exists to love and serve people who have been affected by addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. I'm your host, Phil Shuler, the Director of Development for Safe House Ministries here in Columbus, Georgia. Safe House serves people each month as they transition back into our community. Safe House provides an abundance of services

0:31

Including 184.

Phil Shuler 0:33

beds for homeless individuals and families, case management for obtaining job skills and long term employment. Over 300 hot meals every day, free clothing, and so much more. One of the most incredible services that Safe House provides is our free 9 12 month intensive outpatient substance abuse program, which is state licensed, CARF accredited, and has no wait list. Almost 100 percent of individuals staying in our shelters who follow our three phase program become fully employed within a few months. And 68 percent of individuals who stay at least one night with us End up finding work and moving into their own home. Thank you for being with us today and listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoy this week's episode.

Twiggy 1:13

The thing that brought me through too is the word of God. That Bible look, that Bible, the words, that's what gave me more and more faith. Reading the Bible every day, and it just keeps me uplifted and encouraging and letting them know no matter what situation we go through, we coming out, we just gotta keep the faith in him.

Phil 1:34

You are so right.

Twiggy 1:35

All things are possible to them that believe.

Phil 1:39

And

Twiggy 1:39

I'm telling you, brother Phil, I am a true believer of Jesus Christ and his, his miracle signs and wonder. He let me know. He really is. He's real, he is. Amen. And we just put our trust in him. It's gonna get better, but we gotta wait on his time. And it's not about us. It's his timing. And what are you willing to go through? Are you willing to go through the sacrifices? Are you gonna murmur and complain? Are you going to be grateful? Brother Phil. I'm grateful.

Phil 2:08

Yeah. That's awesome. So you, you were there'cause you were in a hard time, but the Lord was using you to help many other women who were going through some hard times.

Twiggy 2:18

Yes, sir. And that's why I feel like that's what, that was him that hardened my mother's heart because if it hadn't, if he hadn't did that, I wouldn't be where I am now.

Phil 2:28

Wow. Wow. That's awesome. Do now, are you, uh, do you, are you able to take any trips to go visit your kids or did they come down to visit you?

Twiggy 2:37

Well, I, um, well, I've been to see them a couple times. Yeah. I've been there, but they haven't, you know, and they knew and it, look, it broke their heart for me being because they didn't want me to be in the shelter. But like I said, I chose because I wanted to stay and learn and grow.'cause you can't just, go to any church because everybody's not, you know what I mean? Yeah, and I wanted to stay, stay with my thing. So your kids were

Phil 2:59

trying to get you, your kids were trying to get you to come up and stay with them, but you wanted to stay here for your church and that's why you chose to go ahead. Wow. Yeah.

Twiggy 3:07

Yeah. So it wasn't like I really had to, but for Jesus', for God, for the Lord, I live in, for the Lord I die.

Phil 3:15

Yeah. Amen. Amen. That's, yeah. More of us need to have that spirit. Wow. So I'm just thinking back of that, uh, that night you spent in your car and then the next day meeting Jamie Lee at Safe House and uh, just how she said, go lunch and. She started working and, and you came back from lunch and she said, we got you in the Grace House, man.

Twiggy 3:38

Oh yeah. And another thing too, before I left Open Door, like I was at the same job the whole time, right? Yeah. And before I left Open Door, how about I went and I talked to one of the young ladies because I was working for a temporary agency. And how about before I even left Open Door, I had a new job making more money and everything.

Phil 3:56

Wow. And at that time

Twiggy 3:57

I was still temporary. How about two months later then I was hired permanent. I got a permanent job. Health benefits. Look at that.

Phil 4:05

Praise the Lord. That's awesome.

Twiggy 4:07

He's really, he really, he can, you know, he's always there for us, you know, we just gotta reach out to him.

Phil 4:13

Yeah.

Twiggy 4:14

And the more, and it sounds like even, you know, the Bible even says some things only come by prayer and fasting. And I'm telling you, a fasting in prayer that's, I'm about that life, brother.

Phil 4:24

I love it. I love it. It sounds like things are, are still climbing and getting better and better.

Twiggy 4:29

Yes, it really is. I thank him. I thank him. I thank him brother Phil. I really do. I'm grateful really.

