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Pastor Lost Leg Drunk Drivers Recklessness
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Pastor Lost His Leg To Drunk Driver’s Recklessness, But Chooses To Forgive

by Christel Berns
written by Christel Berns

A pastor chose to forgive the drunk driver who crashed his vehicle and pardoned his 2.5 million debt despite damages.

A Difficult Childhood

Darrin Ray’s childhood revolved around corrective surgeries because of his condition. He was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. Hence, he went through many surgeries in his life. For that reason, he struggled with his identity and had low self-esteem. In school, kids also bullied him. Life was hard enough for Darrin. But he overcame everything because of his faith in God.

Pastor Lost Leg Drunk Drivers Recklessness

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – I Am Second

The Pastor Lost His Leg

In August 2006, another event challenged Darrin’s faith when he was in an accident with his daughter. A drunk driver crashed into their vehicle. Thankfully, his daughter had only a few scratches. But unfortunately, Darrin suffered burns and lost his right leg.

Following the crash, he thought of getting revenge on the drunk driver. He wanted him to suffer like what the driver did to him and his family. But later on, he had a change of heart. The pastor did the opposite, doing it the Christlike way of dealing with things.

Forgives Drunk Driver

Darrin initially wanted the driver to suffer the consequences of his misdeed. But when he saw the driver during the hearing in the courtroom, the Lord began to soften his heart. His anger and bitterness was suddenly replaced with compassion. He then chose to forgive the driver for his outstanding debt for the damages, which surprised the judge.

“The judge looked at me and said, ‘Why do you want to forgive this man that debt?’” he recounted. “And I looked at that judge, and I told him, ‘Because I have a Savior that forgave me. He paid my debts that I could never repay.”

And Darrin never regretted his decision to forgive the man.

“When I forgave that man, I was instantly freed from bitterness and anger,” the pastor remarked. “When you truly think about how much Christ has forgiven you, it helps you to forgive others who have wronged you. Now, I’m able to walk in freedom and wholeness.”

Darrin Ray - Better, Not Bitter

Reference | Faithpot and I Am Second

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Drunk Driver Testimony
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Drunk Driver Bargains With God Asking To Let The Kid She Hit Survive

by Christel Berns
written by Christel Berns

Drunk driver bargains with God to let the kid she hit survive, promising Him she would do the rest of her life in prison. And she ended up surrendering her life to Christ.

Drug Abuse

Shannon Baum grew up in Española, New Mexico, where drugs and alcohol were common. When the 15-year-old Shannon had her heart broken, she turned to the drugs that were readily available.

Drunk Driver Testimony

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – The 700 Club

At 17, Shannon married, and drug abuse filled their marriage. It became normal for the married couple, and even Shannon never saw it as a problem. She would soon discover the trap she had walked into.

Crying Out To God In Desperation

Then, at 20 years old, Shannon had already given birth to three children and she struggled take care of them. Soon, the drug abuse took a toll on her life and began controlling her life. She couldn’t stop her addiction and hid it from everyone. But one moment, she broke down in tears as she felt death creeping in. That’s when she cried out to God for the first time. She prayed, “God, I need Your help. I can’t do this; I can’t get off these. I don’t know what to do, I’m going to die. And I don’t want to die.”

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – The 700 Club

Drunk Driving

One day, Shannon got involved in a police chase as she was driving while drunk. The pursuit caused her to drive at high speed, and she crashed into a young man on his motorcycle. The next thing Shannon knew, she was at the hospital. And after she woke up, the police told her that the kid she hit barely survived and was in critical condition.

At that moment, Shannon couldn’t think of anything else but to bargain with God.

“God, if You help this kid and You let him survive, I will do the rest of my life in prison,” she told God. “If it’s in prison, that’s fine.”

Following that prayer, Shannon received a phone call from her mom—the kid miraculously survived.

“Shannon, you need to fall to your knees and you need to start thanking God,” the mom said. “Because that kid you hit just walked out of the hospital… They’re calling him a miracle!”

Claiming Her Crown of Life

Reference | The 700 Club

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Drunk Driver forgiven
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Church And Family Forgives Drunk Driver Who Killed The Pastor

by Christel Berns
written by Christel Berns

Family members and congregants surprise the court as they release forgiveness to the drunk driver responsible for the death of Minnesota Pastor Verlyn Strenge during a hearing that moved a prosecutor to tears.

Minnesota Pastor Killed By Drunk Driver

Last year, Minnesota Pastor Verlyn Strenge was in a car accident that cost his life. David Nelson, the man who crashed into the pastor’s car, was reportedly driving “70 mph and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.267—three times the legal limit.” The late pastor had been preaching at First Baptist Church for many years.

