Faith & Purpose

Cailin: Welcome everyone to
Faith and Purpose podcast.

Each episode of this podcast contains the
personal testimony of an ordinary person

transformed by an extraordinary God.

My name is Caitlin and I'm
here to introduce this podcast

for my friend Jesse Duke.

Jesse is a husband, father, author,
life recovery guide, lay counselor,

and small group leader, but his
most important role is disciple.

As a disciple of Jesus.

Jesse created this podcast to help other
believers tell their faith stories.

We'll be hearing the personal
testimonies of all sorts of people

who have one thing in common,
Jesus has transformed their lives.

Jesus used parables because he created
us to learn best through story.

And as we listen to how God has worked
in others lives, we find encouragement

and inspiration for our own faith walk.

Whether you are already a believer, or
just a curious seeker, we believe that

as you listen to these stories, you will
be encouraged on your own faith journey.

We are sure that God can speak to you
through one of these episodes, and that

you will see that our Heavenly Father
truly works all things together for

our good, When we simply love and trust
him if you are currently going through

a trial We believe that you will come
to see that your troubles Heartbreaks

and failures are not gravestones, but
stepping stones into new life in Christ.

Here's Jesse with today's guest

Hey, this is Jessie duke.

Today.

We're very fortunate to have Allie
Waller to interview my wife, Becky duke.

I think you're gonna enjoy this.

Ally: Well, hello, everyone.

My name's Allie Waller, and
I'm here with my Aunt Becky to

hear her story this afternoon.

one thing that I remember when I was
actually young, Aunt Becky, started

getting everyone's marriage stories
and she ended up publishing a book

of marriage stories And so that has
always been special to me that she

found it very important to get to
know everyone's story So I'm excited

today to hear a lot of her story.

So hello aunt Becky

Allie.

It's so great to be with you.

You know, I love to be with you.

Becky: And I love to be with you.

Ally: Thank you.

Well, tell us a little bit about yourself
and a little bit about your story.

Okay.

Well, in, in thinking about my story
and what we would talk about today,

the the word that came up was, hope.

I'm a person of hope and I always hope
for a better future or for upliftment

or hope, hope in God or hope in
my family, hope in a better world.

So, that's, that's kind
of where I want to start.

I'll just tell you about my life and
there have been many times in my life

when I, just couldn't, feel the hope.

Those times have been rare.

And so, anyway, I'll begin.

I, I was born in Mullins, South Carolina.

And I was raised in
Lakeview, South Carolina.

My parents, Jesse and Anna Frances
Ford, raised five children.

And I'm the middle of the five.

I have lots of, uh, nieces and nephews.

I mean a lot of nieces and nephews.

And my family has always kept me grounded.

, When I was a little girl, I
was a precocious little girl.

I did, I did things that I'm sure
my mother, uh, was concerned about.

One thing I remember is her
telling me that I ran away when

I was about four years old.

I ran away to my grandmother's house,
and, because my sister was there and I

wanted to be there too, and she said,
Mama said that someone called her and

said that I had, uh, crossed a highway,
and she thought, she wasn't sure it

was me, but she wanted Mother to check.

Heh heh.

my.

Indeed it was me, it was me,

And you survived that

I survived that one, and then later on
as, when I was a little bit older, I,

mama took me to church for some type of
bible study as a little girl, little,

little little girl, I mean, really young.

I decided after the service that there,
I wanted to go to the, uh, big auditorium

where people were having another service.

So instead of waiting for mom
or whatever, I just walked into

the building and had a seat.

And how did I know that
that was not a good thing?

The police came in and picked
me up and told me I needed

to go talk to my mom and dad.

Becky: Oh no.

Ally: I was having a good time listening
to a service, uh, you know, and it

sounded like a good thing to me.

Anyway, I was born in a small hometown.

It was a farming community, and,
being small, it felt more like

a big family than a small town.

And, in the summers, we took vacations,
to the beach, and, I remember things

like going to Bible school, Mom and Dad
had us go to Bible school, and, when

I was in elementary school, I, I loved
learning, and I didn't mind studying,

and the teachers would have me help
other people in class, if they got

stuck, and Let's say a math problem.

And I love doing that.

I love doing that.

So, going back to our vacations in the
summertime, in about 1954 or 5, I think

it's 55, my parents started taking us
to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina,

about an hour away, they didn't know
that they were starting a tradition.

And, uh, a tradition that
has lasted almost 70 years.

Our family, this family, mom and
dad's children, grandchildren, and

so on, have kept up this tradition.

So once a year we meet at Ocean Isle
Beach for a week, sometimes two weeks.

