November 13, 2025 • 48 mins
What if your season of waiting is the very place God is shaping your future? Renee sits down with Pastor Rodrick Walters, CPA, husband, father, and leader of Word Life Christian Fellowship, to trace his remarkable journey from Jamaica to the States, through culture shock, loneliness, and a heartbreaking breakup, to a surprising call to bivocational ministry. His story challenges the myths we carry about singleness and success, showing how identity in Christ can steady you through the noisiest moments of life.
Rodrick opens up about renewing the mind and letting the Holy Spirit rewrite old scripts of inadequacy. He shares how Psalm 27:14 became a lifeline. We explore practical habits for singles, daily time in Scripture and prayer, learning to hear God’s voice in solitude, serving with purpose, and setting healthy boundaries in dating. You’ll hear the tender, intentional steps of blending a family, earning trust, and recognizing the right relationship at the right time, years after a first meeting. Along the way, we talk about the power of purpose at work, the beauty of bivocational calling, and how churches can support singles and “in-betweeners” without isolating them by age or status.
If you’re tired of forcing the wrong fit or feeling defined by your relationship status, this conversation offers grounded hope and clear next steps. Learn how to wait well, choose excellence without hurry, and let God’s timing lead you into relationships that strengthen your calling rather than distract from it. Subscribe for more stories and practical guidance, share this episode with a friend who needs encouragement. God Bless.
Follow Pastor Rodrick's Church Here: https://wordlifecf.org/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Renee Richel (00:42):
Hello, loves, and welcome back.
I am so excited to be sittinghere side by side, virtually
with Pastor Rodrick Walters ofWord Life Christian Fellowship
and CPA, an incredible husbandand father of three, that we met
a while back at an event, andof course, couldn't stop talking
(01:06):
about our relationship,obviously, with the Lord,
changing the divorce rate,making a difference in just
singles and just in generalcouples and people's hearts.
So I wanted to bring him ontoday, of course, to pick his
branding and share a little bitabout his story to inspire our
audience.
And also give them pearls ofwisdom and hope and just hear
(01:31):
his testimony that has led himto his beautiful wife today and
being an incredible pastor andfather and mentoring others.
So welcome, Rodrick.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (01:40):
Hi, hi, Renee.
It's great to be with you.
It's a uh joy to be with you.
As you said, we we we met at anevent some time ago, and it was
great to just just to connectand see how how we're from
different backgrounds, but wehave similar stories that are
just really a testament to thegoodness and the faithfulness of
our God.
Renee Richel (02:00):
Yes, yes.
So I'm gonna start off.
We're gonna ask some questionsbecause I want to make sure that
you know we learn more aboutyou, but also inspires others.
So can you share a bit aboutyour personal journey,
testimony, and how you werecalled into ministry and how
your relationship with God hasevolved over the years?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (02:20):
I'm originally from Jamaica.
Uh when I was when I was 12years old, I was family
relocated to the United States.
Growing up in rural Jamaica,um, my father, he was a school
principal, but in our particularcommunity, the pastor, because
there weren't many pastors inthat part of Jamaica, our pastor
(02:41):
was actually the pastor overfour different churches.
And so he would be at our homechurch on first Sunday and then
the other three churches on thefollowing Sundays.
My father, who was a schoolprincipal, he would typically
preach on at least one or two ofthe other Sundays in a given
given month.
So I'm not quite a pastor'skid, but I grew up in the church
(03:03):
and seen my father preach manya time.
However, despite growing up inthat setting, in that
environment, I kind of felt likeI was like the out one out, the
ugly duckling in the family, ifyou will.
I wasn't very smart in school.
There's a series of things thatwere going on in my life.
And I just felt like, you know,this salvation journey, it's
(03:24):
not, it's not for me, maybe forsomeone else.
And that was it.
I had some self-esteem issues.
I spoke with a speechimpediment, and there's a series
of things that were going on.
Then we left our small town inJamaica, come to a big city in
the United States, Houston,Texas, the fourth largest city
in the country, and I was like afish out of water.
(03:45):
And I've I had a degree ofloneliness and and so on,
despite our happy home, but justfitting in socially and other
with otherwise with folks, itwas a challenge.
Anyway, I was able to get intothe University of Texas at
Austin, and then while at UT, Ididn't have to go to church
anymore, right?
