CMA HeartBeat December 2020 | Page 13

Testimonies

By ERIC & CHERI Story

JESUS

does not call us to do anything that He does not equip us for . This is not only a story from the road , it is a story of the road itself , a story of two years of God ’ s intricate planning to save the life of a biker .
THE LONG ROAD WITH IT ’ S HILLS AND CURVES
A few years back , one of the CMA members in Southeast Texas received a call from a movie production company asking for CMA to ride along with other bikers in the filming of a 4th of July parade . The movie , “ We Are Stronger ” deals with the subject of PTSD and God ’ s healing power .
They were hoping for a total of 75 bikes in the parade . CMA furnished 75 of the roughly 150 bikes that showed up .
God had a plan , and we were unknowingly right in the early stages of it . The production team put together a coalition of experts and volunteer groups that were working with law enforcement , military , burn victims , suicide prevention , and even an organization that works with the families of those that have lost someone to suicide . Then God spoke to Carla of Reflective Life Ministries , also the producer of the movie , to begin including Cheri and myself in training sessions and ministry
opportunities . This was not something we sought after nor had any idea would be in our future .
A couple of years after the movie release , we received a call from Carla that one of the organizations , Cassidy Joined for Hope , would sponsor Cheri and I in suicide prevention training . This was something close to our heart since we lost a granddaughter to suicide at 16 years of age .
I will admit , I was not sure it was something I would ever use or even if the process would really work .
NOW FOR THE STORY
About a month later , while sitting in a container at a chemical plant in Beaumont Texas , waiting for a phone call to be returned , I scrolled through my newsfeed on Facebook . This is something I would rarely do . After scrolling for several minutes , a post caught my attention . No , it was not political , not about firearms , and not even about motorcycles . It was a simple statement followed by several responses . The post simply read , ” Suicide , Heaven or Hell ?” The responses for the most part could easily be interpreted as encouragement to go ahead and commit suicide .
I read this and immediately God quickened to my spirit that this
was not a philosophical question . I responded with , “ There is no simple answer for your question .” I wanted to discuss it with her ( we will call her RG ), but social media was not the place . I asked her to PM me if she was asking because suicide was something she was considering . Almost immediately she responded with “ Yes .”
I asked for her number , breathed a prayer , and called her . I knew that even with training , this was not something I could do on my own .
When I placed the call , RG answered almost immediately . I asked what brought her to this place and she began to pour her heart out . I will not go into the details but will say , I could understand why her post was really a cry for help .
One thing she told me was that she had been looking for work for six months and was having no luck .
After talking a while , I told her she needed to build a safety plan . I asked her to let me be number one on that plan . She had my number and could call on Cheri and me 24 hours a day . We also discussed how she needed to get back to church and rededicate her life to Christ . He would take care of the rest . We ended the call for that day with prayer for all of her
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13⎪DECEMBER 2020⎪www . cmausa . org