And you're a part of that, and

Becky: Yes.

Ally: that, haven't we, Allie?

Becky: Yes.

It's very, it's a very, very special time.

And a lot of people say, how can, how can
you be that with your family that long?

Well, we do.

And it's a

blast.

Ally: Yes it is.

And you know, there are ups and
downs in any family, but, but our

family just works through them.

You know, they take space if they need
it, whatever, but they work through

it and we seem to get along real well.

Um, I think that's the blessing of
the parents we've had, you know.

And the parents of nieces
and nephews So going back to

elementary school, I enjoyed school.

And I enjoyed church.

And school and church at that
time, this was in the 50s and 60s.

That was our life in a small
community like we live in.

That was my life.

I liked extracurricular things.

Learned to play the piano
when I was in second grade.

And so by the time I was older,
the church needed a pianist,

so they asked me to be that.

And I did that, I guess,
through my twelfth grade year.

And enjoyed that and, um, I
enjoyed being in trios in church

with my sister and my girlfriend.

And, thinking about elementary school
too, I loved recess because I liked to be

outside and I liked to be, and at that age
I loved to be playing sports like softball

and, um, anything I could do outside.

There were swings and there
were monkey bars and we played

on the monkey bars and, um.

Had good teachers, was
really cared about and loved.

One teacher I had in fourth
grade, she lived near the school.

And she was, she was always
sending me on errands to her house.

Becky: Oh, wow.

Ally: do that anymore.

That is not something that People do.

But I walked through her house,
went into her house, got what

she needed, brought it back.

So that's a good memory of, Mrs.

Eatman, my fourth grade teacher.

Becky: She must have
trusted you to let her

go, let you go all the way to her house.

Ally: uh, yeah, she was wonderful.

And, um, so high school came along,
and I'm a type of person, I just

like to be involved in things.

I've always been like
that, and I still am.

But, when I was in high school,
I was, in a Dixieland band, it

was called the Swing Dingers.

And we traveled.

Really in o into other states as these
young musicians just having a good time.

And people seemed to enjoy
that Dixon land music.

So We had fun doing that.

I was in four HI, I was in a lot of
clubs in high school, FH, a future, uh,

future Homemaker, which turned into Ft.

A Future teacher, I
ended up being a teacher.

Uh, for 42 years, actually, in
the public and private schools.

But anyway, these clubs encouraged me
to do the things in life I, I needed

to do and wanted to do and, and God
had blessed me with the skills to do.

So, I played basketball in high school,
probably in middle, junior, they

called it junior high at that time.

Grade 7 through 12 went
to the high school.

And, um, anyway, I played basketball
and, um, I was very active.

I, uh, I was a cheerleader.

I enjoyed being a cheerleader.

I was in band and I enjoyed that.

I, I love music.

I'm a musician.

Of course, of course, I love music.

Becky: Yes.

Ally: and I, I had not yet learned
to say no in my life to different

things that people asked me to do.

So, God was working on me.

He gave me a very challenging senior year.

And I don't think I breathed
that year because I was just,

I was in so much activity.

So, uh, that taught me a good lesson.

It taught me.

Becky, you have to say no and
you have to limit yourself.

But one of those things that I loved
doing also in high school was 4 H.

I ended up being state 4 H president.

So, I was invited to go to
State Congress in Washington.

Uh, two 4 H members from each state
were picked to go to 4 H Congress.

And we went to Washington and
were treated just royally.

And that gave me so much
confidence, I guess you could say.

It increased my confidence.

I never was a good speaker.

I never was, but I You know,
I'd have to speak at the end.

I didn't feel confident
doing that, but I did.

And So, I've told you pretty much
about my high school years, and

then I went to a college, called
Winthrop in South Carolina.

It was a girls school at that time,
and um, I know that I began to

pull away from God's presence in my
life during these years, because I,

unfortunately, I was not so happy
at Winthrop, uh, during those years.

It's a different school now,
it's a wonderful school, but

at that time it, I had no car.

I actually had no way
of getting to church.

I, I think, just not having
enough church activity just kind

of drew me back into the world.

And long hours of study,
and I had to study hard.

and really not enough outside activities.

And, the church I did go to
was very unfulfilling, it just

didn't feel right in my heart.

So I couldn't get close to
the, I guess you could say the

congregation, it just, anyway.

So what I decided to do then was to
finish college in three years, which a

lot of girls at that time were doing.

So I, I did finish in three years,
I had to go summer and winter.

And that, too, I think, cut
into my, spiritual growth.

I think the times in our lives that we,
uh, kind of are real close to God, and

then we draw back, and we're not as close.

