Darrell's Testimony (Part One)

I was born and raised in the small, furniture mill town of Thomasville, NC, and was fortunate enough to be blessed with the two greatest parents that anyone could ever ask for. They were diligent in following God’s admonishment to "train up a child in the way he should go....", and as a result we were in church nearly every time the doors were open. Many of my fondest early memories are of the great sermons, fifth Sunday "sangins", and "favorite hymn nights" whereupon I (in all my seven year old eagerness) could be counted on to shout out "To God Be The Glory" or "Victory In Jesus" without fail.

I remember the Sunday afternoon when I was eight, when I knelt with my pastor and asked Jesus into my heart. I remember the tears of joy that flowed so freely that day, maybe not totally understanding everything, but knowing my destiny was secure just the same. I would like to be able to say that I was a straight and decent kid from that point onward. Unfortunately, that is a claim I cannot make.

To anyone with eyes to see, I had it made. I had two wonderful parents who loved me and each other dearly, something sadly lacking in many of today’s cases. They really were behind me, win or lose, and it seemed that I was poised for a great time growing up. It’s funny how just one thing can change all that forever.

For me, that moment came on Monday, May 2, 1983 at 12:02AM, when my father, Bill Ritchie, lost his six month battle with lung cancer. For the first time in my life, God had done something I didn’t understand, and I couldn’t conceive why He would allow such pain in our lives. My father had been, and remains, the Godliest man I ever knew, bar none, and I just didn’t see what good could ever come out of his death. At that point, with all the wisdom I had garnered in my sixteen years, I simply decided that God did not have a clue as to what was good for my life, and I would be the one in control from now on.

For the next few years I did my own thing, with no regard for what God thought, only seeking to make myself acceptable to the crowd I ran with. I began drinking, partying, and staying out all night. I was completely at odds with my mother, turning away during the time she needed me the most. My relations with other friends and girlfriends were mostly based on what they could do for me. Emotionally, I hit rock bottom, feeling depressed and angry most of the time, and taking it out on anybody who happened to be convenient.

Now, looking back on those days, I can see how God kept His hand on my life. Through it all, lifted up on the prayers of friends and family, who refused to stop believing in me, God revealed Himself to me in such a tangible way. All the nights He brought me home safely, all the moments where His faithfulness to me was made evident even as I ran from Him, even through the 1985 car wreck that should have killed me, yet I was healed and restored physically; looking back, I can only stand in awe of His incredible grace and mercy in that, while I was unlovable, He chose to love me anyway. That He looked down through time, and saw me, saw that I would reject Him, yet still He came to earth to live like me, and eventually give His life for me, taking on the punishment that I so richly deserved. Then, when the time was right, He stepped back into my life with open arms, ready to welcome the prodigal home.

Through some newfound friends I had made as a student at Gardner Webb College in North Carolina, God showed me what my life could be. These guys were final touch. And during Christmas Break 1987, I got down on my knees, and prayed that simple prayer again. I asked God to give me the strength to follow through, and to make me the child of God He wanted me to be. And in my heart, I could feel those walls coming down. Then I rose from my bedside, a new creature in Christ.

Since that day, I’ve never looked back. I’ve become a better son to my mom, a better friend to those around me, and most of all, I’ve learned to let Him carry my burdens, to rest in Him, trusting that He will, in all things, take care of me.

Now I’m married (way out of my league, I might add!), have the two greatest little girls in the world (yikes!), and have been given the opportunity to do what I love the most, travel and sing and tell others what an awesome Savior He is. It is my prayer that people would genuinely see Jesus in me, and as a result desire to know Him as well.

On a final note, I still don’t understand why my father was taken away, but I have learned to "be still and know" that He is God, and sometimes He doesn’t expect us to understand why things happen, but to accept it and know that He is in control, and that all things do indeed work together for good for those that love Him, and are called according to His purpose. Today, the hymn I requested so often as a child not only remains a favorite, but can honestly serve as my heart’s cry each day, To God Be The Glory, Great Things He Hath Done!

Because He lives,

Darrell