Testimony: Living Like a Champion

I want to share with you a testimony that was sent to me recently.

Mr. Brewster,

My name is Mark Schimmel. I attend Cross Tabernacle in Terre Haute. I wanted to thank you for coming to our church this weekend and also thank you for giving me the coin and two books. I was the guy sitting on the front row who you blessed at the end of the service. I wanted to catch up with you afterwards, but you were busy at your table and I didn’t want to interrupt. But I needed to share with you what God had done.

 

I was looking forward to the men’s conference on Saturday all week. I had read about you coming and saw you had worked for the Secret Service. Things dealing with security, secret missions, and enforcement have always fascinated me. I love to hear stories from the Secret Service, CIA, Navy Seals, Black Ops, etc… So when I heard you were coming to speak at our church, I was really excited. Unfortunately, when Saturday came, I was not in attendance. We had a lot of things planned for Saturday and my wife was getting very stressed because of everything she had to do. I decided to help her out and stayed home to split up the errands that needed to be taken care of, along with taking care of our 4 boys. I did it because I love her, but I have to be honest, I was not completely into it or happy about it. I did it because I understood it would help her out tremendously, but my heart wasn’t totally willing. I wanted to be at the men’s meeting. So when I arrived at church on Sunday morning, a friend of mine, who was sitting behind me, showed me the coin he got at Saturday’s meeting. He was going on about how good it was on Saturday. I thought I had put everything behind me, but inside, I began to feel some resentment and bitterness towards my wife about not being there.

After the service, when you approached me and handed me that coin, I broke inside. God immediately spoke to me and reminded me that He had everything under control. He told me that He knew my heart’s desire, but that He was proud of me for helping my wife and now He was restoring all that I had missed out on. Although standing tall at the moment, I was shrinking inside. God is so good and He is always in charge. Then you came back and handed me your books on top of it. God blesses because He has the power to do so! After service, in the parking lot, I shared with my wife all that had transpired. I apologized to her for having that bitterness towards her. Thank you for being a blessing to me and my family. I am excited to read your books and apply the message of being a Champion for God to my life, my family, and my work.

As an added piece of evidence that God was orchestrating the whole thing, I don’t know if you noticed what I was wearing. I had a Nike polo shirt on that was in the colors of Florida State. When I got it out of the closet this morning and put it on, I told myself that I really like the shirt, but people always think I am a Florida State fan when I wear it! haha Not knowing anything about you or your past, I couldn’t help but smile inside when you shared that you graduated from Florida State. God never ceases to amaze me and I pray for you, your family and your ministry. God will continue to open up doors for you and your message of being a Champion will open up ears and change hearts!

Thank you again so much and God bless you!

Mark