(04:05):
Because mom and dad would forceme to go to church as a child,
but when I'm away at school, whygo to church?
So I didn't go to church forthe first couple of years,
except for maybe around Eastertime or some some other time
like that.
Interestingly, at the time, Iand this really gets to my
salvation journey.
I I was uh dating a young ladyum who I grew up in a Christian
(04:29):
home, but I wasn't a devotedChristian.
She grew up in a Muslim home,but but she wasn't a devoted
Muslim.
So there we are were fromdifferent backgrounds, different
religions, and and and it wasit was fine, or so I thought.
And so in that relationship, asthat relationship developed, I
began to think of me beyondcollege, me as an adult, me as a
(04:52):
responsible man.
And in that process, I thinkI'm thinking a good responsible
man and husband, etc., would goto church with his wife.
So I'm I'm now rehearsing whatthat might like, what that life
might look like.
So I would go to church withher on Sundays, even though she
didn't go to church.
So I invited her, and we wouldgo to church on a regular basis.
(05:13):
As we as the more we went tochurch, the more the Lord was
like reigniting some of thethings that I learned in my
childhood in Jamaica and so on.
And without going through thewhole long story, my salvation
came out of me just going tochurch with my Muslim
girlfriend, right?
Yeah, we yeah, we spoke a bit,we spoke a lot about marriage
(05:37):
actually.
And I did say I was matureenough in my relationship with
the Lord to say that I love theLord too much to marry someone
who is not a believer.
So I told her that, listen, Iif we if you're a believer, then
you know we can get getmarried, otherwise it uh that
(05:58):
can't happen.
And this was in in early 1995.
Now she was she kind of said tome, you know, we talked about
it for a bit, and essentiallyshe said to me, um, after a
while, after about a year, yearand a half, she said, Listen,
this isn't gonna work.
Um, I'll marry you if you're anatheist, if you're a Buddhist,
(06:21):
if you're Hindu, it doesn'tmatter because I love you for
you, but you cannot say the sameto me, therefore the
relationship is over.
And that tore my heart intopieces.
Yeah, I just envisioned thiswonderful life together um you
know with her, and and therelationship ended.
That was in February of 1995.
(06:42):
The very next month, in Marchof 1995, the Lord called me into
ministry.
The very next month, and what Irealized is that my devotion to
him cost me that relationship,but his plan for my life was
(07:05):
that I would serve him in abivocational way.
I'm a CPA, I didn't say thatearlier.
I'm a certified publicaccountant, I've been one since
1993, and so as a practicingCPA, the Lord called me into
ministry.
Renee Richel (07:19):
I love that.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (07:20):
Yeah, yeah.
It's wonderful.
Um and what that might havelooked like for me at the time,
I didn't know.
I just know he called me toserve him to a greater capacity.
But one of his distinct uhinstructions was that he's
keeping me in the working world,he's keeping me in the working
world, he's not taking me out togo full-time into ministry in a
(07:44):
in the traditional sense.
He's keeping me in the workingworld.
And so that was that that wasuh part of part of the journey.
Renee Richel (07:50):
No, which I love.
I love.
I always say when we stoptrying to do it our own way and
we listen to the Lord's designfor our life, right?
It's amazing how it's alwaysbetter than we can imagine.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (08:00):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Renee Richel (08:02):
Um, so you often have shared about how renewing
your mindset changed thetrajectory of your life.
How can singles apply that sameprinciple to overcome feelings
of loneliness, discouragement,and delay that you went through?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (08:20):
Well, it's a it's an interesting
thing.
I I feel, you know, in Romans12, verse 2, it says, be not
conformed any longer to thepattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing ofyour mind.
I believe that one's mindset,it it just it well, when the
Holy Spirit dwells within you,it changes your mind.
And you you no longer conformto the way other people think.
(08:44):
And I believe that in theprocess of living, in the
process of of serving God, hisdesire for you ultimately
becomes your desire.
Psalm 37, verse 4 delightyourself also in the Lord, he'll
give you the desires of yourheart.
I cannot speak for anyone else,but I I know that there are
(09:06):
desires that my heart has hadthroughout my life that were not
of God, right?
Renee Richel (09:11):
Right.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (09:12):
But if you delight yourself in the
Lord, then the Lord will makehis desire for you your desire.