And then we get close again, and then
we draw back, and we're not as close.

So, I was in, when I was in college, I was
in one of those periods, I just would not.

Feeling close.

So, when I was in college, I, um, my
courses were an elementary education.

I knew I wanted to be a teacher and
I had taking care of children at,

at church when I was in high school
and middle school I had taught

little classes and things like that.

So teaching just seemed to be a
normal thing for me, so that's what I

became, an elementary school teacher.

And my first teaching job when
I graduated from college was

in Beaufort, South Carolina.

And St.

Helen is an island off of, uh, Buford.

And it was during this time Our
schools were beginning to integrate.

And, uh, my last year of high school,
and through these college years,

and then the first years of teaching
were all years of integration.

And so what they did with me
when I went to Buford, I taught.

And what at that time was
considered a white school.

And they integrated the
teachers and they sent me to St.

Helena's Island.

to be in what at that time
was called a black school.

So teachers were integrating
first and then the students

were gradually integrating.

Uh, it was a, it was a wonderful time
in my life because I loved, I loved the

schools that I was, uh, teaching in.

Both, both of the schools in Beaufort.

But in this time of my life, I
was putting God on a back burner.

I mean, I knew God was in my life.

I knew I could call on
God, but I did not, um.

I didn't do much studying and
much, I didn't have a passion

to, study more, you know.

Becky: Had you found a
church at this point or not?

Ally: Not one that I felt
close to, to go into again.

I don't know if that was me or if it was
the church, I think it was me, you know.

I was going, I was in my
20s and 20s are not easy.

20s are just not easy.

So, I was kind of, out of the,
uh, passion for church and pulled

into the worldly things that were
going on as a young, single woman.

I just wanted to do different
things, go to parties, um, travel a

little bit, um, but in the meantime
of doing all that, I met my first

husband, Joe, and he was a character.

I was really attracted to him and he
he was in my rancor and he, Uh, was

stationed there and so we ended up
marrying and it, it was, the marriage

ended up not being good because
alcohol was involved in the marriage.

And I didn't know during the
70 years I was married to him

that there were drugs too.

I, I had no idea that was going on.

So it caused a real schism in our And
we just ended up not liking each other.

And that, that's the honest truth.

I don't know how to express it any better.

Although I know he was
a good person at heart.

Um, the, that, the addictions
I would call them, uh, were.

And after seven years, we did
divorce and so then I went

into, uh, I went to a Christian
counselor and he really helped me.

I began, he helped me to get my
self confidence back because I had

lost a lot of that in this marriage.

And, um, and then I Um, one way I
helped myself, also, besides getting

the counseling, I got on a tour bus
and toured all the way across the

United States and around and, and back.

It was probably about a
two or three week tour.

And it gave me a chance to, to kind of
focus on how I had been drawn into that

marriage, what had, uh, gone wrong.

Uh, what, my part in it, what I could
do to try to change my life, and,

and it, that trip really helped.

So, I was single for the next
five years, and I spent that time.

Honestly, improving myself, being honest
with my, downfalls, and, so it began a

new journey for me, it began a journey
in trying to figure out why I was here

on this earth, what was my purpose, and
what did, what were my belief systems,

what was truly my belief system, not
something that had been taught to me,

but something I believed in my heart,
So I, began to study world religions

because I wanted to find out how those
religions, what they had in common.

And so, I, You know, I ended up studying,
and I ended up, um, meeting a person

who kind of soared me into a new life.

And that was Dr.

Helen Billings.

She was founder of the
Montessori Institute of America.

I heard her speak one night, and she
said to me, she said, Thank you, Becky.

No, I went to her, I asked to
have lunch with her one day.

And at that lunch she said to me, after
we talked about two or three hours,

she said, You need me and I need you.

I need you to go overseas for
me and help start a monastery

school in Jerusalem, Israel.

And you need me.

because you need to take the
Montessori training through me.

This will prepare you to go.

Now, you don't have to teach, but I
want you to oversee three teachers.

And they were three Palestinian teachers
who were being trained here in the

United States in Kansas City, Missouri.

And I was to go back with them
and help set up the school that

they So, I did that for a year.

Certainly a turning point in my life.

Bringing me closer to God.

Uh, I think, having worked on
myself internally, I was able

to get closer to God, actually.

And, well, now I know that God
lives in me, but at that time,

that was not really clear to me.

So, I went to Israel and I actually
was overseen by the Christian

brothers, who ran the school where
the monastery, sorry, school was.

It was inside the old city
of Jerusalem at Newgate.