Phil 4:37

Thinking back over the years of your life in the many, the many different challenges and hardships that you faced along the way, will you pull out a few key lessons that you feel like. Kept you strong, kept you going helped you when the going was really rough, and some things you learned through that that maybe could be a, a help and a blessing to others.

Twiggy 5:03

For me it was God's grace and just keep trusting in God. See, Jesus is the one who's seen me through every test, every trial, and every tribulation. And as my faith in him grew. See, that's what it was for me. I've had to like totally give my life to Jesus.

Phil 5:22

Yeah.

Twiggy 5:22

You know? And once I gave him my life and stopped trying to do it my own way and come outta my own self and allow him to lead me, guide me, and direct me, and start getting better and better. Once he see, once he seen that I had a mindset to serve him, that's when my life starts shifting in his direction and not mine. I gave up myself to live for Jesus and he brought me through the test, the trials and the tribulations through obedience to him is the reason. You know, that's how I went through things. cause sometimes when you give your life to Jesus, you gonna go through sacrifices and you gonna be tested. Yeah. That's why I say, you know, I had to go through to get through and it's not what we go through, it's how we go through it. Yeah. That's helped me through it all because I've been like, I, I've been a Christian for 15 years and I've seen many, many since I gave my life to Jesus. I've seen many.

Phil 6:18

He sounds like you have had a Yeah. Sounds like you've had a journey of just, of great faith in, in just learning to, to

Twiggy 6:26

with him and trust in him, and to trust in him. And I let him lead the way. I didn't go as twiggy. See, I had to die to Twiggy in order to let Jesus rise up in me. And once he rose up in me, he like changed my whole mindset to life.

Phil 6:43

Amen. He is life. Yeah,

Twiggy 6:45

he is. New life and life. More abundant. Second Corinthians chapter second Corinthians, chapter 15. Wait a minute. What is that? Second Corinthians chapter 15, I'm sorry. Chapter five in verse 17, chapter five, second Corinthians chapter five and verse 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away, but hold. All things are become new. That's my life and now. Now I'm new in Christ.

Phil 7:14

Wow. Let me ask you this. I don't think I've ever asked a question like this before, um, without, you don't have to give any names, but I want you to think about the time you spent at Grace House and the time you spent at Open Door, and would you, I'm sure you remember quite a lot about some of the people that were there with you and who you were able to minister to, you share maybe some things that. Hardships that some others may have faced and how the Lord used you and in safe house to, to help them in their struggles and, and maybe if you saw any specific successes of, in some of their lives.

Twiggy 7:52

Yeah, I, the Lord used me to minister to many of them, and a lot of them, they've been through, they've been through a lot. A lot has was on drugs. A lot has been molested. A lot has, you know, the parents just disown a lot. A lot. Wow. And I wasn't like in those situations, but I was able to minister to them and pray with them. And I pray and I really, you know, not in contact with any of'em, but I still keep them in my prayers because it's a lot, it's a lot of broken women that's been through abusive relationships. They've been through a lot. And see, I had to go through, you know what I mean? I had to go through to get in that place. So I was able to minister to them.'cause a lot of them don't go to church and not, they don't have people to minister to them and tell them to keep their faith and stay encouraged and let them know that God is always there and how that all they have to do is go in a secret place and cry out to the Lord and he'll come. But for them to put their trust in God and you know, not people love people.'cause love is the commandment. We supposed to love everybody. Yeah. And we gotta trust in the Lord. Once we trust in the Lord, he's gonna open doors.'cause our God can open doors that no man can close and he closes doors that no man can open.

Phil 9:04

So true. Yeah. Wow. So you in that place, being there at Grace House, you were able to meet so many other women who, who really experienced. Just such tragedy and hardship and trauma in their lives. I mean, yes, Yes. Wow. And then, now oftentimes, I guess it is the, the early trauma and tragedy that an individual faces that kind of leads them on the path to try to escape. And that's where maybe drugs enter the picture, and then it just, it creates a whole new set of. Bondage and trauma and tragedy and it just it's kind of like a, a cycle that just sucks you down deeper and deeper into the blackness. Yes. Yeah. Praise the Lord that he was able to use you to just be an encouragement to so many other women. I'm sure you still are involved in ministry and, and trying to help people like that. I'm sure that that made a, a huge impact in you and it's a good reminder, I think for many others. There may be some folks listening to this podcast that. The Lord could be speaking to them and saying, Hey, I want you to go and just spend some time at, at Grace House and get to know some of those women who have been through so much and are hurting so deeply and just be an encouragement to them.

