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Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202313S
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00:42 >> Welcome to It Is Written 00:43 Canada. 00:44 Thank you for joining us. 00:45 From a heart surgery when he was 00:48 a year and a half to multiple 00:50 surgeries to his legs and ears, 00:52 to surviving a tornado that 00:55 collapsed the entire barn onto 00:57 himself and his family when he 00:59 was five years old, Clint Wahl 01:01 kept getting up from one 01:04 setback after another. 01:06 >> With each challenge to his 01:08 very existence, Clint woke up to 01:10 the picture of a larger reality 01:13 and a divine plan for his life. 01:16 >> Today our special guest is 01:17 Clint Wahl who has agreed to 01:19 share with us his exhilarating 01:22 story. 01:23 >> Clint, thank you for joining 01:24 us on It Is Written Canada. 01:27 >> Thank you. 01:27 It's my pleasure. 01:28 >> Clint, tell us a bit about 01:29 yourself to begin with, where 01:31 you were born, your family, 01:33 where you're raised and 01:35 what you do. 01:36 >> Yeah, I was born on a hog 01:37 farm just outside Saskatoon 30 01:39 minutes, born and raised on a 01:40 farm, doing a little bit of 01:41 everything. 01:42 I have three siblings. 01:43 I have an older sister who is 01:44 ten years older than me, an 01:46 older brother who's five years 01:47 older than me, and a younger 01:48 brother who's four years. 01:49 And I grew up in a Christian 01:51 home with great parents and farm 01:54 community all around, doing a 01:55 little bit of everything and 01:56 currently I'm in construction. 01:58 >> So you're a builder now and I 02:00 find that very interesting 02:01 'cause you told me a little bit 02:02 about your story and how did you 02:05 get into the building industry? 02:07 [CLINT] I actually got into the 02:08 building industry on a bet with 02:10 my mother-in-law, more like a 02:11 dare actually. 02:12 We were having a conversation 02:13 and she said to me, "I don't 02:14 think you can get a job with 02:15 just one phone call," and I 02:16 said, "I-- watch me, 02:17 I'll do it." 02:18 And I called my current youth 02:19 pastor at the time, who was a 02:20 framer, and I asked him for a 02:22 job and he said, "Monday 02:23 morning, bring your hammer, 02:24 bring your tools, and we'll have 02:26 you on site." 02:27 So that's how I got my start. 02:28 And the funny part is, is going 02:29 through high school, I didn't 02:30 even take IA shop so it 02:32 became a little bit more of an 02:33 interesting part of my life. 02:34 But I got hooked on construction 02:36 very early on and it just became 02:38 a part of my life. 02:39 >> Clint, you had some 02:40 challenges to your health and 02:42 wellbeing when you were 02:44 growing up. 02:45 Can you tell us about those? 02:47 >> Very early on, I was about a 02:48 year old and I had a heart 02:50 problem where I actually had an 02:51 artery that was closed. 02:52 So they had to do a procedure 02:54 where I had a balloon go up into 02:56 my artery and they opened it and 02:57 put a stint in. 02:58 And then a couple of years 02:59 later, I was about, you know, 03:01 five, six years old and I 03:02 started having hearing issues 03:04 and I wasn't able to hear 03:05 properly. 03:06 So I went in and that's when I 03:07 started getting my surgeries for 03:08 my tubes in my ears. 03:10 Then at-- actually two weeks 03:12 before I turned six, we had an 03:14 event that happened in our life 03:16 that changed my family forever. 03:18 We were working out in the barn 03:19 one day, my older brother, my 03:20 mom and my dad and myself, and 03:23 we were working outside and this 03:25 storm started coming through and 03:26 there was a lot of wind and we 03:27 ended up getting inside 03:28 the barn. 03:29 And we actually had a situation 03:31 where we went through an F3 03:32 tornado and the entire barn 03:34 was-- the roof was lifted off, 03:36 the walls collapsed it on us, 03:38 and we ended up, by the grace of 03:40 God, He got us out of there and 03:41 He made a lot of amazing things 03:43 happen that day. 03:44 There's a lot of miracles. 03:45 And we ended up getting into our 03:46 old water truck and my dad got 03:48 everybody together and got us 03:49 out of this dangerous situation. 