Waiting Well: Faith, Love, And Timing with Pastor Rodrick

What if your season of waiting is the very place God is shaping your future? Renee sits down with Pastor Rodrick Walters, CPA, husband, father, and leader of Word Life Christian Fellowship, to trace his remarkable journey from Jamaica to the States, through culture shock, loneliness, and a heartbreaking breakup, to a surprising call to bivocational ministry. His story challenges the myths we carry about singleness and success, showing how identity in Christ can steady you through the noisiest moments of life.

Rodrick opens up about renewing the mind and letting the Holy Spirit rewrite old scripts of inadequacy. He shares how Psalm 27:14 became a lifeline. We explore practical habits for singles, daily time in Scripture and prayer, learning to hear God’s voice in solitude, serving with purpose, and setting healthy boundaries in dating. You’ll hear the tender, intentional steps of blending a family, earning trust, and recognizing the right relationship at the right time, years after a first meeting. Along the way, we talk about the power of purpose at work, the beauty of bivocational calling, and how churches can support singles and “in-betweeners” without isolating them by age or status.

If you’re tired of forcing the wrong fit or feeling defined by your relationship status, this conversation offers grounded hope and clear next steps. Learn how to wait well, choose excellence without hurry, and let God’s timing lead you into relationships that strengthen your calling rather than distract from it. Subscribe for more stories and practical guidance, share this episode with a friend who needs encouragement. God Bless. 

Follow Pastor Rodrick's Church Here: https://wordlifecf.org/

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet Pastor Rodrick And His Story
• 2:28 From Jamaica To Houston: Early Faith
• 5:18 Salvation Through An Unlikely Relationship
• 7:40 Called To Bivocational Ministry
• 11:15 Renewing The Mind And Identity
• 15:35 Loneliness, Speech Struggles, And Belonging
• 18:40 Purpose, Excellence, And Waiting
• 22:20 Divorce, Fatherhood, And Resilience
• 26:10 Meeting His Wife In God’s Timing
• 30:05 Blending Family And Earning Trust
• 33:20 Identity In Christ Over Status
• 38:10 Hearing God’s Voice In Solitude
• 42:00 Daily Habits For Singles
• 46:05 How Churches Can Support Singles

Transcript

Renee Richel: 0:42

Hello, loves, and welcome back. I am so excited to be sitting here side by side, virtually with Pastor Rodrick Walters of Word Life Christian Fellowship and CPA, an incredible husband and father of three, that we met a while back at an event, and of course, couldn't stop talking about our relationship, obviously, with the Lord, changing the divorce rate, making a difference in just singles and just in general couples and people's hearts. So I wanted to bring him on today, of course, to pick his branding and share a little bit about his story to inspire our audience. And also give them pearls of wisdom and hope and just hear his testimony that has led him to his beautiful wife today and being an incredible pastor and father and mentoring others. So welcome, Rodrick.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 1:40

Hi, hi, Renee. It's great to be with you. It's a uh joy to be with you. As you said, we we we met at an event some time ago, and it was great to just just to connect and see how how we're from different backgrounds, but we have similar stories that are just really a testament to the goodness and the faithfulness of our God.

Renee Richel: 2:00

Yes, yes. So I'm gonna start off. We're gonna ask some questions because I want to make sure that you know we learn more about you, but also inspires others. So can you share a bit about your personal journey, testimony, and how you were called into ministry and how your relationship with God has evolved over the years?