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – Lakeland PBS

Then recently, during a Nov. 24 hearing, family members and congregants shocked the judge and prosecutor with what they did. Surprisingly, the family chose to forgive the offender and even prayed for his well-being.

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – Lakeland PBS

Widow And Family Chooses To Forgive

“We forgive you,” Jayme, the late pastor’s daughter, said to the convict. “As hard as it was at first, we want you to know that we have been praying for you for the past year. Because we know your life has been impacted by the biggest mistake of your life.”

Pastor Verlyn’s family then walked up to him and hugged him, affirming that they had truly forgiven him.

“I forgive you, David,” the pastor’s widow, Merry Gale, said while embracing David. “Please forgive yourself.”

Drunk Driver forgiven

Photo Courtesy | YouTube – Lakeland PBS

His daughter also offered a heartfelt promise: “I’ll be praying for you and your family.”

The Strenge family’s loving gesture moved County Attorney Katy Lorsbach to tears. And Judge Eric Schieferdecker said he had never seen anything like it.

Church Family Forgives

Moreover, according to Inforum.com, the congregants also did the same. A member of the church, Rick Moore, revealed how they have “forgiven so much” at the church. They also proclaimed, “How could we not forgive you?”

David was found guilty of vehicular homicide and will be heading to state prison for three years. But surely, he wouldn’t forget the compassion and kindness the family of the pastor showed him.

What a compelling display of forgiveness rooted in Christ!

Family of Minnesota Pastor Killed in Crash Forgives Man Sentenced for His Death

Reference: Faithwire 

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Amputee Unexpectedly Asks Judge To Forgive Drunk Driver Who Caused His Disability

by Rhoda Gayle
written by Rhoda Gayle

Darrin Ray unexpectedly asked the judge to forgive the drunk driver who caused his disability after seeing how Jesus died for his sins.

Darrin Ray

Born with bilateral cleft palate, Darrin has had a tough childhood. At a very young age, he faced a series of surgeries and countless bullying from other kids. Despite being raised in a Christian home, he felt abandoned and unloved by God because of his situation.

After several years, Darrin’s life seemed to be coming well together. Hearing God’s calling towards ministry, he started to attend seminary to study Christian counseling. He is also happily married with a three-year-old daughter. However, all that changed on August 20, 2006, when he got in a terrible road accident while he and his daughter were driving to church.

Accident

“I had gotten up that morning to go to church,” Ray recalled. “My daughter was in the backseat, and I got about a mile from my home in a 20-mile-an-hour school zone when a man who was intoxicated and high on prescription pills came the other way going 60 miles an hour. And he crossed the double yellow line and hit me head-on. The combined crash was like driving my car into a brick wall 90 miles an hour.”

The crash was so bad that Darrin was inflicted with multiple injuries that left him amputated. Both of his legs were crushed, his arms are covered with the battery acid, his left femur was broken into pieces and his right ankle was crushed.

“I was bleeding to death,” he said. “Paramedics had to use the Jaws of Life to peel the car from around me. It was a terrifying experience. Thankfully, my daughter had nothing but a scratch.”

Drunk Driver

After spending a month in the hospital undergoing multiple surgeries, the now amputated Darrin went back to seminary. Yet, he was still full of anger towards the man who caused his disability. But, God changed his heart towards the man and helped him forgive him.

“It was the man’s fourth DUI, and the state had revoked his license. I had a picture in my head of who this guy was: A big, mean, evil-looking man. It was easy for me to be unforgiving to him,” he said. “One was the first to change my perspective of him. When the man walked in the courtroom, he was just 49 years old yet looked 70 due to years of harsh living. God used that to soften my heart and dispel what I originally thought he would look like.”

Forgiveness

While reading the scripture, Darrin came across the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus praying for forgiveness. That was when he also started to pray that God would help him forgive the man he resented the most.

“I didn’t feel like forgiving the man,” Darrin admitted. “But I knew it was what God wanted me to do. I trusted Him to help me forgive. I prayed, ‘Lord, I don’t want to forgive. Help me to do what you want.’”

At the court hearing, Darrin unexpectedly asked the judge to forgive the debt that the drunk driver owed his family.

“The judge looked at me and said, ‘Why do you want to forgive this man that debt?’” he said. “And I looked at that judge, and I told him, ‘Because I have a Savior that forgave me. He paid my debts that I could never repay.’”

Darrin Ray - Better, Not Bitter

Read also: Christians In Brazil Knelt On The Streets To Pray For Relief From COVID-19 

Reference: YouTube | I Am Second 

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