My name is Jeff Shaw. Thank you for allowing me to tell you a little bit about my journey through life. But first I must give all the credit and glory to the Lord, for who I am today and how I’ve changed. I’m far from perfect.  I’m still a work in progress. God’s not done with me yet!

I’m the oldest child of three. I grew up in a home where nobody really talked about God or went to church. I had no idea how to live as God would have wanted me to live. I could only go by what I saw on TV or in the movies regarding what it meant to be a young man, what it meant to be cool. Talk about a poor example! Building from some issues in my home, when I was in about 5th grade I remember starting to become a very aggressive and angry person. I started acting out by being really mean, getting into fights on the streets, and becoming quite the troublemaker. This trend stayed with me all the way through high school. By this time I was really out of control; a wild child.  I looked to the tough, macho movie actors and rock stars as role models.  I did my best to become like them, not realizing at the time that everybody is born with a God-shaped hole in their hearts.  I was trying to fill that hole with things I thought would make me happy.

I had started playing the drums and formed a band with some friends. We started playing backyard parties and bars, but it wasn’t the best environment for me, which led me down a dead-end path.  I got a job at a local restaurant and I became friends with a guy that worked there. He was the total opposite of me. He was calm and had a peace about him. He always seemed happy. He started asking me to go to a group at his church. I said no a few times until he said there were a couple of pretty girls there. So I went, and for the first time in my life I heard about a man named Jesus who is the son of God that died for the wrongs that I have committed in my life. The only thing I knew about Jesus before this was that He was born in a manger and He had something to do with Christmas. I learned that I had to accept Him, ask Him to forgive me of my sin. It seemed too easy, too good to be true. I learned more as a couple of months went on. I learned that Jesus would return again one day for all the people that have accepted Him as Savior. However, those who did not would be left on the earth for a terrible time called the Tribulation. For the first time I could remember I was afraid. I didn’t want to be left behind. I asked Jesus to save me. I felt a peace come over me that I never felt before; I truly felt different. For the next month or so after that, I seemed to be changing. Unfortunately, within a few months, I slid back; pulled back into some of my old ways.

Eventually I got a factory job. My boss was an older man and come to find out, he was also a Christian. He became like a second father to me. I really looked up to him. I worked as hard as I could to impress him, learned every job in the plant, and became his assistant supervisor. He taught me so much about life. He knew that outside of the factory I wasn’t making the best choices. He did so much to try to set me straight and his tactics were working. I believe God puts people in your life for a reason.  

But I continued going to the clubs, wining and dining. I really thought I was the cat’s meow. I was cocky, full of myself, arrogant, thought I was God’s gift. Then my life finally caught up to me and the inevitable happened; I got a girl pregnant. Pressured to get married, I thought I should do “the right thing.” We got married 6 days before my oldest daughter, Tawni, was born.  Almost 3 ½ years later our 2nd daughter Samantha was born. Then after 1 ½ years our 3rd daughter, Aliseah, was born. The births of all 3 girls are still right up there as the top highlights of my life! What a blessing they are! I love them so much!

After 6 ½ years of marriage, our marriage ended in divorce. I couldn’t believe it. I was so devastated. I became a depressed, broken man. I was truly humbled and overwhelmed. I didn’t know which way to turn. In retrospect, I can see I needed to be in this condition for God to get my attention. I had forsaken Him. As the song goes, “I did it my way”. I lived life for years doing things I’m certain were out of His will. Sometimes God allows us to go so far down that the only place we can turn is to Him.

There is a story about footprints in the sand that I hold dear to my heart. There were two sets of footprints in the sand. One set was from a hurting person, the other set was the Lord’s. At one point there was only one set of prints in the sand for a short distance. The man asked the Lord, “Why did you leave me?” The Lord answered the person, “I didn’t. I carried you during the toughest time in your life.” That was me. During this major low point, it was no coincidence that a buddy of mine told me about a church in the area he started going to. I knew I needed to go, so I did and it was amazing! It seemed like what the preacher was preaching was directed right at my very soul. I was in tears as I sat listening and trying to sing. God says in His word that He is near to the broken hearted. I couldn’t explain it back then, but I could feel his presence during these terrible times. As months went on I was truly changing. I asked the Lord to forgive me, to give me another chance, and to take total control of my life.

A long while after the divorce I met a beautiful, wonderful woman.  I really liked her a lot but there was one big problem; she was not a Christian. I knew better now. After a couple of months of talking to her about the Lord and her doing some searching on her own, she became a Christian.  This was an incredible event to me! I never thought God would use messed-up me to help bring someone to Him! I’m forever humbled and grateful because a few months after that, I asked her to marry me. This was something that I told myself I was NEVER going to do again, but I knew this woman was a gift from God.  She said, “YES!” We have been married for over 10 wonderful years and we continue to grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord daily. I never thought marriage could be so good.

The Bible says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.” Guess what, I’m here to tell you, it’s true! We attend a wonderful church, Faith Bible Church. I now play drums there most Sundays. I can’t tell you how much I love playing drums for Him! There’s so much more I could say, but I think you have the picture. God is a God of second chances, of love, forgiveness and mercy. Don’t ever think you’ve been such a bad person that He would never forgive you. Just ask Him! Jesus said, “I stand at the door and knock”. If you haven’t already done so, invite Him in and watch your life change! Thank you for taking time to read this “Cliff Notes” version of my life story.   

Jeff Shaw