Twiggy 10:26

Yeah, because they crying out. People cry out in different ways and like you were saying, some people, they cry out for the drugs or you know, anything to just, take them out of the experience that they're going through at that moment.

Phil 10:39

Yeah. And you know, would you speak a little bit to the fact that maybe some of the people that you built relationships with, I'm sure that it didn't start off great all the time. I'm sure there's some walls that people had built up and there was some, maybe some resistance to trust anybody, and you would say things and try to encourage them. And I'm sure that early on they, they probably didn't hear you or listen. And so talk a little bit about. Maybe that journey of being patient with people and being long suffering and just, just continuing to love and encourage, and maybe if you could share a story of doing that over time and then how someone finally opened up.

Twiggy 11:20

Yeah, well, I, um, it was several of'em that got like, we was really, really tight and we used to, you know, go out to lunch and, you know, do little different things and stuff. And I would just always keep'em encouraged with, you know, me, I'm a, I'm a, well, you don't really know me, but I'm a Bible based woman. You know, I bet he take a word through everything, every test, you know, I, it is the word. It's the word that. The word and Jesus is what really changes lives. But, and it's, it is, once you get a relationship with Jesus, you gotta have a relationship with His word because he is the word, the living word. In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God. And the word was God. So the more like we spend time with the word of God and get in the secret place and cry out to Jesus, he's there'cause he's, he's look even tears. Or prayers to him. Everything goes through Jesus. And the more I could just, I just try to push, well, you know, I just try to encourage, encourage, encourage people to allow Jesus into their hearts. Because once you allow Jesus into your heart, ooh,

Phil 12:27

ooh, that's what changes your life. He changes lives.

Twiggy 12:29

This is not, it's not people that changes life. It is Jesus. And I'm telling you, he love us more than we can ever love ourself. But we have to sit down, take some time out to spend some time with Jesus.'cause our true identity is in Jesus. Yes, our true identity. We don't even know who we are ourselves, but he does. Before I form the in the belly, I knew thee. And before thou came forth out of the wound, I sanctified thee and I ordained their prophet unto the nation. Everything we need. That's Jeremiah.

Phil 13:03

Yeah. Yeah. One five. You talking about the word, the word becoming flesh? That's from John chapter one. That's awesome. I love it.

Twiggy 13:11

Yes. He's just, he's phenomenal. Jesus is answer. That's that's all I would, you know, encourage the man. It is Jesus. I would try to, you know. Get them to talk to Jesus, get a relationship with Jesus and every, it's not gonna be easy, but life wasn't easy for Jesus either. He was God in the flesh and he still went through.

Phil 13:32

Yeah, you're so right, but it

Twiggy 13:34

came off. It's not. It's not what we go through. It's how we go through it. If we stay encouraged and keep trusting in the Lord, no matter what it looks like, it's going to get better. If we have, the Bible says, if we have faith of a mustard seed, it's the faith. Your faith move from mountains. Your faith brings down strongholds. Your favor leads you, it'll guide you, direct you. Yeah. Jesus is the way. And that's all I used to, you know, I try to keep them in coverage with Jesus and giving them Bible scriptures to go and, you know, go home and read, you know, get to your secret place and just read Bible scriptures.

Phil 14:13

Yeah. Is there any. Time or a person where you just saw a change and it just stands out in your thinking. Any time or a specific person's life where you, you saw such an amazing turnaround.

Twiggy 14:27

I wasn't able to see that as of you yet, brother Phil. Okay. You know, we could, keep talking and talking, but until a person gets it for themselves, they gotta want it.

Phil 14:36

You're right. Like,

Twiggy 14:37

you know, they have to want it for themselves. We could, you know, talk and minister and encourage, but it's up to the person to whether they're gonna accept it.