03:53 And we ended up-- the whole barn 03:55 was completely gone. 03:56 It tore off the roof section of 03:57 our house, it flooded pretty 03:59 well everything around us, it 04:01 destroyed our neighbour's yard 04:02 as well. 04:02 But by the grace of God, 04:03 we made it out safely. 04:05 Then that was about the age of 04:06 six and then when I was about 14 04:08 years old, I started going 04:10 through some some pain. 04:12 We all know what growing pain 04:13 feels like, but I started 04:14 experiencing a lot of pain 04:15 in my knees. 04:16 And you get a lot of advice from 04:19 people saying, "You'll grow out 04:20 of it, you'll be okay." 04:22 I ended up at the age of 15 04:23 going to the doctor, and the 04:25 doctor essentially looked at my 04:26 knees and said, "Well, you're 04:28 extremely bowlegged." 04:29 I was so bowlegged I could put 04:31 almost a full size soccer ball 04:33 between my knees with my 04:34 feet together. 04:35 So to me, it was normal, to me, 04:37 that's how life was, but 04:39 apparently that's not exactly 04:40 how your knees are supposed to 04:41 be shaped. 04:41 So we ended up going through, 04:43 having conversations in regards 04:45 to procedures of how to fix it 04:47 and what the doctor ended up 04:48 telling me was if we didn't 04:50 start these procedures to fix 04:51 it, by the time I hit the age 04:53 20, 25, I would need my knees 04:55 and likely my hips, everything 04:57 completely replaced. 04:58 So it was a long journey, but 05:00 that was kind of the start where 05:02 we went in, I got staples put on 05:04 the outsides of my knees to stop 05:05 the growth plates so they could 05:07 continue on the inside and I 05:08 would naturally grow in. 05:10 And found out two weeks, about 05:11 two weeks after the surgery, 05:13 that my growth platelets had 05:14 actually stopped on the inside 05:15 of my knees. 05:16 So I ended up in a situation 05:18 with the doctor where we had to 05:19 get into a little bit more 05:20 invasive surgery. 05:21 So what they ended up doing was 05:24 they had to break my tibia and 05:25 they had to break my fibula on 05:26 my leg, essentially disconnect 05:28 my foot from the rest of my 05:29 body and then my hip would 05:31 bring everything in and it would 05:33 take about six months before I'd 05:35 be back up on my feet, so... 05:37 It was a very long process. 05:38 Again, I was 15, 16, I was very 05:40 active at the time, I wanted to 05:41 be involved and do a lot of 05:42 things, but my life got 05:45 massively interrupted because 05:46 of this. 05:48 So it took about a year 05:49 and a half. 05:50 I went through a lot of dark 05:51 places in my life at that point, 05:53 but God helped get me through it 05:55 and He helped guide me that 05:57 direction. 05:58 And as of now, I have had a 06:01 number of scopes done on my 06:02 knees as well, I have cartilage 06:03 that continues to break down and 06:05 break off. 06:06 Very early on when I was 15, 06:08 again, I was told I also had 06:09 arthritis in my joints, in 06:11 pretty well every one of my 06:12 joints. 06:13 That's a fun thing to be told 06:13 when you're 15. 06:16 And then I've had a number of 06:17 different surgeries in my body. 06:19 I've had a cyst that was removed 06:20 out of my face, I've had a 06:22 couple of hernia surgeries and a 06:23 number of ear surgeries as well, 06:25 so... 06:26 >> So, Clint, how did these very 06:29 challenging experiences impact 06:31 you? 06:32 >> They definitely turned my 06:34 entire personality upside down. 06:36 They made me do a lot of 06:37 reevaluating. 06:38 There was very, I wouldn't say 06:41 brief stint, it definitely took 06:43 a lot to get through it, but 06:44 there was a while going through 06:45 my surgeries where I remember 06:47 laying on the couch, being such 06:48 a physically active guy, wanting 06:50 to do so many things. 06:51 And I remember laying on the 06:52 couch and getting so depressed. 06:54 I got into a very, very dark 06:56 place. 06:57 I got very mad at myself, I got 06:59 very mad at God as well because, 07:01 you know, you ask the question, 07:02 why? 07:03 Why am I made like this? 07:03 Why am I built this way? 07:05 And I remember getting to a very 07:06 difficult, low, very dark place 07:08 where, God, I didn't feel like 07:11 He was there, I didn't feel like 07:13 I could hear His voice. 