And, um, so I live with a Muslim family.

An older woman, she was in her 80s.

She rented out her apartments.

And the Christian brothers would
invite me at times to eat with them

because I, I really didn't have a
kitchen in my apartment or anything.

So, what I learned about, um,
Christian fellowship sometimes

is they have problems too.

And, and that was a, a, a really
important, uh, because I realized that,

um, there was goodness everywhere,
but there was also turmoil in a

lot of these, uh, communities, I
would say, Christian communities.

but they were good to me.

They took me on tours.

They fed me many times.

Um, they let me, Celebrate some of
their, um, celebrations with them.

Uh, and they were not used
to having a woman around.

So, this was a big deal for them.

And it certainly was for me.

And, uh, but God led me through that.

And I knew God was with me.

Leading me through all of that.

Becky: So that, you were
there for, for one year.

Ally: I was there for a year.

Becky: Okay.

Ally: Yeah, And then I came home, when
I came home to the United States, the

people who, from Kansas City, friends
of mine who owned a Montessori school,

they oversaw me in, in Jerusalem, and
when I came home, they wanted me to go

to Kansas City and work in their school.

They had an opening and, So, I did that.

I thought that was wonderful.

I've always had this, uh, wanderlust.

Just like when I was a little girl.

Doing things on my own.

Going places on my own.

That has always been in my life.

So, I went, I went to Kansas City,
not knowing how long I'd be there.

Ended up being there for
about five, six years.

I think I was, six years I worked
in a monastery school there.

And, while I was there, um, a
lot of peace came in my life.

I found a church called Unity Church.

It's not Unitarian, it's Unity.

Unity is a Christian church, and
it taught me a softer vocabulary.

I guess you could say a
softer way of worship.

And it appealed to me very, very much.

And so I would go to hear speakers
and And they brought up, brought

in some pretty interesting speakers
and it just changed my life.

Another avenue of changing my
life, turning me around, pointing

me toward God again, yeah.

And so a good thing that happened is that
in one of their courses, they call it

the Course in Miracles, I met my husband.

thing that ever happened to me
in my life is meeting this man.

And he was, he was in the chorus.

We were sitting around in a circle.

I didn't know him.

He didn't know me.

But we started talking.

And it didn't take a whole lot of talk
for me to realize what a good man he is.

He is and was, and he was going to
Theological School to become a minister.

Um, there was a point in there where he
decided that was not for him, but, um, he

still went to the, went to his speakers
and went to these courses and all.

It's a wonderful philosophy.

It started in the late 1800s.

with, Myrtle Filmore and her husband.

And they had a gift of healing.

She had a gift of healing.

And people would come to her house and,
through Jesus Christ she would heal them.

So, there I was in the 19, 80s,
going to this, unity gathering.

I also was very fortunate not
only to meet my husband, but to

meet my spiritual leader, who
taught me so much about myself.

And he was, boldly honest with me and
he, you know, when I would be talking

to him, like you talk to a counselor,
he would stop me and he would say,

now, you know, that's not true.

What you're saying about this, this,
this, this, and it, it, it transformed me.

That's the only, that's the best
word to, to, this experience with

this, uh, teacher called Steve.

His name is Steve.

He had a lot of people he was
working with at that time.

We became friends and, uh, did things
together and it was, it was really good

for, for me to have that experience.

in the meantime, Jessie's dad
passed away in Tampa, Florida.

And so Jesse and I decided to move back
to the southeast to be near our families.

My family is in South Carolina
and his was in Tampa, Florida.

So we moved in between those two.

towns, And we found a
wonderful place to live.

It's called Amelia Island, Florida.

It's, and we lived on the beach,
on Amelia, called Fernandina Beach.

And actually, people don't
realize this, but most of Amelia

Island is Fernandina Beach.

Jesse and I have lived here, almost
40 years, after I taught, got back

into the public school system and
taught, um, although I taught 42

years, I taught 26 years in the middle
school here in Fernandina Beach,

Becky: Did your, did you let your
students walk to your house like

your teacher let you walk to hers?

No,

no,

Ally: good question.

And when I lived with my first husband, I
taught in a little place called Hofstra,

Florida, which was about an hour away.

So I would bring children
on the weekend to my house.

And I would bring a different groove.

I could not do anything like that now.

But at that time in my life,
that was real important.

They were like my family because I
remember children I was teaching in

Becky: yes.

Ally: So yeah, so to
answer your question, yeah.

Some have come here,

but nothing like that.

And a lot of them ended up coming here.