Phil 14:46

That is so true. Yeah. You

Twiggy 14:48

know, everybody's not gonna accept it. At least we do our part by encouraging them, you know, and keeping them uplifted in the Lord and pray for'em. Because just like my grandma used to pray for me, I still had to bump my head to the white meat and I knew better

Phil 15:02

Oh, oh man,

Twiggy 15:03

until you taste and see for yourself, I'm telling you.

Phil 15:07

you were resistant to. Fully received Jesus and make him your Lord and Savior for a lot of your life until you said about 25 years, 45

Twiggy 15:18

years old when I came to Jesus.

Phil 15:20

Yeah. Now, tell me about what, what broke through to your heart? What, like what it, what was the

Twiggy 15:27

brother, you're going in it now. Phil,

Phil 15:29

just give your life to Christ.

Twiggy 15:31

Oh, wow. That's the testimony in itself. My, um, well, like I said, I was brought up and raised in, um, in church, but my, um, what it took me was my father and my stepmother, my father married a lady. Right. And she was from, um, British to British Virgin Islands. Mm-hmm. And my father. You know, he moved over there with her and she got older and she had dementia and then she, one day he had met, fed her dinner and stuff and she, look, she went right out to the house. She went outta the house and she had dementia and it was pouring down raining and they had to do searches and everything for her. Wow. Like, you know, my stepmother was lost. Yeah. And that made me get to on my knees and start, you know, start praying and that that right there initiated. Me to go back to what I knew. And then at that time too is that, that time is when my cousin was calling me to come and, you know, come and stay with her and help her out. Yeah. And she was telling me about the pastor and stuff, and that's when I was saying, you know. I go to church sometime, but I'm not gonna go to church all the time. And I'm telling you, once I went to Columbus, Ohio and stayed with her and I told her that, then I was gonna go to church sometime, help out the look. I was there three weeks and I gave my life back to Jesus.

Phil 16:45

Wow.

Twiggy 16:45

God had, God had a plan for me.

Phil 16:48

Wow. Well, praise the Lord for your cousin. The way God used your cousin, he used

Twiggy 16:52

her. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. He used her to bring me back to what I know. And then I'm telling you, ever since then, look miracle signs and wonders. My fa my father came from the Virgin Allens and everything. My stepmother was never found.

Phil 17:06

Oh That's hard, man. How's your dad doing?

Twiggy 17:09

My dad passed two years ago.

Phil 17:11

Okay.

Twiggy 17:12

Yeah, but he passed. He was here, so we was able to, you know, see him and stuff if he would've passed over there. The Virgin Allens woo. And all I can remember is my grandmother telling him, which was his mother that raised me. She said, boy, if something happened to you way over there and nobody, your family won't be able to get to you. And look how God brought him back here before anything.

Phil 17:31

Wow. Wow. Yeah. Thank you for sharing your story. Um, it's, it's an amazing story, just the way God has led you and isn't it an amazing testimony of just the patience and perseverance of God that kept on working on you. It took 45 years to get through to you, but he got you. He got you.'cause he wanted you,'cause he loved you and he said. I'm gonna get Twiggy and I'm gonna bring here into my family. I love the mercy and patience and just the way God is so compassionate to us. I honestly, I need to be more patient like him myself. I, I struggle. I need to do better.

Twiggy 18:12

Absolutely. Patience too. Yeah, patience. And when it took for a while till that fast, and I'm telling you that fasten, the more you fast that flesh died. The spirit of God rises up and that's what, that's what helped me. I fasted for seven years straight, drinking nothing but water three days a week and Dr. Eating at Word.

Phil 18:31

Yeah. Wow. Twiggy, thank you for sharing your story. I want ask you, is there, is there anything else that you wanna say as we come here to the end of our conversation?

Twiggy 18:43

I just wanna tell the Lord thank you. For seeing me through it all. I thank him for every test, every trial, every tribulation, because if it hasn't been a test, the trials and tribulations, I wouldn't have met the people that I met in my life. And he always said to me, too familiar face, unfamiliar faces. And while he brought me to a lot of unfamiliar faces and I just keep on testifying of his goodness and his grace and his mercy and, and he doesn't have a perfect person, the same thing he did for me, he'll do for others. If we open up our heart and receive him in as our personal Lord and Savior, and that's when we, our true identity really is revealed.