07:14 And I remember getting so 07:15 frustrated and I said, "You know 07:16 what? 07:17 I'm ready to just be done. 07:18 If this is-- if I'm 15, if I'm 07:20 16 at this moment, I'm not even 07:21 a quarter way through my life 07:23 and already I'm going through 07:24 this much pain and this much 07:25 struggling. 07:26 Why is there a point to keep 07:27 going?" 07:28 And I developed a plan. 07:31 Looking back, it wasn't a very 07:32 good plan, I'll be honest, but I 07:34 developed a plan that I was-- 07:35 when it got to -30, -40, I was 07:38 so mad that I was just gonna go 07:40 outside, I was gonna walk as far 07:41 as I could, I was just gonna 07:43 throw my crutches, I was gonna 07:44 just lay in the snow and I was 07:46 just gonna give up. 07:47 I was just gonna forfeit. 07:49 And what's interesting is, 07:50 looking back, is God blessed me 07:52 with two very interesting 07:53 abilities and one is the ability 07:54 to forget and the other one is 07:56 the ability to sleep. 07:57 I can sleep very quickly. 07:59 And I remember being so mad that 08:01 night, I was so angry with God, 08:02 but I fell asleep. 08:03 And I woke up the next morning 08:05 and I was, again, I was so angry 08:07 with God because I fell asleep, 08:08 I was mad at myself, and my 08:10 family and I ended up going to a 08:11 family breakfast. 08:13 And sitting around the table at 08:15 our family breakfast, the uncle 08:16 who I didn't really talk to very 08:18 much, we didn't chat a lot, but 08:19 he was very into music and he 08:21 said, "Well," he looked at me, 08:22 he said, "If you have all this 08:23 time on your hands sitting 08:25 there, why don't you keep 08:27 playing the guitar?" 08:28 And I had started, I started 08:30 about age 11 playing, and I had 08:31 let it go for a number of years. 08:33 And so it struck me that that 08:35 was the opportunity, that was 08:36 the moment where I could say, 08:37 you know what? 08:39 I have time, I might as well 08:41 practice it. 08:42 So I started picking up the 08:43 guitar and God used the guitar 08:45 as something to bring joy into 08:47 my life, something to take that 08:49 pain, that darkness, and give me 08:51 an opportunity to play 08:52 something. 08:53 And it would-- it became an 08:54 integral part of my life. 08:56 I loved music and music is 08:57 something that I am always, it's 09:00 always around me, I like to have 09:02 it playing, I like to be playing 09:03 it, I like to be singing every 09:05 chance I get. 09:06 So God has definitely taken that 09:07 and he's moulded that into 09:09 my life. 09:10 >> Clint, at a young age, you 09:11 went on a spiritual journey. 09:14 Tell us what that looked like. 09:16 >> So when going through all my 09:18 struggles, I began to realize 09:20 that I love to work with people 09:22 and youth especially. 09:24 That was something that I found, 09:25 I connected with youth 09:26 really well. 09:27 And the other relationship that 09:28 I had that I loved was music and 09:30 I loved to play music. 09:32 So early on, as a young boy, I 09:34 remember going to my church and 09:35 I went to the leaders in my 09:36 church and I said, "I wanna be 09:37 involved in youth ministry." 09:39 And they said, I basically got 09:41 the response of, "You're not old 09:42 enough, so we're not gonna 09:44 let you." 09:45 And it was disheartening for me 09:46 because I really had a passion 09:47 for it, but I thought, "Okay, if 09:48 I'm not old enough, I'll wait." 09:50 And so I thought, "I'm gonna do 09:52 music, I'm gonna do worship 09:53 ministry." 09:54 And so I remember going to a 09:55 couple of practices and I had my 09:56 guitar out and I was excited 09:58 to play. 09:59 And then a number of people 10:00 approached me and they said, 10:01 "You can practice with your 10:02 guitar, but we don't want you to 10:03 play with your guitar." 10:04 And it was crushing. 10:06 It was something that as a young 10:07 kid I had to passions and both 10:08 of them were extinguished 10:10 at that point. 10:11 So it broke me a little bit and 10:13 I ended up getting to a point 10:14 where I knew that God was 10:15 calling me to these two things. 10:17 So I said, I'm gonna go start 10:19 looking around and I'm gonna 10:20 find where God has called 10:21 me to be. 10:23 And so for a number of years, I 10:24 hopped churches and I crested 10:27 the doors and came into 10:29 different places where I had 10:30 friends, I had people that I 10:32 knew, and no matter where I 10:33 went, I never really felt like I 10:34 fully connected. 