A lot of the students I taught
ended up in the church, Presbyterian

Church, that Jesse and I decided we
would go to, and we did for 20 years.

the Presbyterian Church was really
good for me, helped me to, to learn,

to just, to enjoy church and to
enjoy the children and, um, have,

meet new friends and good friends.

And, another aspect of my life
that had began to really blossom,

um, it started in Kansas City.

My husband's NAA, and when we met,
The way we dated at first in Kansas

City is he would take me to open AA
meetings and I'd never heard of AA.

I certainly didn't know
what an open AA meeting was.

so I would go to these meetings and I, I
remember the first one I ever went to with

him in Kansas City, I was so startled.

I was, I could not believe that these room
full of Uh, people were so honest with

each other, telling things about their
lives that you just don't do, you know.

Uh, I didn't, I never
did that in the church.

I, I never heard, heard of
that, quite to that extent.

And they, they seemed to love each other.

They, these AA members seemed
to care about each other.

They had baseball games together.

They Uh, met for lunch together.

They, they were a family.

I didn't understand it, and a family.

I, I, I, do now, but I didn't then.

So I'm telling you that, to tell you
that that followed us to that kind of,

uh, those organizations we were able to
find in Fernandina when we moved here.

And Jesse Went to AA meetings.

I went to Al Anon meetings.

Al Anon is the support group for families
who have or have had alcoholism in their

life or addiction, alcohol addiction.

And Al Anon, in the Al Anon group, I've
been a member of almost 40 years now.

Um, we, we were, we became a family
too, of people who would speak honestly

in these meetings that we, we have
together, had together, and have together.

Um, it's hard for families of people
with addictions to know where to go.

to find someone who understands.

That's what our organization
is about, Al Anon.

And Al Anon also teaches us to set
boundaries in our own life, to find out

about what's going in our own lives.

We've been so busy helping other
people, Enabling other people

that we, we need, we need to know
where, where to set boundaries.

So, you learn all that in
these Allenite meetings.

You learn about boundaries and enabling
and, um, what addiction truly is.

Addiction, it didn't stem from a moral
problem, it stem, it's a disease.

And, so we, a lot of people come
to Al Anon and don't know that.

And they come to Al Anon to find out how
to cure their addicted person and, but

you learn in Al Anon you can't do that.

Cannot do that.

what I have learned is that the best
teacher for an addicted person is a

person who has been addicted and has
worked their way out of that addiction.

So, In our home, I'd never seen
Jesse take a drink, I'd never

ever have seen him take a drink.

Because I met him when he was
two years into the program.

But, still, the characteristics of
alcoholism, and al anon ism, are in any

home where there has been addiction,
or could be addiction, or is addiction.

So you have to learn how it's
going to affect your family

and what you can do about it.

What you can do to help your
family, So I say that because

that's been a big part of my life.

I talk about that a lot because
it's been a big part of my life.

I like to go to meetings.

I like to chair meetings.

And I like to sponsor.

in the, in the Al Anon program.

Most of Al Anon, uh, the people who come
to Al Anon are women, but some, there

are men too, men too who have, who have
had to deal with it, their families.

And there are more, more men coming
now, and I'm so happy about that.

And also people with, people, uh,
families of people who have addictions

to other, uh, Like drug, like heroin
or all the drugs that are out there,

they come too, because they realize
that they can get a lot of, out of, um,

alcoholic, alanine addiction program.

And so, um, anyway, any
questions about any of that?

Becky: Yeah.

So you mentioned that your
first marriage, alcohol kind

of was a, was a struggle.

Um, did that make you nervous going into a

relationship with Jesse?

Ally: Yes, it did.

It absolutely did.

But when I found out he, he was in,
uh, AA and I learned about what AA was,

and he was, had such a passion for it.

I was able to know what
I wanted and didn't want.

Right.

that's the best way to put it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

you saw, you saw that Jesse was
working on his spiritual growth.

Yes.

Yes.

And interestingly, um, things, things in
a family, as you know, You have periods

of really having, uh, challenging times
together and, you know, children come

along and then you have to agree on
a philosophy that works for the two

of you with that child and so forth.

So, in, in our marriage, we have
gone through periods, ups and downs

like that and the, the, um, the
thing that brought us together were

these meetings that we'd get to.

He would go to his meetings, talk to his
friends about what he was going through.

I'd go to my meetings and talk to my
friends about what I was going through.

And then, uh, and we don't mind, Jesse
and I don't mind going to council,

to say that we've done that too.

And, and another good thing that we
did for each other, or had to do,

particularly in the first part of
our marriage, was to write letters.

