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The Book of Steve
OneTwo Church at South Padre Island
A lot of people say “God had a plan,” but it hits different when it’s spoken by someone who’s walked through hospital hallways, marriage vows tested by years of illness, and the kind of loss that changes your calendar forever. Steve tells the story of meeting Jerry, learning how to become a family with two daughters, and finding unexpected mentors in Papa T and Mama Granny, whose gentleness and grit leave a mark that still guides us years later.
Then the ground shifts. We talk through Jerry’s health battles, including severe respiratory disease, a pneumonia crisis that leads to an induced coma, and the moment a hidden hospital chapel becomes impossible to ignore. A “bargain” prayer turns into something deeper: a lived experience of grace. We also share the strange timing that follows, including job loss and immediate provision, and how church becomes less about obligation and more about being held up when you can’t hold yourself together.
The most painful chapter is also the most honest: multiple spine surgeries, complications, dialysis, machines filling a room, and a decision no spouse wants to make. We reflect on what it means to love someone well at the end, how community carries you, and how looking back can reveal a pattern you couldn’t see in the moment. If you’ve ever asked where God is in suffering, caregiving, grief, or rebuilding after loss, this story is for you.
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