10:36 There were pieces that fit, 10:37 but I didn't have all of them. 10:39 And one day a beautiful woman 10:41 who is now my wife, she invited 10:43 me to come to church with her. 10:44 And I remember thinking to 10:45 myself, "Well, church on 10:46 Saturdays is peculiar. 10:48 That's weird. 10:49 I don't think that's really for 10:50 me, but I'll give it a try." 10:52 And I walked in the doors of the 10:53 church and within the first few 10:56 minutes the greeter approached 10:57 me and I didn't know him, I had 10:59 never met him, never talked to 11:00 him before, and found out that a 11:02 few minutes later he actually 11:04 knew a lot of my family and he 11:05 had actually been around some of 11:06 my family before. 11:08 And so there was a connection 11:09 there and I remember he making 11:10 eye contact with me and he 11:11 looked at me, he said, "What do 11:12 you wanna do? 11:13 What is your passion?" and I 11:14 said, I'm like, "I have passion 11:15 in youth ministry, I wanna 11:17 serve," and I said, "I have 11:18 passion in worship ministry." 11:20 And before I even got into the 11:21 sanctuary, he said, "We have a 11:24 great opportunity. 11:25 You can come play music here, 11:26 you can come worship with us, 11:27 and we don't have someone to 11:29 lead youth right now, we would 11:30 love to have you here." 11:32 And it was that moment of 11:34 understanding right when you get 11:35 into that situation and you're 11:36 like, "This is a place that God 11:37 has put me in. 11:38 This is the place God's called 11:40 me to be." 11:40 And so having that opportunity 11:42 to walk in the door and then we 11:43 have another, one of our elders 11:45 now, she she approached me and 11:47 she basically became my church 11:49 mom where she-- if there was 11:50 anything I needed, she's like, 11:51 "You can come to me, we can talk 11:52 about it." 11:53 And so not only did I feel 11:55 included, but I felt welcome and 11:56 I felt loved at the same time. 11:58 So it was a long journey, it was 11:59 a hard journey and there was a 12:01 lot of questions, there was a 12:02 lot of times where there was a 12:03 lot of doubt in my life, there 12:04 was a lot of pain, a lot of 12:06 struggle that way. 12:08 But in the end, I found the 12:10 place where God had put me and 12:11 it has become my home and it's 12:12 become my home church. 12:14 >> And because you're such an 12:16 energetic and enthusiastic guy, 12:18 Clint, you have taken on some 12:19 leadership positions in the 12:20 church. 12:21 Tell us about that. 12:22 >> I am currently-- well, as I 12:23 mentioned, I do-- I run youth 12:25 ministry in the church, I'm 12:27 involved in the worship ministry 12:28 that way, I took on a position 12:29 as being an elder, a couple of 12:31 years ago I took on personal 12:32 ministries, so that means I get 12:34 to be in charge of making sure 12:36 we're coordinating a lot of the 12:37 ministries that are coming on, 12:38 women's ministry, men's 12:39 ministry, family ministry, our 12:40 health ministries as well. 12:42 And speaking of health 12:43 ministries, then I was able to 12:44 assist with the Depression 12:45 Anxiety program as well, 12:47 becoming a facilitator for that. 12:48 So there's definitely been a lot 12:50 of things that I've had an 12:51 opportunity to do and, like you 12:52 said, with the energy that God 12:54 gives me, I just, I'm able to 12:56 keep going, so... 12:57 >> Clint, you and your wife, 12:58 Theresa, don't have any children 13:00 of your own, but you're very 13:02 actively involved in the local 13:04 community with young people and 13:06 young adults. 13:07 Can you tell us about that? 13:09 >> Like I said, when I came to 13:10 church, there was a handful of 13:11 youth that were here, and it was 13:12 always a passion of mine to try 13:14 and get as many kids in the 13:15 church, as much youth as we can, 13:17 because the youth is definitely 13:18 the future of the church, 13:20 they're what push us forward. 13:21 So we've definitely put a lot of 13:23 effort into trying to grow that. 13:25 And this year has been 13:26 incredible. 13:26 We have an amazing group. 