GLENN
"Before I knew the Lord I was a bit of a ratbag.
"My Dad used to say to me 'you always have to learn the hard way don't ya boy'! This was usually just as he was about to give me a hiding for something I'd done wrong. I was often in trouble growing up. When I was 15, I was asked by the Principal to leave school which I happily agreed to. I had wagged most days for the past few years anyway.
"By the time I was 18, I was a hardened drinker and drug user. At the age of 20, I was a patched gang member and from that day on my rebellion stepped up a gear. I wasn't sure what happened to me, but after about 3 years I knew I had to get out of there. The only way out that I could see was to leave the country. So I sold my car, booked my tickets and 6 months later I was out of there. Europe here I come!
"For the first months it was awesome. I travelled to many different countries through Europe, met loads of people and had some of the greatest experiences of my life to that point. I learnt more about history in that time than the entire 10 years I went to school.
"However, after the initial travel ceased , I found myself living in London working as a security guard and staying in a flat with a bunch of people who were into a similar type of lifestyle that I was trying to get away from. Being a security guard in a ladies department store wasn't the most exciting job in the world, so at the end of each day I would head across the street to the pub doing what I did best. You’ll notice, I'd changed countries, changed my friends and even changed my job, but I was still living the same sort of lifestyle I had been trying to get away from. So I decided to take off again.
"It was 1996 and the time of year when the All Blacks were about to embark on what turned out to be an historic tour of South Africa. So that was me, off to South Africa to follow the AB's.
"Before I go any further, I want to share another aspect of my life that will help this all make sense. When I was 9 months old I had meningitis. The Doctors told my parents I would probably die, but on the chance I survived I would be brain dead. At the age of 3, I had a disease called thrombocytopenia (a low blood platelet count affecting circulation and/or production or destruction of blood platelets). I spent a lot of my early years in hospital for one reason or another.
"I had a tree fall on me at work, but was lucky enough to land in a hole so the weight of the tree was hardly on me. I've been in numerous motor accidents, one of them, head on. I have always walked away relatively unharmed. I was just an exceptionally lucky bloke. Well, that was what I used to think until one night in Capetown, South Africa.
"I had been out drinking with friends I had met in Europe and it was around midnight when they decided it was time to go home. Not this fulla, I was just getting started. I was invited by another guy to join their group. A few hours later, my new mate said it was time to get home and make sure he was still married. He offered me a spare bed for the night. We were heading back to his place, driving down the motorway in his new BMW. We were honking it, when all of a sudden we had a tyre blowout.
"The car spun several times completely out of control, and when we finally stopped, having hit nothing and facing in the right direction. Suddenly out of nowhere the car was surrounded by a few guys who started beating on the car and trying to smash the windows in. Yet, because I was a lucky guy and the car was still running, we accelerated away limping along the road to safety. The next day I was told that not only was it a miracle we survived the accident, but those guys would have cut our throats just for our wallets. Apparently what these people do is lay broken glass over the road so tyres get punctured and the occupants pull over to try and fix it. Then they do their business.
"Later that day, I was in my room reflecting on the enormity of what had happened and I sensed a voice speak to me. 'How many times do I have to save you before you'll acknowledge me'? I knew it could only be God. Mum always talked about Him. I had just received a letter from her reminding me He loved me and He had plans for my life. I would often get letters from Mum and she would always finish them reminding me of this. Thanks Mum, you're awesome.
"So right there, sitting on the edge of my bed, I asked God to forgive me and to be Lord and Saviour. Mum had told me many times that all I needed to do was ask. God was always ready to forgive and come into my life if I invited Him. In that moment, I knew it was time. I surrendered.
"Praise God for the unwavering prayers of faithful Mum's and Nana's. Their faith laid the foundation for mine. Because of them, a son found his way home. From that day on I chose to stand - redeemed, forgiven and walking daily in the strength of the One who called me His own".