Deb Wachers Story------All before 24

My story starts out like any normal little girl's. I remember playing with dolls and friends and dreaming of fairy tales and a happy life someday in a family with my own prince charming. I lived in what I thought was a typical family with my mom and dad and older brother in Des Moines Iowa.

My home was not a Christian home, but I do remember going to church once. A friend of mine invited me to Sunday school. I don't remember any details , but it must have impacted me somehow, because I remember I wished I could go back again.

It's too bad though, because I never did go again and soon my life took a dramatic turn for the worse.

My normal "little girl" life changed pretty quickly when I was 13 years old. At that young age I had gotten pregnant for the first time. I'll never forget riding in the back seat of my mothers car to the abortion clinic. When I looked in the her rear view mirror I saw the hatred in her eyes as she drove me there to end my pregnancy. This was not the first time I felt that my mom hated me. She told me she wished I was never born at other times.
By that age I realized there was very little love in my home and constant fighting and arguing. I had begun my search for love.
Sadly, It took me in a very painful direction.

Soon after the abortion I started feeling completely worthless. I started hurting myself in various ways to get "attention" like setting the shoes that I was wearing on fire and sipping rubbing alcohol. I had let down my mother and myself. These feelings got so strong I had wanted to end my life and I made my first serious suicide attempt. I took over 100 antidepressants and went into a coma. Two and a half days later by a miracle of God I woke up and recovered completely. Looking back I now see that God was watching over me even then.

But when I left the hospital things seemed even worse. I was put in a juvenile psychiatric unit for 30 days. When I got out I learned that my parents were divorcing and I would be moving to a small town I had never seen, with my mother. Our relationship was terrible and after a short time in high school I walked out never to return. This was about the time that a woman named Sue had heard of me and started praying.

Of course I was hurting even more then and more desperate for someone to care for me At 16 I met the father of my oldest daughter Kasey and moved in with his parents. She was born when I was 17 years old. This guy introduced me to marijuana and alcohol and I started using it almost everyday/ When we broke up I realized that I could not care for my daughter very well on my own. Mt mother knew Sue and asked her to talk to me about the situation. I decided it would be better for Kasey if she lived with my mom until I got my life together.

I started drinking and doing drugs a lot just to numb the pain. My life seemed out of control, and with a new boyfriend came another pregnancy and another abortion. During my first abortion I had been put to sleep, but during this one I was fully awake and realized that what I was doing was murder. It was one of the loneliest times of my life.

Not long after this I attempted suicide again by jumping from my boyfriend's truck that was going over 55 miles per hour. I landed in a ditch injured and bleeding and he just drove away. By now Sue had asked her church to start praying for me and a family from the church drove up to help me. I remember how kind they were to me as they drove me to the hospital I was committed and flown handcuffed to a state mental hospital.

When I got to that big lonely place. They observed me and decided I was not mentally ill, but my home life had been extremely dysfunctional. They offered me the chance to get my GED, which is the same as a high school diploma. Thankfully, I agreed because it came very handy later, but at the time I just wanted to do something.

Then on thanksgiving I got so desperate to get out of there that I ran at the first chance I got. I had no shoes or coat but ran across snow covered fields to escape. Eventually I came to a small town nearby and knocked on the first door I came to and asked if I could use their phone! I told the lady who answered the door that my car had broken down and she let me in. I called a guy I had met in the mental hospital and ended up at a hotel with him. He got me some clothes and shoes, But I got away from him quickly after I realized what he was really after. I started walking and saw a bar, I walked in and asked if they were hiring and they said they were and shortly after that I started my first job as a "stripper"

I had gotten into a world full of money, drugs and violence. And soon I met a guy who would give me all the drugs I wanted. He was in a violent , notorious biker gang. He introduced me to cocaine and many other drugs I wanted. I was using all the time. I saw fights, stabbings, and crime of every kind. I was also very violent myself. During this time I was even given some cocaine laced with embalming fluid by some men who owned a funeral home. This landed me in the hospital again. and once again God spared my life In the hospital I had learned I was pregnant once again, I was still using drugs and still stripping. For the next month I rarely slept, rarely ate, and did drugs constantly. One night I was dancing in a bar and I got a phone call, I did not recognize the voices on the other end of the line that said, " Did you put any old men in jail lately?" and "were going to come and pay you a visit". Then there was a horrible, evil laugh and the phone went dead. That night I got into my car and drove back to my hometown and went to my small apartment. I tried to sleep but my heart was beating to fast.

Now I know that this will sound like a hallucination, but it was as real as you and I are.

I was on my couch when a very bright light suddenly came through my window, In the light was a person that I thought was my old biker boyfriend. He was motioning me to come and I stood up and began walking toward him. I was very drawn to this light, But as I walking a girl appeared with him and I asked him, "you're with a girl?" and then they started laughing and it was the same evil laugh I had heard on the phone call earlier that night! Then this horrible fear gripped my heart and I realized this was hell I was looking at, and that was where my boyfriend was! I cried out from the depth of my heart, "Help me Jesus!" Now I don't know why I said that because I didn't even know who Jesus was but I think now that the prayers of Sue and her church were protecting me. When I said that I was able to to break away from the light and run to my car to drive to my mothers house.