13:28 We went from having about 5 13:30 to 7 every year for the last 13:32 couple of years and this year we 13:33 typically have between 16 to 24 13:36 and our youth has just expounded 13:37 and it's grown exponentially. 13:39 And so it's a huge blessing 13:40 from God. 13:41 And apart from that as well, 13:43 I've been given an opportunity 13:45 to work with a local ministry. 13:47 And so what we do is we run 13:48 what's called the Youth for 13:49 Christ Hockey League and it's a 13:50 little floor hockey league that 13:51 we run. 13:53 You'd think that it would be a 13:54 small little league. 13:55 We, this year we had 110 kids 13:56 for our first year and we're 13:58 consistently around 60, 70 kids. 14:01 So the joke that my wife and I 14:02 have is we don't have kids of 14:04 our own, but we-- I-- we really 14:06 have, like, 100 kids. 14:08 So-- and with working with youth 14:09 ministry in regards to downtown 14:11 and with the inner city kids, 14:14 it's everything from kids that 14:15 come from a good situation to 14:16 kids that come from a very 14:18 difficult situation. 14:19 Kids that don't have a family, 14:20 they don't have a home. 14:22 There's a lot of kids that get 14:23 bounced around from home to 14:24 home, sleeping on couches and 14:26 things like that. 14:27 They've never actually 14:28 experienced the love of Christ. 14:29 And so it's been an amazing 14:30 opportunity to get involved 14:32 doing this ministry and being 14:33 able to be His hands in His feet 14:36 and watching these young men and 14:37 women grow and seeing how they 14:40 just become more and more 14:41 accomplished in their life. 14:43 And then especially with the 14:44 church ministry, watching them 14:45 take on roles and relieving that 14:48 stress that comes from 14:49 leadership as well of maybe 14:51 overburdening on the roles 14:52 as well. 14:53 >> Clint, you mentioned that you 14:54 work with the Depression 14:55 Recovery program. 14:57 Why is it that you got involved 14:58 in helping people overcome 15:00 depression and anxiety? 15:02 >> So as I mentioned, when I was 15:04 15, I went through a very 15:05 difficult point in my life and 15:07 it seems, my personality today 15:09 seems like I'm very upbeat and 15:11 I'm very excited, but depression 15:12 has been something I've 15:13 struggled with for a number 15:14 of years. 15:15 Having gone through what I went 15:16 through and having, you know, 15:18 felt that influence from God and 15:20 that direction and being at that 15:22 lowest point, when you get to a 15:25 state where you don't know if 15:26 there's a tomorrow, you don't, 15:28 maybe you don't even wanna know, 15:30 you don't even wanna be a part 15:31 of tomorrow. 15:32 So being able to be a part of 15:34 the Depression Recovery program 15:35 and help with that, it's been a 15:37 huge opportunity. 15:39 And I love it because we get a 15:41 small group together, you get a 15:42 great chance to get to know 15:43 people and you actually get to 15:45 connect with people and connect 15:46 with where they're coming from 15:48 and seeing how people are 15:49 struggling, seeing people 15:50 where they are and connecting 15:53 with them where they are. 15:54 That's-- it's amazing. 15:55 And so it's been an absolute 15:56 opportunity to do it and I 15:58 love it. 15:58 And we're growing and we're 16:00 really hoping that we can 16:01 continue to develop the program 16:03 so that way we can reach more of 16:05 the community in that way. 16:06 >> I have one more question for 16:08 you with regards to your work 16:10 with the inner city children and 16:12 the youth, why did you choose 16:15 hockey as a medium of reaching 16:18 these young people? 