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 2:20

I'm originally from Jamaica. Uh when I was when I was 12 years old, I was family relocated to the United States. Growing up in rural Jamaica, um, my father, he was a school principal, but in our particular community, the pastor, because there weren't many pastors in that part of Jamaica, our pastor was actually the pastor over four different churches. And so he would be at our home church on first Sunday and then the other three churches on the following Sundays. My father, who was a school principal, he would typically preach on at least one or two of the other Sundays in a given given month. So I'm not quite a pastor's kid, but I grew up in the church and seen my father preach many a time. However, despite growing up in that setting, in that environment, I kind of felt like I was like the out one out, the ugly duckling in the family, if you will. I wasn't very smart in school. There's a series of things that were going on in my life. And I just felt like, you know, this salvation journey, it's not, it's not for me, maybe for someone else. And that was it. I had some self-esteem issues. I spoke with a speech impediment, and there's a series of things that were going on. Then we left our small town in Jamaica, come to a big city in the United States, Houston, Texas, the fourth largest city in the country, and I was like a fish out of water. And I've I had a degree of loneliness and and so on, despite our happy home, but just fitting in socially and other with otherwise with folks, it was a challenge. Anyway, I was able to get into the University of Texas at Austin, and then while at UT, I didn't have to go to church anymore, right? Because mom and dad would force me to go to church as a child, but when I'm away at school, why go to church? So I didn't go to church for the first couple of years, except for maybe around Easter time or some some other time like that. Interestingly, at the time, I and this really gets to my salvation journey. I I was uh dating a young lady um who I grew up in a Christian home, but I wasn't a devoted Christian. She grew up in a Muslim home, but but she wasn't a devoted Muslim. So there we are were from different backgrounds, different religions, and and and it was it was fine, or so I thought. And so in that relationship, as that relationship developed, I began to think of me beyond college, me as an adult, me as a responsible man. And in that process, I think I'm thinking a good responsible man and husband, etc., would go to church with his wife. So I'm I'm now rehearsing what that might like, what that life might look like. So I would go to church with her on Sundays, even though she didn't go to church. So I invited her, and we would go to church on a regular basis. As we as the more we went to church, the more the Lord was like reigniting some of the things that I learned in my childhood in Jamaica and so on. And without going through the whole long story, my salvation came out of me just going to church with my Muslim girlfriend, right? Yeah, we yeah, we spoke a bit, we spoke a lot about marriage actually. And I did say I was mature enough in my relationship with the Lord to say that I love the Lord too much to marry someone who is not a believer. So I told her that, listen, I if we if you're a believer, then you know we can get get married, otherwise it uh that can't happen. And this was in in early 1995. Now she was she kind of said to me, you know, we talked about it for a bit, and essentially she said to me, um, after a while, after about a year, year and a half, she said, Listen, this isn't gonna work. Um, I'll marry you if you're an atheist, if you're a Buddhist, if you're Hindu, it doesn't matter because I love you for you, but you cannot say the same to me, therefore the relationship is over. And that tore my heart into pieces. Yeah, I just envisioned this wonderful life together um you know with her, and and the relationship ended. That was in February of 1995. The very next month, in March of 1995, the Lord called me into ministry. The very next month, and what I realized is that my devotion to him cost me that relationship, but his plan for my life was that I would serve him in a bivocational way. I'm a CPA, I didn't say that earlier. I'm a certified public accountant, I've been one since 1993, and so as a practicing CPA, the Lord called me into ministry.

Renee Richel: 7:19

I love that.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 7:20

Yeah, yeah. It's wonderful. Um and what that might have looked like for me at the time, I didn't know. I just know he called me to serve him to a greater capacity. But one of his distinct uh instructions was that he's keeping me in the working world, he's keeping me in the working world, he's not taking me out to go full-time into ministry in a in the traditional sense. He's keeping me in the working world. And so that was that that was uh part of part of the journey.

Renee Richel: 7:50

No, which I love. I love. I always say when we stop trying to do it our own way and we listen to the Lord's design for our life, right? It's amazing how it's always better than we can imagine.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 8:00

Absolutely. Absolutely.

Renee Richel: 8:02

Um, so you often have shared about how renewing your mindset changed the trajectory of your life. How can singles apply that same principle to overcome feelings of loneliness, discouragement, and delay that you went through?

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 8:20

Well, it's a it's an interesting thing. I I feel, you know, in Romans 12, verse 2, it says, be not conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. I believe that one's mindset, it it just it well, when the Holy Spirit dwells within you, it changes your mind. And you you no longer conform to the way other people think. And I believe that in the process of living, in the process of of serving God, his desire for you ultimately becomes your desire. Psalm 37, verse 4 delight yourself also in the Lord, he'll give you the desires of your heart. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I I know that there are desires that my heart has had throughout my life that were not of God, right?

Renee Richel: 9:11

Right.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 9:12

But if you delight yourself in the Lord, then the Lord will make his desire for you your desire. And you have a passion for his desire. And and with that in mind, it helped me to just have a you know, I I had some certain negative perceptions of myself, you know, throughout my life and so on. But as I began to see myself like God sees me, it's like, wow, what a difference, you know, what a difference. And because of that, I felt like, you know, before, you know, when I was in high school, because I, you know, in Houston, Texas, right? I'm from Jamaica, I'm not from here, I'm I'm not from the United States. I speak with a weird accent. I had a series of things going on, and I I had a big speech impediment that caused me to stutter a lot while trying to communicate. And as a result of that, I was like very often the odd one out. I was in my one of my nicknames in high school was the Lone Ranger, because I was always alone. Because I was always alone. I didn't really have many friends or anything like that. But I found that you know, over time, as I got closer to the Lord and began to really understand his plan for my life, then it changed my entire perception of myself. And once I got that understanding, it's not like a light bulb went off, but gradually over time, it's just amazing. So the loneliness and all of those things which come with the human experience, it's just good to know that you're never really alone. I would love to say that you and God will always make a majority. It doesn't matter if there's you and God versus Amen.

