Jed's Transformation

Jed was a respectable man, but he was a workaholic—sixty, seventy hours a week. His life was wrapped up in his job and his money. He was an aspiring young executive. He went to the top of his company, but getting to the top paid a real price on his family.

Christy was madly in love with Jed, but when he came home, he wanted his supper at 8:00, because he often had meetings back at the office at 9:00 or 9:30. And if Christy didn’t have the supper on the table, Jed would walk in and say, “Christy, I told you, get that supper on the table!” Two or three times he hit her. One night he left her with a black eye, and went back to work.

Little Jimmy learned to fear his father because he heard from his bedroom the arguments. He heard Jed yelling, and he heard Jed screaming, “Get my supper on the table! What do you mean, you don’t have it yet? This is burned! Hurry up! Don’t you know all you have to do all day is take care of Jimmy and watch the house, and I’m working—come on now!”

Little Jimmy heard the cursing and swearing. He heard the arguing. One night, Jed came home, and Jimmy had his little plastic cars on the floor, and he didn’t move them fast enough. Jed stepped on them, and purposely crushed them, and said, “Jimmy, move that stuff out of here!”

Jimmy learned to fear when his daddy came home. He learned to sit on his mommy’s lap, and stay out of the way of his daddy. Although mom brought Jimmy to church, mom went alone. Jed didn’t go to church.

Things went from bad to worse, and Jed started drinking because the stress level on his job was high. Then Jed could no longer control his drinking, and he began seeing other women. He couldn’t control his anger, and often he hit Christy. When Jed came home, little Jimmy would run to his mother, and say, “Mamma, mamma, I’m so afraid; Daddy is coming home. I’m so afraid, Daddy is coming home.”

One night as Jed was walking through the door, he saw Jimmy crying, and he heard Jimmy saying to Christy, “Daddy is home mamma, and I’m so afraid. Please don’t let him hit me. Please mamma, don’t let him hit me.” That just touched Jed. Later that night after Jimmy went to bed, Jed picked up Christy’s Bible, and as he was leafing through it, he began to read promises like these: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins...” —I John 1:9

“Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” —John 6:37

“Come unto me all you that are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” —Matt. 11:28

Jed read the Bible that night, late into the night. That night, he knelt by his chair, and said, “Jesus, I don’t know where to begin, but I want to be a new man. God take my temper away. God straighten out my head, and give me right priorities. And God, help me to recognize how much Christy and little Jimmy mean to me.”

I can tell you that Jed changed with a snap of the finger. It was a long road for Jed. There were habits that he had to deal with. But that night, Jed turned around in his life. That night, it was as if Jed was walking in one direction, and God reached down into his life and turned him around. That night Jed began a new life.

About a week later, Jed was sitting down in his chair reading the newspaper, and Jimmy came up to Christy, and Jimmy said, “Mamma, Daddy’s different. I’m not afraid of him anymore. I haven’t heard yelling in the house for the last week, and mamma, I didn’t hear you cry, and mamma, no more black eyes. Mamma, could I go sit on daddy’s lap? Mamma, could I go sit on daddy’s lap?” Christy said, “Jimmy, go ahead.” And Jimmy walked over and climbed up on daddy’s lap, and put his little hands up to daddy’s face. And he looked daddy in the eyes, and Jimmy said, “Daddy, why are you so different now? I’m not afraid of you any more daddy.” And through his tears, Jed hugged that little boy and he said, “Son, I’m so sorry for the way I’ve treated you. But I met Jesus, and he changed my life.”

Topics: Family Dysfunction, Redemption, Spiritual Awakening Spiritual Application: Jesus transforms lives and restores families.