16:19 >> So growing up, stereotypical 16:22 Canadian, hockey was a big part 16:24 of our life, especially having 16:26 not been Seventh-day Adventist, 16:27 Saturday night, that was what 16:28 we did. 16:29 My dad played a lot of hockey on 16:30 Sunday nights in the local town, 16:32 so we would go and we'd 16:33 watch him. 16:34 And I remember, despite the pain 16:35 that I was going through with my 16:36 knees, my goal was always to get 16:39 as healthy as I can as quickly 16:40 as I can, 'cause I wanted to get 16:41 back on the ice. 16:42 I wanted to play. 16:43 I was an active kid. 16:44 I loved it. 16:46 And I remember I was going 16:48 through my junior hockey in the 16:49 little town of Hague, just 16:51 outside Saskatoon, and I 16:53 remember we got into playoffs 16:54 and I was such-- I'm a 16:56 competitive person as well, and 16:57 we got into playoffs and I was 16:58 so excited to go. 17:00 And I remember sitting down one 17:01 night and I had a prayer 'cause 17:02 I was the goalie that was 17:04 starting and the pressure 17:05 was on me. 17:06 And I remember sitting down and 17:07 I prayed and I was like, "Lord, 17:08 if you want me to be involved in 17:10 hockey in my life going forward, 17:13 then You'll help us win this 17:14 game." 17:15 The classic prayer that most 17:17 kids do, right? 17:18 "Lord, help us win this game. 17:19 We wanna win!" 17:20 And I remember praying that 17:21 prayer and that next game, we 17:22 had a really good game, it was a 17:24 home game, we won. 17:25 And I remember going home 17:26 thinking this was great, like, 17:28 God is on our side, He's helping 17:29 us win. 17:31 And then I went a step farther 17:33 and I said, "God, if You want me 17:35 to go far in my career, if You 17:37 want me to, you know, go really 17:39 far, WHL, the NHL, something big 17:41 like that, You'll help us get to 17:42 the next one." 17:45 And we lost. 17:46 And it was very deflating as a 17:48 young boy because I thought I 17:50 was on the right path, I thought 17:51 I was asking the right 17:52 questions. 17:53 And it took a number of years, 17:55 it actually took a long time. 17:57 It was probably about six, seven 17:58 years ago that I was working 18:01 with Youth for Christ in 18:03 Saskatoon and I remember coming, 18:05 I was late getting one of the 18:06 games and I was stopped behind 18:07 a train. 18:08 And, you know, when you're late 18:10 and you feel all that pressure 18:12 and everything is bundling up 18:14 inside and I remember sitting at 18:15 the train being helpless, and I 18:17 felt God's peace come in my 18:19 life and I felt God say, "Hey, 18:21 I've got you where I need 18:22 you to be. 18:23 You're working with at-risk 18:25 youth, you're working with kids 18:26 that need to hear Me and they 18:28 want-- they've gone through 18:29 pain, they've gone through 18:30 depression." 18:31 Some of them have gone through 18:33 bodily issues as well, where 18:34 they've had a number of 18:35 surgeries. 18:36 And I just felt this peace from 18:37 God saying, "I've got you where 18:38 I want you to be." 18:39 And that kind of brought me to 18:41 peace with working in the league 18:43 and it fired up a little bit 18:44 more of that passion, if you 18:46 could say, I didn't have enough 18:47 already, that definitely fired 18:48 up some more. 18:49 And I started getting really 18:50 excited. 18:51 And then any chance I get, I try 18:53 to talk to as many kids as 18:54 we can. 18:55 We try, if we're not coaching on 18:56 the floor or if we're not 18:57 playing, the goal is to try and 18:59 build relationships and to 19:00 mentor with a lot of the youth 19:02 that are there. 19:03 And there have been a few 19:04 situations where God has taken 19:06 me out of my comfort zone, very 19:08 far out of my comfort zone and 19:10 He's broke my heart, where I 19:11 start talking to some of these 19:12 kids and you hear the stories of 19:13 where they come from, you hear 19:15 the struggle of what they have 19:17 and-- or what they don't have, 19:19 and you start feeling that pain 19:21 that they go through. 19:22 Being an empathic person, it 19:24 helps being able to feel that. 19:26 And what I found is that God has 19:28 given me so many opportunities 19:29 to just be able to speak His 19:31 peace into their life and to be 19:33 able to try and show them a 19:34 little bit of his strength, 19:36 saying, "God can make miracles 19:37 happen at any time. 19:38 You just have to trust and you 19:39 have to believe." 19:40 And so that is why hockey is 19:41 such a big part of me is I get a 19:43 chance to work with these kids, 19:46 I get a chance to push them to 19:47 their limits, get them away from 19:48 the devices and their cell 19:50 phones, get them to work with 19:51 each other and just be able to 19:53 build those relationships. 