It was always said that when you come to America, family can turn on you and even put you out. As a young man coming to America to live with my father, I knew it was going to be hard. I had never lived with him before and never really knew what he was like. There is a Jamaican saying: “Seeing me and living with me are two different things.” I loved my dad, and no matter how things were, I was willing to do my best to be around him.
However, because of his rules and work schedule, it was almost impossible to live my Christian life the way I desired. We worked from 6 a.m. to midnight almost every day, only stopping when we needed sleep. It was hard to adjust. Many nights I cried, but I was still willing to endure it because of the love I had for my father.
Then came even greater hardship. My father wanted to get married and move into his wife’s apartment. That did not include me, even though we had been living together in a rental. What made it worse was that he told the landlord he was leaving without knowing where I was going to stay.
I eventually rented a place of my own, not knowing the house was already in foreclosure. I faithfully paid my rent, but soon the lights and gas were shut off, and the bank wanted to close up the house. That season drove me into depression and broke my heart and spirit. I did not even want to continue living.
But something inside of me kept pushing me forward.
One day, a friend gave me a big hammer and pointed to a wall. He said, “Take all your pain out on this wall, and your pay is on the other side.” I started hitting the wall with all my hurt and pain. The more I hit, the more I cried. But that day, something broke — not just naturally, but spiritually.
It was as if God was speaking to me:
“This is your life, and your blessing is on the other side. Keep hitting. Keep pressing.”
I lifted up my head and pushed through the mental pain and hurt. I said to myself:
“Pain, watch me. And everyone expecting me to fail, watch how God blesses me.”
Today, by the grace and mercy of God, I am blessed with a wife, three children, two houses, and a secure position in government as a high-ranking official.
God has truly been good to me.
I could have given up. I could have lost my mind. I could have stopped. But I kept pushing.
To anyone going through hardship right now: keep pressing, keep praying, and keep believing. Your breakthrough may be on the other side of the wall.
My life is living proof of the grace and mercy of God.