After My mother passed away when I was eleven years old, my fathers new wife and
her new family didn't want my sister and I around so they shipped us off to a
boarding school. Although this was the best thing for me because I was
determined to prove that I could be somebody, I realized how lonely I was, and I
felt like I was nobody.
When I was 18 years old, I dropped out of college due to severe abuse from
different gangs at the school. I didn't know gangs even existed until this
point. As I thought I was running from the abuse, my family all at once decided
to scapegoat me with their problems again, and I fell right into the trap of
more abuse from them. I could not take anymore abuse so I knew I had to run
away. In the meantime, my mothers parents left my brother, sister, and I with an
inheritance that I thought was a blessing. When I moved to LA, I bought a
beautiful condo on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and PCH, a red Porche Targa,
and I was on my way to becoming "somebody" as a famous actress because I
invested the rest of my savings into a movie. I thought I won over my parents
evil desires of my never amounting to nothing.
I dated this one guy who introduced me to marijuana. The day he left me, I was
left devastated. I smoked marijuana to calm the anxiety. I prayed for the first
time to God for his help. Then I was reading a book in a candle lit setting to
calm my nerves, and I fell asleep. My roommate woke my up in the middle of the
night screaming "fire"!!! My condo was engulfed in flames. All I could think
about was "Get the people out!! Get the people out!! It was a fairly big high
rise building, and I sat down at the bottom watching my life go up in flames. I
didn't know what to do or who to turn to. All I could think about was "Thank God
no one was hurt". Everyone in the building was suing me, but since I didn't know
I was supposed to have insurance because no taught me basically how to live, I
ended up cutting my losses and I filed bankruptcy. My pain became everyone's
pain.
After three months of the fire, my partner in the movie I invested my money with
embezzled my savings. I made a phone call to his secretary who said "OH, you
just have to cut your losses on your tax return, the money is gone." There went
my hope to be somebody. I began to think my parents were right along.
Five months after the loss of savings, I was attacked and kidnapped in my own
red Porche Targa. While the kidnapping went on for several hours, the man tried
to rape me several times. I kicked my car door open to yell for help as a guy
walked by...and he kept on walking; after leaving that site, we made illegal
turns in front of cops, which I had hoped would turn into chase, WRONG! They
went the other way. I began to calm down as I finally realized I was no
different then my attacker. Here I was, I lost everything and shirt off my back.
I had no support, no family, and I was a nobody.
I began to carry on a conversation with the attacker, and I asked him why he did
what he did. He said "I don't know why I do what I do." Then I told him, it is
so sad that someone has hurt you so bad, that you just want to hurt me. You were
innocent at one time just like me, and you were really hurt; you are doing all
that you know. But I can see that you are a smart good-looking guy, who is very
talented and you have a lot to offer society. I'm sorry to see that all go to
waste."
The man said I was nice person, and he wasn't going to touch me. He dropped me
off in a dumpster and took off in my car. I was homeless, I lost my savings, I
lost my car, I had no family (OH, by the way, my step mom and the FBI said I
made the kidnapping up, and that I was only trying to get attention...that was
the most painful thing I had EVER experienced...nothing came close to this, not
even contractions of a child birth). I had become a nobody, but I was not going
to give up.
I began running on the beach everyday. I fell in and out of drugs to deal with
the pain of guilt and loneliness. But I felt like there was something more out
there, and I wanted to know what it was. After a couple of years of training in
acting, my career as actress started to take off, but then I met a man and I
ended up prematurely pregnant. I was offered a big role in a movie, I was
offered a role on a TV series, a music video I had done hit number one on the
charts, and I was booking commercials left and right. I packed everything in one
day and I moved south. We got married and had another child. As I looked at my
daughters, I began to wonder where did life come from. The beauty of children is
so amazing. So one day I looked up, and asked God, "God...who made you God?"
I began to attend a Calvary Chapel. When I accepted Jesus in my heart, ALL of my
burdens were immediately lifted up. I felt the real meaning of forgiveness. I
had always heard about it, but I thought there was NO WAY I can be forgiven of
all my adversaries. But its true. I was all of sudden at peace and I KNEW
everything was going to be OK, and I was not alone. I began to see that I was
somebody. I was somebody to God who sent his ONLY son to die on the cross for
me. I had so many near death experiences, but it doesn't come close to what God
must have experienced when he watched his son being tortured on the cross for
me. But then the Lord helped me really understand when I experienced something
similar, but his pain was no way near as close as what he suffered for all of
us.
Years later, my kids were held hostage. THANK GOD I told my kids what happened
to me, because my eight year old daughter said "Mom, all I could remember seeing
when I look at the bad guy was what you said you did when you were held
hostage...'remember to see the good in everyone, it could save your life." This
all happened while he was holding my little precious baby girls at gun point.
Because the relationship I was in was VERY abusive and not safe, I had to get
out and start a life that God intended me to have. I finally asked God what he
wanted to do with my life, and I found myself desiring to volunteer my time for
a local teen center. I began mentoring to teens about how each one of them was
special and how God has blessed them in many ways. I am on a mission to teach
people how to mentor to those less fortunate or someone younger, and to
encourage teens they are somebody through the love of God. My kids and I are
raising money and awareness for local teen shelters throughout the county to
help encourage the success of each teenager, which we hope will prevent them
from committing crimes out of loneliness, and to help my kids heal from their
attack (they have been in counseling for over a year and they are doing
wonderful). I am in the process of getting my non profit 501c3 status, so I can
help bring encouraging opportunities for the teens. Please pray for the success
of The Mentor Missions Charitable Foundation. I need all the prayers I can get
to reach as many people as I can the awareness of a mentor. Our web site will
soon be up and running, which is mentormissions.com Thank you.
Something to pass on:
Through the years with my kids, I noticed I would reach over and tap my kids
three times on their lap, shoulder, etc., while subconsciously saying "I love
you." One day my daughter reached over and tapped four times back saying "I love
you too." We began to turn it into a game that has become a little 3 tap trend
among other people. I showed this to the teens, now they are doing 3 tap. Like a
hug, I believe God is saying through each of us with a smile TAP TAP TAP. God
loves you! And we don't even know we are doing it. So please pass on 3 tap, and
know that no matter what happens in your lifetime, you are not alone, and you
are somebody. God loves us just the way we are...
TAP TAP TAP!!! Devon SURFRGL@aol.com
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.