Renee Richel: 10:59

I love that.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 11:00

Yeah, you it could be you and God versus the multitudes, as long as it's you and God, you're a majority.

Renee Richel: 11:06

That's the only love we really need, right? That fuels us. So I love that you say that. Um, that's you know, and at the end of the day, I think that's the hardest part when you're lonely, you need somebody to talk to, you need somebody to connect with. And I'm like, just tell people you're dating Jesus today, right? Or this needs to be.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 11:25

Absolutely.

Renee Richel: 11:26

Yeah. So from your experience as a pastor and a business leader, what does it look like to pursue purpose and um excellence while waiting on God's timing for relationships?

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 11:41

So I mentioned before that that my love for the Lord cost me that relationship. And thank God, thank God it cost me that relationship because as long as I have God, you know, then everything else is well. All right. So in here in I relocated from Houston, Texas to South Florida in 1996. There's a young lady who I who I had met several years before, and we got reacquainted um uh in in 1996. And after uh you call it a whirlwind romance, we got married and you know, just gonna live happily ever after. I mean, she she was, you know, she went to Oral Roberts University, right? So she so I'm thinking about ministry, and even though I'm a CPA, thinking about ministry and so on, and I just thought it was like the perfect thing. And I really believe that that was part of God's plan for my life and to get married to her. So we got married the first three years or so, it was it was good, you know. We our daughter was was born to us at that time, but then not long after the three-year mark, we began to notice that there were some issues that were at hand, some issues going on. And without going through the details of that, that marriage dissolved um officially in 2002. So officially we were married for five and a half years. So going from a Christian husband to a Christian divorcee, it was a very challenging time, it's a very challenging moment for me. And I was, I kind of felt like the family law system is very anti-God. Here in South Florida, here in Florida, it's changed quite a bit over the years in a positive way, I believe, right?

Renee Richel: 13:29

Yeah.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 13:30

But I believe in, you know, the the man has a great responsibility uh for the success of his family. And so he has to lead, you know, with godly example and so on. And I believe believe that the family law system, at least at the time, would effectively emasculate a male who's trying to live by biblical principles. And I thought I thought very difficult is very difficult. I found I found that you know there's a lot of dads who perhaps wanted to have a great relationship with their children, but because the family law system could be so hostile, they just get discouraged and just rinse their hands and and and walk away. I had a very bad experience with that, but yet there's my daughter who was, I feel was caught in the crossfire of that the ending of that relationship. And so my thought was I will never ever get married again unless God Himself tells me that this is the one till that the part. I'll never ever get married again because I love the Lord too much to go through that. As a matter of fact, when that relationship ended, when the divorce ended, I told my then pastor that uh don't sign me up for anything ministry-wise. I love the Lord and I'll just you know serve from the pews, but don't ask me to do anything ministry-wise because my ministry is effectively over. God cannot use a divorced um man of God, so to speak. So so that that that was it. But as I you know committed to my new life, my you know, you know, single life, I do have desires to, you know, for companionship and relationship and so on. And so I dated a little bit here here and there, but I feel like I felt like unless a particular relationship was gonna end in marriage, it's just gonna be some disappointment for her or for me, or for maybe for both of us. So my thought was, I don't want to get married unless actually I don't want to date anyone unless it's the one that God has chosen for me. And so, you know, I for the most part, I didn't really seek relationships and so on. And as the Lord, as I've devoted myself to the Lord, there are a couple of times where I felt like going out with with this particular person may take me off course from what God has planned for me, and I'd rather walk the path God has for me, wife or no wife, but I must fulfill the calling on my life. And so it was in that sense that I said, I'm I'm done dating, I'm not dating. And once I said I'm done dating, I'm just seeking the Lord, serving the Lord, about six months into that, he revealed to me someone who I had actually met four years before, but I just didn't know that this was the one because the timing wasn't right, right? Yeah, exactly, exactly.

Renee Richel: 16:30

So share with everybody where you met four years ago that the timing wasn't right. Because I think that's the question everybody has has is when and where will I meet this person?