19:54 And every once in a while, it's 19:56 humbling for me, too, when you 19:58 watch these young kids that 19:59 you've seen since they were 20:00 seven, eight, ten years old, and 20:02 now they're in their late teens 20:04 and they're definitely surpassed 20:05 what my skill level is. 20:07 It's definitely humbling for me 20:08 as well that way, too, so... 20:10 >> Clint, you see your life as a 20:13 beautiful struggle. 20:15 So two final questions: why do 20:18 you see your life like that? 20:20 And secondly, is there a Bible 20:22 passage that has helped you with 20:25 this beautiful struggle? 20:29 I'll start by saying there's 20:30 gotta be a shoutout to my youth 20:31 group that way. 20:32 We started painting some ceiling 20:33 tiles downstairs and one of the 20:35 girls did a beautiful, beautiful 20:37 tile and she wrote on there, 20:38 "The Beautiful Struggle." 20:40 And it really hit me, it really 20:41 impacted me when I read that 20:43 because it became very relatable 20:45 in my life that what I had gone 20:47 through was something I maybe 20:49 had to go through. 20:50 If I wouldn't have gone through 20:51 it, I look back and I always 20:53 think to myself, "Who would I 20:54 have been? What if, right? 20:55 We think, "What if?" a lot. 20:57 And I think, "What if I wasn't 20:59 in chronic pain? 21:00 What if I didn't have arthritis? 21:01 What if I didn't have the 21:03 situation with my knees? 21:04 What if I didn't have the pain 21:05 that I go through? 21:06 What if I hadn't gone through a 21:07 tornado when I was six? 21:08 Things like that. 21:10 And what really makes it stand 21:11 out to me is that I firmly 21:13 believe that if I didn't have 21:15 these things, if I didn't have 21:17 these, I'm gonna call them 21:18 "deficiencies" or "thorns" that 21:19 are in my literal flesh, I would 21:22 be a completely different 21:23 person. 21:24 I would be, honestly, I would be 21:26 a very arrogant person, I would 21:27 be a very prideful person. 21:29 I can guarantee you I would not 21:30 be sitting in this chair and I 21:31 guarantee you that my religion, 21:33 my relationship, my faith with 21:36 God, it would not be there 21:38 because in my life I wanted me, 21:40 I wanted I and I wanted to get 21:41 better and better. 21:43 And so I look back with the 21:46 phrase "Beautiful struggle," and 21:47 I think, God has walked me 21:49 through this journey and it has 21:50 been a beautiful journey and 21:51 it's gonna be a beautiful 21:52 journey. 21:53 There's gonna be a lot more pain 21:54 coming down the road, there's 21:55 gonna be a lot more struggle 21:56 as well. 21:57 I'm not through the weeds 21:58 just yet. 22:00 But at the same time, I look 22:01 back and I say, "I have to rely 22:03 on His joy," and that's what 22:04 makes it beautiful and the 22:05 struggle that I go through, 22:06 which, as we mentioned as well, 22:08 also makes it relatable with the 22:10 inner city kids, it makes it 22:11 relatable with depression, 22:12 anxiety, it gives me an 22:14 opportunity to become not just 22:17 someone that you meet, but 22:18 actually a person that has 22:19 walked in that journey before, 22:22 even though I am young, 22:23 you know? 22:24 And so that's why I see my life 22:26 as a beautiful struggle. 22:28 And the verse that I would share 22:30 would be 2 Corinthians chapter 22:32 2, sorry, chapter 12 rather. 22:35 So 2 Corinthians chapter 12, 22:37 verses 5 to 10. 22:38 And this is from Paul and it 22:39 says... 23:40 And that has been very relatable 23:42 in my life. 23:43 Physical thorns, emotional 23:45 thorns, spiritual thorns, and it 23:46 has been something that has 23:47 impacted me and given me 23:49 encouragement when I'm going 23:50 through those struggles. 23:52 And like I said, I'm not out of 23:53 the weeds just yet, there's 23:54 gonna be a lot more that's gonna 23:55 come around, and I'm gonna have 23:56 to deal with a lot more, but... 23:59 The struggle is-- when you get a 24:00 chance, and this is what I'm 24:02 excited for, I'm excited to sit 24:04 before the throne of God. 24:05 I'm excited in the end when He 24:07 gathers everybody together and 24:09 He shows us the big picture and 24:11 He opens our eyes and we 24:12 can understand it. 24:13 My prayer is that when that 24:14 happens, I wanna see, I want Him 24:16 to be able to say, "Hey, you 24:18 remember that struggle that you 24:19 went through? 