Contrasts of my life----just sharing

I grew up a various rebellious teen with jealousy, rejection, being bullied and teased because my dad was 60 when I was born and in grade school, I was always fighting to stand up for my dad.
As a young man, I married at 19 for all the wrong reasons.  My life took a terrible dark side for many years.
I became a Biker, an alcoholic, a drug user, and outcast to my family, to my home town and I was in fights, had run ins with the law, beat up, busted up, went through a divorce, had my house burn, lost everything, had my car burn up, had my hand crushed, off work for 7 months.  Wanted by Police.  I was told by a State Police Officer than he wanted to put me in jail so bad that he had better not catch me spitting on the sidewalk.  I was regularly searched for drugs on my person.  I was a long haired, bearded, drunken, drug using, music playing idiot, that lived on the corner in a town of 1500 people with 8 churches and no-one came to visit me except Bikers, drug users and drunks. People were afraid of me, and I lived 3 doors down from a church!!!!!!!  I have been stabbed, shot at, have a bullet hole in my right leg, had 3 attempts on my life, every finger broken on both hands, but my right thumb, knife scars on my hands, arms and legs, scars from motorcycle wrecks, a screwdriver ran completely through my left hand, clamp scars where an artery had to be clamped to keep me from bleeding to death, toes broken on both feet, my shoulder broken, scars on my face from fights and being hit, scars on my head for being hit with bottles, etc,; a finger cut off on my right hand and re-attached and my tongue has been almost severed twice.
 
I gave my life to Jesus in 1973 after my wife and I had separated in 1972.  Since then, I have been a Church Bus driver, an Assist. Sunday school teacher, a Sunday school teacher, a Sunday School Supt, a trustee, a youth director, an assist pastor, sang and played Gospel music with 2 semi-pro Gospel Groups, a preacher since 1976 and I have Pastored 3 churches.  We started the church mentioned in my previous journal and I moved back to the same town I lived in, in the preceding paragraph.  I live 4 blocks from where I used to live.  Now, people shake my hand, smile and joke with me.  Many of the kids and grand-kids of those years ago, come to me and shake my hand and say, I remember mom and dad talking about you.  You are a "legend" here in this town.
"Legend"?  I don't think so.  I am just someone who the Lord changed in 1973.  He took the hate, revenge, retaliation, booze, drugs, and all the mess from my life, and gave me a genuine love for people, who today, are just like I once was.  It amazes me still where I have been and where I am today.  I am humbled and so blessed to have survived.  Most of my Biker friends are dead.  Shot, committed suicide, or died in car wrecks, motorcycle wrecks, liver disease from alcohol or by some other cause in life. What a contrast.  What a change.  What a calling!!!!!!!!