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 16:41

Yeah, exactly. And um and really before I share that, I would at times I would pray for her, my my wife, not knowing who that person is, so pray just you just keep her safe, let her know that you love her at your appointed time, we we will get connected, right? So I saw sometimes I wonder, have I have I met my wife already? As it turned out, I had met her before, right? Um, so I I met her in I'm a CPA, as I mentioned, she worked for a client of mine, and one of the things I do I try not to do is uh mix business and you know personal life. So I would never date anyone who I work with or anything like that. But yet, you know, so there's this one person, she works at the my client's office, and you know, she's just she's just another person there who works at the office. Every so often when I would go to the office, and and I this was in May of 2003. I tend to remember dates, right?

Renee Richel: 17:38

Okay, that's good. We're in your business.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 17:41

Good, good, good, yeah, exactly. Yeah, so in May of 2003, we we we met. Um, and she was just another client there. Every so often, going to the client's office, I'll bring lunch for the staff. And so um, so that was that. So I would see her probably about once or twice a year as I would go to the client's office. But this particular time, in in September of 2007, four years later, I called the office for her boss. He wasn't available, but as you know, she answered the phone and she said, Hey, my my my birthday's coming up. I'm just like, Great. So maybe I'll I'll I'll take you to lunch for your birthday. And she said, That that that'll be nice. So I'm just like, okay, cool, take her to lunch for her birthday. Yeah, and then as the date was we so we set the time for me to take her to lunch, and she told me that she does not, she only gets 30 minutes for for lunch. And so if it's if it's okay if we could go to dinner as a instead of lunch, I'm just like, I'm like, I'm sure that that's fine. But for me, it was not a date because I don't mix business and and and personal life, so it was not a date. So I just went to work, work was done that day. I um I didn't dress up for a date, I just went after work and just you were just you, you were just coming as you. That's correct. No, no cologne, no extra, nothing, you know. I wasn't, I wasn't, I wasn't sweaty or anything, but but just I didn't dress up for a date. Right. So I just I just took her out. But as I took her, took her out. Um first one of the great things I thought was cool. I tend to I love to listen to country music, right? So I listened to country music, I listened to to Toby Keith's greatest hits as I was driving driving to the restaurant, and she never really heard the music before, but she thought it was kind of cool. So I was like, okay, that's that's cool. So anyway, we went to this to to um to dinner and it was cool. There was like a connection. I never really had much of a conversation with her before, and it was it was cool, it was nice. And then I, you know, we had we had a good evening, and I took took her back home. And then, you know, the following week, I I asked her out, like on a date type type thing now. And then, you know, over time, it was kind of I felt like this is this is cool, this is this is nice, and I could see myself, you know, with her uh for the for the long haul. The challenge though was my daughter, right? Because my daughter, she was like eight years old at the time, and I remember actually she she had just turned nine. My daughter, as I'm saying, how do I, because I had even though I dated a little bit before, you know, between my former former marriage and my now marriage, I thought, how do I, you know, I dated a bit before, but I never introduced anyone to my daughter because I don't want her to see people coming in and out of my life like that. So I told my yes, I told my daughter, hey, um, this is you know, my wife is Dindley. So I said, Miss Uh, this is you know, it's Dindley, and you know, and we're in a relationship and so on. And my daughter was not happy at all.

Renee Richel: 20:49

Oh no, she wanted to share dad.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 20:52

Yeah, and then as we got closer, my daughter became a bit more withdrawn and a little bit resentful. And so when we're looking into getting getting married, my daughter said to me, the way I feel is like I had your heart all to myself, right? And I feel like she's coming in the picture, so your heart gets cut in two one half for me, the other half for her. And then if you get married and then you have more children, every other child you have, my half is just gonna get smaller and smaller, you know.

Renee Richel: 21:26

And when I showed she was nine having this conversation with you, yeah, that's correct.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 21:31

It's like she was nine. But as time went on, I just got let her know listen, you're my firstborn child, right? I would probably have more children, but you're my firstborn child, you're daddy's little girl, and that will not change. Yeah, and our pastor at the time told me, as you know, if we got engaged and so on, our pastor told me that she's always daddy's little girl, so always make special time for her without your wife, without if you have other children, and so on. And so that that was it. And it was it, it was, it's, it's turned out beautiful, it turned turned out wonderful. I just gave God God thanks for that. But you know, in between waiting, between you know, wife number one, wife number two, in waiting, I was strengthened by Psalm 27, verse 14. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. It's in the waiting on the Lord that he perfects um certain things with within us. I believe that had we had me and my wife had we dated before it was his time, then we may have had some rocky roads on the way there. I just kind of feel like God's timing was the right timing and it worked great for us.