24:20 You remember that time that you 24:21 were just completely broken and 24:22 you were depressed and you 24:24 thought your life was just 24:25 completely over and you wanted 24:26 to quit and yet you persevered 24:28 and you pushed through? 24:30 Because of that, this whole 24:32 branch exists. 24:33 There was one person that you 24:35 don't even know, you never met 24:36 them, but there was one person 24:37 that was impacted." 24:39 And that's my prayer, is that 24:40 God will use this weakness that 24:41 is-- I have this thorn that's in 24:43 my flesh and use it to be able 24:45 to create a couple more houses 24:47 in heaven. 24:47 I know I won't be able to build 24:48 them, but I know it'll be 24:50 something that when we all get 24:52 together, it's just gonna be a 24:54 beautiful picture. 24:55 >> Thank you, Clint. 24:56 It's so inspirational what you 24:58 shared, but we've come to the 24:59 end of our time and I wonder if 25:00 as we close, you could pray for 25:02 our viewers. 25:03 Maybe there's someone who's 25:05 struggling with something right 25:07 now that they can see it as 25:09 you're seeing it, as God wants 25:10 them to see it as a beautiful 25:12 struggle so that they can look 25:13 back and they can say, 25:14 "I would have it no other way, 25:16 because this is the way that God 25:19 is using me to reach others and 25:22 to grow me for His kingdom." 25:24 >> Absolutely I would. 25:25 Let's pray. 25:27 Heavenly Father, I wanna thank 25:29 You for this day. 25:30 Father, I wanna thank You so 25:31 much for the people that are 25:33 listening to It Is Written today 25:34 and, Lord, I pray for someone 25:36 that is out there. 25:37 God, maybe there's a lot of 25:38 people, maybe it's just one. 25:39 Maybe this entire video is 25:42 just for one specific person 25:43 that's in this world. 25:45 But God, my prayer is that You 25:46 will hold Your ear a little 25:48 closer to them, You'll hold them 25:50 a little closer to Your heart. 25:51 God, I know the pain and the 25:52 struggle that they're going 25:54 through. 25:54 Father, I just pray for a little 25:56 bit of easing for that pain. 25:59 Father, if it is distracting 26:00 them, if it is clouding their 26:02 judgment, I ask, Lord, that You 26:04 will come upon them, Father, 26:05 that Your Holy Spirit will move 26:07 into their life, that You will 26:09 open up their eyes, Lord, that 26:10 they will see the bigger 26:12 picture, Father, that you will 26:13 light the lamp a little bit 26:14 farther in front of their feet 26:16 that they will see why they have 26:18 to go through what they're going 26:19 through, why they have to 26:20 struggle in that weakness. 26:22 And, Lord, my prayer is that 26:23 they will continue to push on. 26:25 Father, they will not give up, 26:26 they will not wanna take 26:27 themselves out of the equation 26:29 because maybe for them, maybe 26:30 for the whole life that they 26:32 live, Lord, You can bring one 26:33 more person to Your heaven. 26:35 God, You can bring one more 26:36 person to eternity. 26:38 And my prayer, Father, is that 26:39 You will grant them an audience 26:42 that's a little bit closer to 26:43 You, You'll hold them close, 26:45 You'll comfort them, You'll 26:47 guide them. 26:48 And, Father, my prayers that You 26:49 will bless them, open their 26:51 eyes, and help them to see 26:53 Your plan. 26:54 In Jesus' name, we pray, amen. 26:57 [MIKE] Amen. 26:58 [RENÉ] Clint, thank you so much 27:00 for joining us on It Is Written 27:02 Canada today. 27:03 >> It's my pleasure. 27:04 Thank you very much for 27:05 having me. 27:08 >> Friends, as part of Clint's 27:10 ongoing journey was the keeping 27:12 of the weekly Sabbath, which may 27:14 have opened up some questions in 27:16 your mind about what the Bible 27:18 teaches about the Sabbath. 27:21 >> Our free offer for you is 27:23 What the Bible Says About the 27:25 Sabbath. 27:26 This free full-colour booklet 27:28 has been prepared to help you 27:30 clearly understand and 27:32 appreciate what the Bible says 27:35 about the Sabbath. 27:36 >> This little book will provide 27:38 practical answers that will help 27:40 you to see how God is prepared 27:43 to bless your life with this 27:45 special gift of sacred time. 27:50 You, too, can experience the 27:51 fullness of life that is found 27:53 in the words of Jesus when He 27:54 said... 28:04 [playing gentle guitar music] 28:07 ♪♪ 28:51 ♪♪ |
Revised 2023-12-20