Once I was Blind, But Now I See!

This week, I’m doing something I occasionally do and that’s promote a movie with a message that everyone needs to see and hear. I’m talking about the movie The Blind in theaters this week. Dave and I went to see it on 9/29 and even though I knew most of the story of Duck Dynasty’s Phil and Kay Robertson, I really didn’t know how bad it was before Jesus came into their life.

Decades before “Duck Dynasty,” Phil and Kay Robertson suffered a stormy early period of ten years in their marriage marred by Phil’s alcohol abuse and infidelity. “The Blind” captures their story of struggle, redemption, and hope.

When we were finding our seats at the theater, I saw a young teenage couple and asked if they knew what the story was about. They smiled and said they did. I told them how happy I was to see them there and that this film was reaching the next generation. After the movie, Dave and I started talking to a couple sitting next to us and discovered we had the same conservative faith beliefs and burden to protect children in our state’s schools and libraries. We were blessed to make new like-minded friends.

Let me backtrack a bit. Dave and I enjoyed watching the Robertson family with their four married sons’ families and Phil’s brother Uncle Si in their Duck Dynasty reality show adventures. That sparked our interest in learning more about them since the whole family was obviously Christian and they weren’t afraid to talk about their faith, Jesus, and family.

After Duck Dynasty ended, many in the Robertson family branched out with other shows, podcasts, books, and ministries.

Dave and I have a remote connection to the Robertson family. Their third son Willie Robertson’s wife Korie is the daughter of John and Chrys Howard owners of the former Howard Publishing that published my first two books, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey and Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help, & Encouragement for Hurting Parents. The Howards later sold their publishing company to Simon & Schuster, which still publishes those two books.

I never personally met Miss Kay [as she’s fondly called] or Phil Robertson, but they spoke several years ago in Nampa, Idaho and Dave and I attended. Phil is a bold evangelist and speaks freely about his life before Christ and the change accepting Jesus as his Savior made in his life, his marriage, and his family.

Recently, we heard Phil and Miss Kay interviewed by Kirk Cameron on his TBN program Takeaways. They said that their children felt the couple’s early tumultuous marriage years needed telling to share the miraculous transformation Jesus made in Phil’s life and Kay’s belief in him when he was haunted by the demons of alcohol, infidelity, and childhood memories. I don’t want to give away any spoilers because you need to see the movie, but to quote Phil, “You’ve got to come to the end of yourself to find the beginning of God.”

It’s one thing to read and even hear Phil and Miss Kay’s testimony, but to see it visually in this film is indescribable and inspirational. The portrayal of Kay and Phil is raw, open, and vulnerable. They hold nothing back of how bad things were and how good God is. In the Kirk Cameron interview, Phil revealed something I hadn’t heard before that he had learned of fathering a now 45-year-old daughter during his time of infidelity. She’s welcomed into the Robertson clan.

Their son, Willie Robertson, said in an interview with USA Today Network about The Blind, “It’s the early years of their marriage, so it’s gutting and raw. It’s definitely not ‘Duck Dynasty.'”

 “It tackles big issues – mental illness, depression, alcohol abuse,” Willie said.

Willie and his wife Korie Robertson produced the movie with their Tread Lively production company.

“Mom and dad have been very public about their early struggles, but seeing it up there on the screen really made it real for all of us,” Willie said. “It’s tough for them to open up that part of their life, but they’ve been willing to do it to try to reach others who are struggling. People see the family and ‘Duck Dynasty’ and think, ‘They have everything,’ but this story illustrates we had hard times like everyone else,” said Willie, who was 2 when his parents separated for a time.

“It’s powerful,” Willie said. “It’s a story of hope and redemption that shows you’re never too far gone to be saved.”

“In this movie, ‘The Blind,’ we let go of everything. We’re telling it,” Miss Kay says.

The 10-year span in The Blind depicts what Phil Robertson himself describes as his wild rebellious years of substance abuse and cheating before turning to God and building the clan’s Duck Commander duck-call manufacturing business into an empire in rural West Monroe.

Why would the Robertson’s be so open, vulnerable, and transparent about such a dark time in their life? Because they care more about saving lives than saving their reputation. Their testimony is one of redemption, love, and forgiveness. A wife who didn’t give up hope for her husband and a Jesus who can save even the most despicable wayward person. A testimony shared to bring others to Jesus.

It’s not about how bad you were, it’s about how good God is! He goes after the one that was lost even though 99 are saved. Which gives each of us hope for those we think will never change their life. If God could turn heathen Phil into an evangelist, he can and will save anyone who surrenders his or her life to Jesus Christ and seeks forgiveness for their sins.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. Matt. 18:12-13

Why Share Our Testimony?

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. —1 John 5:11-12

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!  I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, And I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. —Ps. 73:28 NLT

There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what He’s done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal experience. As we mature spiritually, we move beyond just remembering God’s goodness for our own benefit and start retelling our testimony to help others just like Phil and Kay have done.

