Episode #294 — Darryl Strawberry was a baseball phenomenon. He burst into the major leagues with the Mets and clobbered 335 home runs in a 17 year career. But all the success he found couldn’t hide his personal battles with addiction and substance abuse. No matter what he did, he couldn’t shake them by himself.
But Darryl’s mother was a praying woman. And no matter how far he wandered, those faithful prayers continued.
“My mother was a holy woman. She lived for Christ, and she didn’t try to preach to us. She just prayed for us where we were. Because we were all a distance from god – my brothers and sisters. She just kept praying God would save us. That He would do what only He could do, and that’s what He did.”
“My mother told me before she died that God spoke to her. She said, ‘You’re going to go through it. You’re going to go through it, but God’s going to get it out of you.’ I’ll never forget those moments and how she said things. And she was not lying! I went through it, and God did get it out of me. It was a process, but He got it out. All the things my mother had talked about came to pass. I got saved, and I ended up leading my whole entire family to the Lord. I also met my father who had rejected me, and I led him to the Lord. It’s just incredible what God will do when someone prays.”
It’s remarkable to consider that someone who achieved as much as Darryl did on the huge stage of professional baseball now believes that what he’s doing today is far more meaningful. But that’s exactly what Darryl will tell you.
“Yes it is! And it’s true. Because when you live a life separated from God, and you think you’re having so much fun. And then you meet Christ, and you meet a man that has never sinned. And now you come into a relationship with Him. Now He changes you, and He changes your heart. He changes your direction and your course in life to do His work. That’s far greater than hitting any home run or holding up trophies! That’s all dust! All that’s going to pass, but those souls being won because of your scars and your testimony, those souls that will go to a place called Heaven – that’s far greater than anything I’ve achieved in baseball! It doesn’t even compare.”
Darryl Strawberry is a former Major League Baseball phenom, a dynamic speaker & evangelist, and the bestselling author of the compelling new book Turn Your Season Around: How God Transforms Your Life.
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