Renee Richel: 22:46

Amen. It's so true, and so many times everybody I always give the example we try to put a round peg in a square hole, and we're like, it's just never going to work. So make it easy and find what God will make it easy for you to know, too. So I love that. Well, thank you for sharing that story. I know it's not been easy for you particularly, but it's all worked out for the good and the glory of God and the two of you to be fruitful together.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 23:11

Amen. Amen. Yeah, and and I should I should say to you, we have two wonderful sons now. Our my daughter's 27, um, and and then our sons are 15, and the 12, the 12-year-old is about to turn 13, which is really awesome.

Renee Richel: 23:26

And how long have you been married now?

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 23:29

We've been married for 16 and a half years.

Renee Richel: 23:31

Okay. And I got to meet his lovely bride, which was a delight to meet the two of you together. So you guys are just your love pours out to everyone you meet together. I love both of them. Okay, so with singles that are still waiting for their reveal of who the one is for them that struggle with identity and self-worth, how can they build a healthy self-image rooted in Christ rather than relationship status in the societal expectations of today?

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 24:08

Yeah, and I'm I'm so glad that you you phrase the question that way because you know, the societal expectations of today, I cannot imagine what it would be like dating in the now world, right? In the world of um Instagram and Facebook and TikTok and and so on, you know, put your relationship status and put your stuff out there, and you're in a relationship, and then you're not in a relationship anymore. So do you put take down those pictures and and unfriend the person and block the person, whatever it might look like, you know? It's it's it's a mess.

Renee Richel: 24:42

That's why you need a matchmaker because doing it alone is really tough these days.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 24:46

Absolutely, absolutely, 100%. Yeah, I feel like you know, the the in the beginning, God creates the heavens and the earth, right? And he we lay we learn later on in the book of in the in the first book of the first chapter of of Genesis that God made us in his image and after his likeness, right? So one of the things I love to say is if you want to know what God looks like, look in the mirror, right? Because every human being was made to some degree in God's image and after his likeness. And he doesn't make us as a couple, right? He doesn't he makes us as individuals. We are one individual, my fingerprint is unique to me, right? There's no other person on the planet with this particular fingerprint. And I just as I look at that, I you know in the process of answering your question, I'll say this this to you. For much of my life, I felt like you know, I was told you should be more like this person. Take a page out of this person's book, take a page off that person's book. And effectively, what was said to me is that by yourself, you're not good enough. You're not good enough. And you know, to her credit, my I don't talk much about my exes, but for this per for the purpose of this interview, I'll share this. My my ex, the the one who's not a Christian, the one who's a Muslim. She's the first person in my entire life who ever said to me that you're good enough just as you are. You don't have to try to be like the next person or like the next person. You're good enough just as you are.

Renee Richel: 26:21

Amen. I love that.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 26:23

And so once that once that was became apparent to me, I began to really see who I am, and then that's when my identity in Christ became like the central focus of my life because I cannot be like the next person, I cannot be, you know, someone who I can, you know, someone who I can never be, but I can be the best version of Rodrick Walters that God would desire to present to the world. And I believe that there's each person is uniquely gifted, uniquely created by God. When a when a child is conceived, there are in excess of five million sperm that can potentially fertilize a mother's egg. And so I like to say you were chosen by God as less than one in five million was your chance of being the one to fertilize your mother's egg. So I believe that you came into the world with a specific purpose and God had a great purpose in his mind. And your singular goal is not to get married, your singular goal is to pursue and to perform that particular purpose that God had on his mind when he created you. I feel like if we live this life and we exit this life without having not just discovered that, but you discover it and then you pursue it with all your might. It doesn't matter, you don't have to be a multimillionaire or billionaire to pursue God's call on your life. As long as you look to him and allow him to take you through the process, I believe that just like a lot of great and wonderful things can happen. So, what's one's identity? Go to the word of God and he will reveal to you who you are, the fullness of who you are. And I and I cannot effectively answer this question uh without saying this. And and for the singles and for other individuals who have identity issues and so on. I remember as a young Christian, I got baptized in November of 1993, and I remember saying then that I just wish, I wish that God would talk to people like he did in the Bible, right? Because he said, Moses, Moses, draw not thy hither, take off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground. And then you look in the New Testament and you see all these red letters of Jesus' word. And I just say, I just wish that God could speak to people today, like he did in his word. And so for about 18 months, I sought the Lord, and I sought the Lord with my whole heart. I said, I just God, I just wish what should I do? What should I do here and there? Right? And and it was just amazing to me that for 18 months I sought the Lord, and it was not until February, well, I really started in October of '93, in February of 95, when that relationship ended. And the next very next month is when I was called, as I mentioned to you earlier. And I say this to you my calling, and each of it is not all of us are called to be pastors, etc., but one thing that I know is that God, each of us is called for some particular purpose that God wants to reveal to us. And I say, God is not in the secret service, he loves to share his secrets with his people, and it comes from him in different ways. And so when God really called me and showed me what you know, he showed me. What he had packaged for me. He it was over a three-week period that he showed this to me. He showed me my past, that he knew everything in my past, the times where I was depressed, the time where I wasn't suicidal, but I wish I would I would have died, right? And I regretted that I was born, a whole series of things. He showed me my past, he showed me my present, and he showed me my future specifically. And so 30 years ago this year, he showed me things that were to come, and he has not yet be he's not he's not yet been proven wrong. He hasn't he doesn't show you all the details.