Phil 19:21

Yeah. Amen. and that's what will give us. Life abundant in eternity with Jesus. You know, we, we could live a great life and just have all the wonderful things that we could think of in this world. But if we die without Jesus, that's right. We'll stand an eternity and, and place of torment and just darkness apart from God. Yeah. So it, it, it really, uh, it, man, it all really does come down to Jesus. You know, one of the things that Neil Richardson, who is the founder of Safe House and the Executive director, one of the things that he says sometimes is that safe House Ministries does not exist to make people's trip to Hell more comfortable, I mean, we are here to love people and support people and, and we love all people. We get, right. We don't make anybody go to devotions. We don't make anybody go to church. Yes. But we, we share Jesus with them. We share the love of God with them. Yes. And our hope is that the Lord continues to use us at Safe House Ministries. As we minister to the physical needs and the emotional needs and the mental needs of people, that the Lord will slowly work on their heart and open the door so that they will let Jesus in, and that he will meet the greatest need of their life, which is that spiritual need.

Twiggy 20:44

Yes, and they definitely, I lived in Safe House and they definitely do the devotionals and stuff. They definitely open the door for it. Most definitely. We have prayers and everything. I'm a witness to all of that. Yes, sir.

Phil 20:57

Awesome. That's what they

Twiggy 20:58

all about.

Phil 21:00

Yeah. It's we want, we wanna make an eternal difference. Right. You know, we, we, every day we're able to make a, a. A difference in this world, in people's lives, you know, to take care and help them. But, our greatest hope and prayer is to make that eternal difference. Yes. Help them come to know Christ personally and all the different, not only in this world, but in the eternity that comes after this world. Yeah. Twiggy, you mind if I, uh, close this in a word of prayer?

Twiggy 21:30

No, praying.

Phil 21:31

Alright, let me do that. Dear Father, I thank you for Twiggy. I thank you for her sharing her story. I thank you for what you've done in her life. Lord, thank you for your, your just constant working to get through, to reach her, and that she surrender to you and that you have made such an amazing transformation in her life. Thank you for how you brought her to Columbus and how you connected her with Jamie Lee and how you just have turned her life. All around and how she's doing so well, Lord, I pray you'd bless her path, bless her future, bless her children and her grandchildren, and just work in all of their lives. Lord, I pray that every single one of her children and grandchildren would all come to know you personally and your son is their savior. That you would use Twiggy to continue to be a blessing and encouragement to others. And Father, I pray that you might put it on the heart of some other people here in Columbus, Georgia that would be willing to to come and even just to simply spend some time at our shelters at Safe. To be an encouragement and show some love to some women who are desperately struggling. Thank you for that. Lord. We praise you and we love you. Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Twiggy 22:54

Powerful prayer, brother, Phil. Every power, praise the Lord.

Phil 22:58

Yeah. Well, Twiggy, that's all for today. I thank you so much. I, I, I'm grateful to you for sharing your story, and I'm gonna, if you would be praying that the Lord will use it. To speak a word into the hearts of many people that might listen.

Twiggy 23:12

Yes, most definitely. I definitely will, brother Phil and I keep everybody uplifted in prayer as well. And I appreciate you too, brother, Phil, for allowing me to, um, tell my testimony. And I appreciate Christy because if it wasn't, if it see God was in everything. cause if he hadn't have put it in my spirit to go and talk to her. We wouldn't even be here right now having this conversation. But he used me and he used her as well. So I thank you sister Christie. I know you listening. I love you, sister.

Phil 23:43

Oh, that's awesome. Thank you, uh, Twiggy. I've God bless you. Have a happy New year too.

Twiggy 23:48

You as well. Thank you so much

06-21-23 SAFEHOUSE-CH2 23:50

We look forward to being with you again next week as we share another testimony about the power and the goodness of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. if you are someone listening to this podcast that loves to hear these stories of the great things that God is doing in changing people's lives for the better, and if you would like to be a part of that work, please reach out to us You can reach us at 2101 Hamilton Road, Columbus, Georgia, 31,904. You can call us at seven oh six three two two. 3 7, 7 3, or you can email us at info@safehouse-ministries.com.

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-2 24:27

Thank you so much for being with us this week for the renew restore and rejoice podcast of safe house ministries, we pray that God will bless you this week. And we look forward to having you back with us again next week for a new episode.