My mother hadn't seen me for quite awhile and I'm sure she was amazed at how thin I had gotten, with my crooked nose, and my teeth rotting out! Normally she would call the police whenever I showed up but for some reason this time she let me in. I was hysterically crying and I needed to be baptized, because that's how I thought you got to heaven! My mom called Sue right away, she knew she was a christian.


Sue called her pastor and they met me back at my apartment. Looking back at it I don't know why they would even show up at my place, but I know it was God moving them to go. I will never forget their kindness and compassion they showed to me in my condition. Even though I blew my cigarette smoke in the pastors face. I was so upset and nervous. Pastor Bob told me about the cross and that Jesus loved me so much that He paid the price for my sins there so I could be in heaven and never fear hell again.

I bowed my head and prayed to receive my savior Jesus into my heart on that February night 1988 . That night I finally found the love I had been searching for, for so long.

That was 21 years ago and I have seen so many miracles since then. First of all I realize it's a miracle that I'm even alive. Between the overdoses and the suicide attempts I was even pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital once! After putting my faith in Christ I was immediately delivered from drugs and never wanted them again! And six months later my daughter Kaley was born completely healthy without any drugs in her system. We were very concerned about that! But she is a darling healthy almost 21 year old Christian today.

During that early time the church that had prayed for me reached out to me in many ways. Helping me with groceries and bills, and welcoming me into their hearts and homes. Even though the first time I went to church I showed up in my biker jacket and my playboy bunny necklace. By the way the next day Sue showed up at my house with a cross necklace!
I was eventually baptized there and was able to thank them all for their prayers through the years.

I spent a lot of time with Sue learning about God and she helped me figure out what to do next. I decided I wanted to go to beauty school, but I had no diploma or money. Until I remembered that I had gotten my diploma at the mental hospital. We sent for it and applied for a grant to pay my tuition. We never expected it to come through because all the money had already been awarded however, God did another miracle and awarded me money for tuition, books, room, board, gas money and babysitting ! Something I was told had never happened before!

While I was at beauty school Sue's parents, the Kruse's let me live in a condo they owned rent -free. All this time Sue was helping me with all the details.

I soon met a Godly man at bible study and we fell in love. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't even hold my hand until Sue explained how a Christian relationship should be. We both remained sexually pure until our wedding night.
Eventually, I was able to get my daughter Kasey back home to live with us. She came home on Christmas day when she was five years old. My husband adopted her, and Kaley as his own children. Then our third child Kourtney was born. What a blessing to have my husband by my side and of course Sue was there when she was delivered too.

Words don't explain the changes God has made in me, In Him I am a new creature, He gave me new birth like those babies I saw in that hospital window so long ago. He heard my cry and gave me a completely new life! I am so amazed that God would care so much for me. His sweet voice speaks to me everyday. My heart is full of gratitude to Him and to the people He has placed in my life as an anchor for my spiritual growth. And I thank them for seeing God's potential in me.

I am now the owner of my own salon business, I've been married for 19 years and were raising our girls to know and love the Lord, And though there have been many difficulties overcoming my past, He has been with me every step of the way. I am so excited for what God has in mind and in store for my family and me. My dreams of happiness came true. I met my prince of my life that I had always longed for, Jesus and HE is the King of my heart and one day I will live in His castle forever.

All praise and glory to Jesus for His faithfulness through all that's happen to me.

As Sue and I was preparing for me to speak at a conference in Colorado with Chuck Norris, she prepared a short note that was to be read after I spoke, but time did not allow for her to read it.
Then not long after she passed away, I found her note that she tucked in the envelope, which touched my heart tremendously.. I pray it touches your also..
4 years ago, my wonderful friend Sue went to be with Jesus she was only 45.

Debi has told you how God took a hold of her life. But I wanted to be able to tell you how through Debi, God has taken hold of my life. Whenever my faith is weak and I begin to doubt God, she will suddenly pop into my mind
and God will remind me that no book, no program, no doctor, no earthly logic brought about the transformation of Deb Wacker. It was purely the power of Christ's love and truth that did this miracle. And I think to myself, I have seen a new creation in her, and if God can do that through Christ's love, then anything is possible! And He restores my faith and strengthens me through what I see Him doing in her. And I'm grateful that I was naive enough to go to her home that first night and be a apart of this amazing work He has done in her life. I'd like to encourage all of you that when the door opens for you to love someone in Christ, don't just send your pastor over, or refer them to someone else, just go, be a part of something God wants to to do in their life as well as in your own. I know that for most of you your time can sometimes be more of a sacrifice than giving money, but if a Debi walks into your life, the blessings you will receive will far outweigh any sacrifice. And to God be the glory for it all!