Uh, that, uh, writing letters when
you're upset with somebody takes

the emotion out of the situation
so that you can, they can see what,

how you're thinking and vice versa.

So, we did that and
that was really helpful.

Even when we had a child, we, we did that.

And, um, so, so talking about
child, It was later in life.

I was 46 before we adopted a child.

We couldn't have children, so we went
to China to, uh, pick up our child.

We were there for two weeks, and
we were in training, so to speak,

and, um, we brought her back.

And she was six months old when we
got her, six or seven months old.

And, um, it was not an easy time
because I had not had a baby before.

I had to learn to be a mother
to a baby and to teach, and

I was still teaching school.

And, Um, go into church and just,
and, and so I had to learn what it

was to take care of a child 24 7.

I never had to take care of anybody 24 7.

So, at 46 that was not an easy
thing to do, but I'm so glad.

I mean, she has brought, she
has brought us so much joy.

She's taught me about patience and
kindness and deep joy, selflessness.

And, and we, uh, had, were involved
in activities that I, I, I would

have never been involved in.

she was, when she was in early school,
she took gymnastics, and then she

did soccer, and of course I had her
in a Montessori school for about

five years, four or five years.

And she, uh, later joined the band and,
was on my flag team in high school.

Um, she went to church, too, through
all this, even through high school, and,

um, we did change churches, um, because
she wanted to go to another church, and

we knew that there were a lot of young
people at this other church, and she just

liked the atmosphere, and so for three
years, we took her there, anyway, you,

you do for your children what you, feel
like you have to do to, to make them, uh,

happier, to bring more joy in their life.

And I remember even as a senior
in high school, I remember

seeing her in this other church.

We worked together and
she was taking notes.

She was taking notes.

I wasn't even taking notes of the sermons.

My daughter was taking notes.

So, Um, so she's taught us a lot,
and she's still teaching us a lot.

We've, we've, we've got a lot to
learn, and, uh, we're still learning.

But the nice thing about her childhood
is we lived in a cul de sac, and we

still live there, and there were a
lot of children in the cul de sac.

So she spent a lot of time outside.

She, she, like me, loved to be outside.

And, uh, I had a lot of
children come into our home.

Um, a lot of parties that, uh, we set
up, and we took Hannah also on trips.

We took her on a lot of trips.

As a matter of fact, she and my
husband, her ninth or tenth grade

year, climbed the highest mountain in
Colorado, Mount Elbert, and she, she

had gone on walks and things like that.

She had never climbed a mountain,
and it was pretty traumatic.

For her, but she, she
learned a lot, and as did we.

We, maybe we should have waited
a year or two to take her.

But, but that was, that's the kind
of activity we wanted for her.

She was an outdoor person.

She loves animals.

She loves, loves wolves.

Particularly at that time,
she was really into wolves.

So we took her to, uh, wolf
sanctuaries and, um, any type of

nature program we could get her in.

So, um, so, what has the last
10 years of my life been like?

I have, um, it's been nice in my
retirement, these 10, I think it's been

12 years now, to, to, um, be at home.

I feel like I'm finally a homemaker.

You know,

yeah.

that gave me a long time to, it took me
a while to adjust to that, but I love it.

And, um, because I'm home
now, my relationship with

God has deepened even more.

I've spent a lot of time talking to God
now, and I'm in Bible studies that I

didn't have a chance to really be in.

earlier and, my life has evolved
into, less of me and more of God.

And, uh, you know, once I learned
that God lived in me, lives in my

spirit, and works from the inside
out, I, I was so amazed and so happy

to learn that it changed my life.

And also, there are, Christian ministries
that really emphasize healing a lot,

not just a little bit, but a lot.

And I have had all my life a propensity to
work with the healing of people, whether

it be mentally, physically, spiritually,
emotionally, relationally, financially.

And so, I've been doing a lot
of that in my last 12 years at

home.

I've learn more about letting
go of regrets in my life.

and truly trusting that God has
taken the, uh, emotional, um, hold

on my life that they have had.

God has just taking a lot of that away.

And, I've used the principles of Al
Anon to deepen also, deepen myself.

And, that's pretty much
what my life is now.

I, I'm I'm, I'm, I'm available
to God every day now.

All day long, I'm just saying,
Where do you want me next?

What do you want me to say?

Who do you want to teach me?

Open my ears so I can learn.

And help me not to be
pushy with any of that.

Just, uh, follow your guidance.

And, You know, in the last few years,
true, that guidance has come through

who Jesus left for us, the Holy Spirit.

I didn't know about the
Holy Spirit growing up.

I heard the name a lot.

I didn't know about the personal
relationship that was important

to have with the Holy Spirit.