Renee Richel: 30:40

He's been planting the seeds along your entire course that he has designed for you.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 30:45

Absolutely. And so what's one's identity? You go to Christ, he'll he'll show it to you, he'll show you the specific, the exact reason that he created you and how your life can be used to glorify him. Matthew chapter 5, verse 16. Let your lights shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven.

Renee Richel: 31:09

Amen. And I love as you're sharing your story to people out there, whoever then shares this with somebody else that has walked the fine line that you have to just be a light to continue to keep going. When people have like insecurities or they feel like they're disqualified because they didn't have the easy path, if that's what you want to call it, that you can really give people that hope and purpose and to keep, you know, knowing that love does exist, right? And it and it will find you when you seek it with all of your heart and trust in the Lord. Okay. So, in your views, what are some of the most important biblical um disciplines or habits for singles um to cultivate in their preparation for future relationships or marriage?

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 32:02

The the first one is just is just to have a daily walk with God, right? You know, they say Rome was not built in a day, right? When I was in high school, uh my younger brother was driving the car, and we had an older car, older um Pontiac Lamans. My brother was driving the car, and the car, the uh one of the the one of the rear tires fell off the car while he was while he was driving. So he was driving like a three-wheel, and someone's pointing out to him, the tire fell off the car, and he pulled over, and it was not until he pulled over that the car kind of fell down, right?

Renee Richel: 32:45

Oh my gosh, that's crazy.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 32:46

Yeah, yeah, it's crazy. But what happens? So sometimes people feel if they're not in a relationship, then they're they're they're gonna fall apart, right? So it's you you you you end up using relationships as a crutch.

Renee Richel: 33:00

Yes, yeah, I see it all the time, yeah.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 33:03

But if you can just learn to stand with God, knowing that as long as you're with God, as long as He is light in your path, Proverbs 3, 5 and 6, trust in Allah with all your heart, lean out to your own understanding, and all your ways acknowledge him, and he'll direct your path. As long as he is the center of your life, as long as he is controlling every aspect of your being, then you can move forward, right? You can move forward. So just learning to trust him, learning to have that daily walk with him, learning to hear his voice. You know, for me, the the best times of my life, and I don't desire for more times like this, but the best times of my life were the times where I was lonely, right? After the divorce, and my wife, my former wife had custody, and I'm living in this apartment by myself. Some of those are some of the best times. Why? Because you could be in the multitudes, you hear, you know, you picture at the Super Bowl, right? There's 80,000, 100,000 people, all these voices all around you. Which of these many voices is the voice of God, right? But when you're in this, in your solitude, when you're alone, and you just learn to hear that voice, the Bible says, My sheep um know my voice, and a stranger they will not follow. So you learn to hear the voice of God. So hearing the voice of God when He says go left, says go right, make this phone call, put your resume together, relocate from this city to that city, do all of these things, and it's amazing. You learn to hear the voice of God, and so for singles, for anyone, learn to hear the voice of God for yourself. And once you learn to hear that voice, it will not disappoint you. It'll tell you there are 10 different job offers that you have. Which one of these should I accept? There's only one that God wants for you to accept, and He will tell you which of the 10. And this is so essential, so important.