We all have varied life testimonies in addition to our salvation testimony. Some of you have heard my “Feed my Sheep” testimony. If not, you can read a little here. I never tire of telling my story as History.

You may not think you have a testimony if you’ve been a Christian most of your life and life has gone smoothly. You can’t relate to Kay and Phil’s story or maybe even mine. God has been walking beside you guiding your life every step of the way. But that’s your testimony to others who worry about losing something by turning their lives over to God. You’re a living example of how good God really is!

Maybe you’re stumbling under the burden of a hidden past you’ve been too embarrassed to talk about and hope will never be revealed. Now may be the time to deal with those buried hurts and hang-ups. Like Phil and me, once they’re out in the open, Satan can’t use them against you anymore.

When I felt God leading me to write Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, I had to ask my daughter if she was okay with me revealing the prodigal time in her life before she accepted Christ as her Savior. I assured her that I would also be sharing how I was a prodigal raising a prodigal.

I write her response in the Acknowledgments: “My dearest Kim, you will always be my “baby. To share our story, to bare our souls, is no little thing. I admire and celebrate the beautiful, humble, and courageous Christian woman you have become. When I shared my vision for this book, you were on board and willing to let me expose our lives on these pages, all for the glory of God. That’s no small concession, since our life together has had many twists and turns—some we regret and others we celebrate. I thank God for making both our paths straight. We were lost and now we’re found. I love you baby.”

Kim told me, “Mom, if we can help one daughter and her parents, we need to share our story.” Kim also writes in the book what she was feeling and thinking during her prodigal years.

God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future. Like Phil and Kay’s testimony and Kim’s and mine, it’s the opportunity to give purpose to a crisis.

You might not make a movie, write a book, or tell your testimony from a stage, but God will bring people across your path and the Holy Spirit will prompt you to share. Every day, you encounter opportunities to share your testimony, and every time you tell it, you’ll remember how good God has been to you.

Revealing is the first step to healing!

Just like Phil’s spiraling down and my backsliding years, our testimony isn’t about how bad we were. Our message is the redemption and forgiveness available through our initial salvation or a rededication to Jesus Christ.

When people ask me how I made it through life’s difficulties, the best answer is, “I couldn’t have done it without God.” That’s your best answer too. It opens the door to share your story. By the way, your story doesn’t have to have a “happy ending” like the Robertson’s or mine for you to share it.

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you. It’s not a time to tell someone else’s story. Stick to details that pertain to you and those willing to let you include them in your story.

When anyone tells me about an encounter with God, or a memorable circumstance in his or her life, I always ask if they’re writing it down because God is going to use it as a life-experience testimony. My ministry tagline is “Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness.”

I’m reminded of the Apostle Paul [formerly Saul], a persecutor of Christians before he was struck blind by the Lord on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:1:1-18.

 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

Later in Acts 22:1-16, Paul told his testimony of transformation from being an enemy and persecutor of Christians to an evangelist sharing the Gospel.

As I watched in The Blind, Phil Robertson’s retreat into the forest almost living like an animal during his darkest times, I was reminded of the story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony of living like a wild animal until he also surrendered to God (Daniel 4:1-37).

At the closing of The Blind movie, they showed comments on the screen. One was what Miss Kay said to the former pastor of the West Monroe White’s Ferry Church of Christ who visited Phil in Junction City during his darkest hour, planting a seed that eventually sprouted. Kay said to the pastor, “If you can help save Phil, he will go on to help save thousands.” Which Phil certainly has done!

While many may know of Phil’s tenaciously outspoken faith now, they may not know the hard and twisting road he walked before surrendering to Jesus. The title “The Blind is a play on words and refers both to, “I was blind, but now I see” (John 9:25), and to a shelter that conceals duck hunters called “the blind.“

“I think maybe if these people watch the movie and see how I was, and then they look at me now and see how I operate, [it will give them hope],” Mr. Robertson said. “You got to remember all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God so I’m not the only person that has sinned. The way out is faith in Jesus Christ.”

“I would have never dreamed I would be out there preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ when I was back there getting drunk as a skunk,” he continued. “But when that happened and I was freed from it, [everything changed]. That’s why I’ve been saying ever since that happened and I came to Jesus [what God can do].”

“Our prayer is that people will see the movie and know there’s hope. It’s never too late to be saved.”

“Jesus—that one sacrifice—has made perfect, forever, those who come to Him. If you just think about it, His blood gives us the opportunity to move beyond our sinful self,” Mr. Robertson said. “What do you get when He shows up, when you come to Him by faith? Love, joy, peace, patience…. It’s well worth the effort to follow Jesus faithfully.”

Amen!

If you didn’t receive my September newsletter, here’s the link. I would encourage you to read it.

Some of the “Why Share Your Testimony” discussion above is from my book Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten.

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