So I started finding ways to listen
to what Holy Spirit was saying to me.

Trying to figure out the voice
that the Holy Spirit was using.

And how to make sure it was Holy
Spirit speaking into my, into my

inner self, uh, I found ways to.

to do that.

so as my days and my love for God
has grown, my being able to listen

to Holy Spirit better has grown.

And then I now I just say,
I ask a lot of yes and no.

questions.

I say, is this, is this
what you want me to do?

Or is this what you want me to write?

Or is this who you want me to call?

Or is this where you want me to go?

And I get that quick answer.

And, and, also when I lose
something, which is not hard at my

age, when I lose something, I say,
Holy Spirit, just, just tell me.

where that is.

And, honestly, within minutes,
sometimes an hour, I've got it.

I've found it.

And also, with my memory,
it slips a little bit when

you get older, year by year.

I just say to Holy Spirit, I need to
know the name of this person in this

particular situation that I need to I
need, I just need that name, and I can't

bring it up, or I need the name of a book,
and I can't bring it up, and it comes

up, it always comes up, it may not be.

Instantly, but it will come.

And I feel blessed about that to
know how the principles, God's

principles work in my life.

Uh, the principles of prosperity
too, I didn't know about that.

And I realized that it's all
biblical, what I'm being taught.

It's not, uh, prosperity necessarily
for finances, which is wonderful.

It's also, how do I prosper mentally?

How do I prosper physically?

How do I prosper, uh, emotionally?

And so on and so on.

How do I prosper, uh, relationally?

Teach me all that, God.

I want to know how to prosper.

I know that's a catch word
that some people don't like.

Uh, and I, I can understand why.

But, I like it and I'm going to use it.

And another thing I've learned is
I didn't know about the salvation.

I knew about salvation, that God loves us
and wants us to be a part of his family,

that Jesus came to die for us so that
we would be free of all our past sins

and, and um, would have eternal life.

Now that's, that's a wonderful,
there's a lot to that and it

takes a while to digest all that.

But I learned about the salvation package.

And I learned that, um, it's being
born again and having wholeness.

It's healing, mentally,
physically, spiritually,

emotionally, uh, relationally.

And, um, God has given me protection.

In that salvation, I've got
protection, and I use that a lot.

God, I, I'm in this situation, I'm
not feeling real comfortable, help me.

I drive a lot, I travel
a lot, so I need that.

Um, he has taught me in the salvation
package about wisdom and knowledge,

using his wisdom and his knowledge
instead of depending on my own, and

I'm so grateful to, to know about that.

Um, preservation of life, uh,
making me gloriously complete.

saved.

Um, in the salvati

Uh, working through him, I'm a conduit
for this, or I'm a conduit for that.

I'm always a conduit for God, uh,
in whatever area he, he needs me.

And he's taught me about having vision,
and a purpose, and my husband right now.

And I right now have bought some property
that we're, we have a vision for and

some people have said to me, Becky,
uh, you're too, you're too old to be

thinking about this and this and this.

I said, I am not.

No.

do not stop and will never stop.

Um, but anyway, God has given us
visions, both Jesse and I, and he's

given us a purpose driven life.

we are purposeful in our
life, in our visions.

And I would say that the most
important thing he has given me

through Jesus is Holy Spirit.

Having that voice to listen
to all day long, every day.

I had to develop it.

I had to learn.

What I've learned is, that the
enemy came to, the enemy came to

kill, steal, and destroy, but, uh,
God wants us to have abundant life.

And that's a, there's a lot of
abundance in salvation, and the

salvation package that I have had
to, to grow in and learn more about.

Well, do you have any specific
heroes in your life as we've

kind of listened to your story?

Anything?

Anyone who stands out
as a big hero to you?

the first person that
stands out is my mother.

She was an extraordinary woman, um,
she was soft spoken, she was kind,

she listened more than she talked.

Which was good.

Um, she raised five children, all
different, all five of us are different.

And, and I think she did it kindly,
well, and we all just adored her.

So, she did a good job.

She did a good job.

And I think my husband, he's,
he's just a standout in my life.

Yeah, we did go through hard times.

particularly in the first
10 years of our marriage.

But we've grown spiritually, and he's
been a guide spiritually, in areas that

I probably would not have explored.

He's brought those areas,
uh, to my attention.

And he's a man, he's a man who
prays, he's a man who meditates.

He, we pray every day, we
pray every day together.

This is not something we
did in our early years.

But we do now, we pray every
day and we watch programs on

television that are uplifting.