Renee Richel: 35:10

Which I love to hear you say that, and such a huge reminder because in my single season-ish, like of many couple years, I will say that's what gave me the stepping stones to where God wanted me to be because I didn't have all the noises and I was focused on hearing and listening to God during that time because you have that special time to focus on nothing more but your relationship with Him. Absolutely. I love to hear you say that. So singleness is also a very sacred time with God after you have children and you have a spouse and you have it, there's a lot of noises going on all the time.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 35:49

Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, and and this is a challenge for me. I hear voices, yeah, all the time. Why have my kids and so on? So that that time, you know, and I love spending time with the Lord, not even to get a sermon for Sundays, just time with the Lord to really hear from him, just for me. If a sermon comes as a result of it, that's great and wonderful, but I need him, you know. They in in in Deuteronomy, uh, the the uh the thing about I think in in Deuteronomy 8 about having the ah man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I desire to hear his voice feeding me on a day-to-day basis.

Renee Richel: 36:31

I love that. Okay, so how can the church do better to support and discipline singles, not just in the waiting season, but in helping them thrive and serve in, you know, purpose currently?

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 36:46

Yeah, I think what the church can do is just let them, you know, don't isolate the singles like you know, you're you have, you know, you're uh I guess a single single person over here over here. Actually, I should also add to that that some people are single, great, wonderful. But what about the person who, like I was, married and then no longer married, and then you know, I'm the in-betweener. Yeah, the in-betweener, right? And so I think this there's things that that the church can do to support such such individuals, whether it be single or someone who's who's divorced, just to embrace um each season of life that that they're in, right? Um maybe there they're there are widows and widowers who are like 80, 90 years old who are probably not looking to get married, right? But then and so they don't they don't have have a mate. If you could just help help individuals to just you know cultivate the best relationship with God in their particular season of life. You know, my my mom died 10 years ago, sadly. Um, my dad is is 87 years old and he's been been um you know 10 years a widower, and he has just learned to embrace the season of life in which he is. Um, you know, selfishly, I would want him to get married again because I don't want a new mom, right? Selfishly. But if that was his desire, that's his desire, then great, wonderful. A lot of times I think uh people think I must be married, I must be in a relationship, etc. I kind of alluded to this before, in order to be whole and and complete. I think the church can just help each individual to say, hey, whatever season of life I'm in, I just want to be in God's will. I just want to be in God's will. And if God's will for me in this season of my life is that I'm single, then I embrace it. If God's will for my life is that I should never be married for his glory, then I embrace it fully. It's easier said than done. But I believe that as long as we embrace what God is doing in each season of four lives.

Renee Richel: 39:03

One thing I say that I feel like the churches, and I, you know, I'm not a church, so I can't say that, but it's restricted by ages. It's restricted by if you're under 39, then you're in this group. If you're over third, or you know, 21 or 20. But the problem is, and I always say, regardless of your age, God brings people in their lives in all their seasons to learn from them. So the youth need to hear from the older, the older, wiser, whatever you want to call them, need to kind of be reminded what it was like to be in their youthful years. And I so I just I feel like it's a huge mission and a difficult um place for the churches to be in. But if we just love all and we have relatable people in the seasons we're in, it'll just help us to connect and not feel lonely. Okay. So what is a like words of finally, like, what are some encouragement you would give someone who feels weary in their singleness, but desire their trust in God's timing with joy and faith? Some for some final words that you can leave with our audience today.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 40:08