We try to do that, but we're not always
successful there because I still like

some of those whirly programs, but, Right.

but, but I, I appreciate having
somebody to share those problems with.

I do.

and then the other person was
the person I mentioned when I was

in Kansas City in my 30s, Steve.

Because of his bluntness and
his, truthfulness of dealing

with me, and he just changed the
direction of, my spiritual life.

actually I'd say he really kind of
recharged it, he made me care about

myself and grow in that area, and,
um, So those are the three that

stand out in my mind right now.

There are many others.

There's people in my family.

Your mom, for one, and, uh,
other people in my family who

I adore and who I listen to.

And, uh, my sister.

Flornette was another one.

She, she was a great example of a
good mom and person to love the,

loves the Lord, love the Lord.

She passed away, but she, she um,
she loved me as, As a mother would

love a child, as I was growing
up, she was like my other mother.

And I'll never, never forget
what she's done for me.

That's great.

Okay.

Well, if there.

Well, if there.

If there was anything that you want
the audience to know about God,

what would you want them to know?

Well, I think what I went over a
while ago with the salvation package,

I think to know all that about God
and what He wants for us, that God is

good, God does not put diseases on us,
God does not cause us to have wrecks

and accidents and things like that.

He's a God of love.

But there's also another element
in this, the atmosphere, and that

is, we call it the enemy or other
principalities that we can't even

see that are working in our lives.

And I would say, study.

study the Bible, the New and
Old Testament, both testaments.

Some people don't want to study the Old
Testament, but they're both important

because the, Old Testament prophesies
about Jesus, and prophesies about how,

and tells us how God worked, how, how
God works, had, how God worked with

Israelites, and how He was disappointed
in them and things happened and they

got away from God and things happened
and then they got back close to God.

This back and forth, kind of
like what I was telling you

about my life, has been like.

And, um, the New Testament, which
is about Jesus and his followers.

both of them are about history, but
the New Testament's about Jesus, if

you would read the book of John.

You can, um, He was one of Jesus
disciples and it really is a good, um,

springboard to learn about Jesus life.

And right now I'm studying Revelation.

At one time I didn't
want to study Revelation.

This is the last chapter in
the 66 books in the Bible.

But now I do because I know it's, I'm
doing it with the group and Jesse leads

a small group on Tuesday night and,
um, we're, we're studying Revelation

and it's kind of fun to do it together
with somebody and we're all studying

from different Bibles and different,
um, commentaries, I guess you'd say,

and just kind of adding our little
two cents worth, all of us, what we've

learned, in just kind of a neat way.

to learn about the last book of the Bible.

Yeah.

The hard one.

times, the hard one.

What the end times are going to be like.

And, yeah, so.

Okay.

Well, I have another question for you.

Yes, ma'am.

When I think of you, I do
always think of adventure.

Like you're just very adventurous.

Um, and even in your story, like
you can see how you like adventure.

So what is the most adventurous
thing you've ever done?

Oh my goodness.

I think going to live in
Jerusalem was the most adventurous

because I knew, I knew nobody.

Yeah.

It was a whole life I
had to create for myself.

I had no car, so I had
to figure all that out.

But, um, to meet the, so many
different kind of people in Jerusalem.

I met Jews,

I lived on the east side with
the Palestinians, but I would

visit the Jews on the west side.

So, so Allie, um, you were
asking me about my favorite,

Becky: Your, your most adventurous moment,

the most,

Ally: I said it.

General is love.

Yeah, for sure.

Um, I also, I think that bus tour
that took across the United States

showed me that I could do things by
myself and, you know, feel protected,

made a lot of new people and enjoy.

my wanderlust,

Becky: yes.

Ally: that's it.

Becky: All right.

Well, thank you so much for
sharing your story with me.

Ally: Well, thank you, and I love
you, and, uh, hug those boys for me.

Becky: I will for sure.

Ally: Thank you for doing this

Becky: Absolutely.

Cailin: We hope you've been
blessed by today's story.

if you've heard something that you think
could help someone you know, please share

it using the link in the show notes.

Also, if you will give Faith and Purpose a
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You will probably never know how
that small effort can make a big

difference in someone's life,
but our Heavenly Father knows.

Speaking of sharing, if you know a Jesus
follower with a story to tell, please send

them a link to Faith and Purpose Podcast.

It may encourage them to tell their story.

That person may even be you.

Our only criteria is
that Jesus be glorified.

So when you're ready to tell how Jesus
has impacted your life, you can let Jesse

know at his ministry website, jesseduke.

net.

There you can download guidelines
that will make it easy to

prepare to tell your story.

Thank you for listening today and Shalom.