I want to quote something I a verse I quoted earlier, Psalm 27, verse 14. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, heal strength in your heart. Wait, I say on the Lord. If you if you think about someone like the man of God, David, David was a little shepherd boy when he was anointed. He wasn't they they it wasn't just prophesied over him. Samuel went to Jesse's house and he anointed David as king of Israel. But he didn't just, okay, I'm anointed and go become king of Israel. He went through a time and a season of preparation. In his preparation, Saul tried to take his life, right? Yes, he he he went through many dangerous toils and snares, but it was not until God's timing for him that it became a uh it became a reality. And so to my single friends, you know, I've been single and it's not it's not easy, and particularly uh for those who are divorced and would desire to get married again, you the the companionship and living together in holy matrimony, and then you're living in that time and that season, and then it seems like somehow or the other that life is taken from you. It could be could be divorce, it could be the death of your your spouse, where you you are married and you find yourself single again, and then what does that what does it look like, you know, in in terms of your next relationship? I just say just you know, wait on the Lord and just trust God's timing. There's a song in my old Baptist church in Jamaica called Take Time to Be Holy, right? I think the second verse of that song says, Take time to be holy, let God be your guide, and run not before him, whatever betide, right? He's leading you, he's guiding you step by step by step. But try not to go ahead of him because going ahead of him, he knows you know, the man of God job, he knows the way that I take, and when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. So he knows your path, he knows how he's gonna you know change different things, you know he's gonna change the king's heart to favor you for a particular time and season. He knows he's gonna harden the king's heart to let you leave that job so you can go to this other job. Maybe you have to relocate and go elsewhere to where God would have for you to be. So just trust that God is working the master plan. And listen, I I would love that God would use would use my life as the apostle Paul references in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 as a living epistle. So because some people are discouraged, some people don't want to go to church anymore, and especially in this day and age, people can stay at home and not go to church, or maybe they grew up in church and they kind of get discouraged with church as you know the institution of church and all that that entails. But God can use you, use me as living epistles. So rather than going to church and hearing a sermon, they interact with you on the job in the grocery store at your kids' baseball game, they interact with you and you become a living epistle to tell others of his goodness and of his faithfulness. So just you know, the the last verse I'll quote is uh is it will be a repeat. Proverbs 3, 5 and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not lead to your own understanding, and all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. Step by step by step, he'll direct your path. And so, single, single folks, there's a time and a season, and you embrace the season because you know when when marriage comes, it comes different responsibilities and so on. So just embrace the season that that you're in, and God will do great wonders through you and for you.

Renee Richel: 44:03

Amen. I love it. Well, this has been such a joy to have you join us to share your pearls of wisdom with people out there that have had ups and downs and walked through the season of singleness and maybe marriage and maybe divorce, that you have found your one true bride. Um, and then I may, you know, as we continue to speak to pastors and just be a light and a resource to so many individuals. When we have our um couple series going through, we'll have you and your wife come on and share with us what life is like being married now in today's day and age, because we obviously, as you know, or if you're new to listening to our One True Talks, is we are here for the whole season from not only finding the one, but going through the journey of dating, engaged, and married.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 44:55

So Amen. Amen. And and I I just want to say before before we're done, um, thank thank God for you. And and sometimes I I think, you know, where was an organization like like this, you know, as in my in my years when I was waiting on the Lord, right? I know that God's purpose and plan, you know, ultimately uh prevailed. You know, Proverbs 19 verse 21, many are the plans in the man's heart, but it's God's purpose that prevails. What you're doing is helping and encouraging people, um, not just people, Christian people, to find that one person that God has for them. And I love, you know, we've talked a bit about how you kind of do some of the legwork so that as people get to get get connected, they've been vetted, if you will, yeah, gone through the particular process so that the persons who person who they meet is someone who you know who God, first of all, God approves of.

Renee Richel: 45:55

And um and we we verify, he approves, we verify.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 45:59

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. And he's he's using you to really bless many lives. So thank you for for the work that you do. And it's it's a it's truly a ministry, and I'm just thankful for the way that God has used you and is using you, and will use you in the future to bless many lives.

Renee Richel: 46:16

Well, thank you, because I always say it takes a village when it comes to love and relationships in today's world, and tell everybody how they can find you at your church and come be a part of your organization or I mean your uh church if they are close by.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 46:32

Sure, yeah. Our church is Word Life Christian Fellowship. Our website is W-O-R-D-L-I-F-E, um, C F as in Christian Fellowship.org. Right? That's our church. And we we are based in Coral Springs, Florida. But one of the beautiful things about our church is that it's a hybrid service. So we have we have members of our church and people who participate in the service physically in the building, but because of the hybrid nature of it, we have people who join us and participate in the service from as far away as Europe and Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and in different parts of the United States. And so it's a wonderful thing that Laura has done, you know, through technology to be able to have a hybrid service. So God has done some great, great works. Um, our church telephone number is 954-775-0436. And I love it.

Renee Richel: 47:27

If you want to hear him, um, Pastor Rodrick preach and hear more about his stories or have any questions, please reach out and uh we will connect you if you don't reach out to him individually. Awesome. Have a blessed day, and we will definitely have you on for more chats with you and your bride, maybe next.

Pastor Rodrick Walters: 47:45

Oh, absolutely. I very much look forward to that. Thank you so much, Renee.

Renee Richel: 47:55

It's been another great talk on this episode of 1 True Talks by Renee Richel. I look forward to our next chat. Please write in your questions and comments so I can be sure to talk about whatever it is you want to discuss in our next upcoming episode. Lots of love, God Bless, XOXO.