And you have a passion for hisdesire.
And and with that in mind, ithelped me to just have a you
know, I I had some certainnegative perceptions of myself,
(09:32):
you know, throughout my life andso on.
But as I began to see myselflike God sees me, it's like,
wow, what a difference, youknow, what a difference.
And because of that, I feltlike, you know, before, you
know, when I was in high school,because I, you know, in
Houston, Texas, right?
I'm from Jamaica, I'm not fromhere, I'm I'm not from the
(09:55):
United States.
I speak with a weird accent.
I had a series of things goingon, and I I had a big speech
impediment that caused me tostutter a lot while trying to
communicate.
And as a result of that, I waslike very often the odd one out.
I was in my one of my nicknamesin high school was the Lone
Ranger, because I was alwaysalone.
(10:15):
Because I was always alone.
I didn't really have manyfriends or anything like that.
But I found that you know, overtime, as I got closer to the
Lord and began to reallyunderstand his plan for my life,
then it changed my entireperception of myself.
And once I got thatunderstanding, it's not like a
(10:38):
light bulb went off, butgradually over time, it's just
amazing.
So the loneliness and all ofthose things which come with the
human experience, it's justgood to know that you're never
really alone.
I would love to say that youand God will always make a
majority.
It doesn't matter if there'syou and God versus Amen.
Renee Richel (10:59):
I love that.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (11:00):
Yeah, you it could be you and God
versus the multitudes, as longas it's you and God, you're a
majority.
Renee Richel (11:06):
That's the only love we really need, right?
That fuels us.
So I love that you say that.
Um, that's you know, and at theend of the day, I think that's
the hardest part when you'relonely, you need somebody to
talk to, you need somebody toconnect with.
And I'm like, just tell peopleyou're dating Jesus today,
right?
Or this needs to be.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (11:25):
Absolutely.
Renee Richel (11:26):
Yeah.
So from your experience as apastor and a business leader,
what does it look like to pursuepurpose and um excellence while
waiting on God's timing forrelationships?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (11:41):
So I mentioned before that that my
love for the Lord cost me thatrelationship.
And thank God, thank God itcost me that relationship
because as long as I have God,you know, then everything else
is well.
All right.
So in here in I relocated fromHouston, Texas to South Florida
in 1996.
There's a young lady who I whoI had met several years before,
(12:05):
and we got reacquainted um uh inin 1996.
And after uh you call it awhirlwind romance, we got
married and you know, just gonnalive happily ever after.
I mean, she she was, you know,she went to Oral Roberts
University, right?
So she so I'm thinking aboutministry, and even though I'm a
CPA, thinking about ministry andso on, and I just thought it
(12:28):
was like the perfect thing.
And I really believe that thatwas part of God's plan for my
life and to get married to her.
So we got married the firstthree years or so, it was it was
good, you know.
We our daughter was was born tous at that time, but then not
long after the three-year mark,we began to notice that there
(12:48):
were some issues that were athand, some issues going on.
And without going through thedetails of that, that marriage
dissolved um officially in 2002.
So officially we were marriedfor five and a half years.
So going from a Christianhusband to a Christian divorcee,
(13:11):
it was a very challenging time,it's a very challenging moment
for me.
And I was, I kind of felt likethe family law system is very
anti-God.
Here in South Florida, here inFlorida, it's changed quite a
bit over the years in a positiveway, I believe, right?
Renee Richel (13:29):
Yeah.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (13:30):
But I believe in, you know, the the
man has a great responsibilityuh for the success of his
family.
And so he has to lead, youknow, with godly example and so
on.
And I believe believe that thefamily law system, at least at
the time, would effectivelyemasculate a male who's trying
to live by biblical principles.
(13:51):
And I thought I thought verydifficult is very difficult.
I found I found that you knowthere's a lot of dads who
perhaps wanted to have a greatrelationship with their
children, but because the familylaw system could be so hostile,
they just get discouraged andjust rinse their hands and and
and walk away.
I had a very bad experiencewith that, but yet there's my
(14:12):
daughter who was, I feel wascaught in the crossfire of that
the ending of that relationship.
And so my thought was I willnever ever get married again
unless God Himself tells me thatthis is the one till that the
part.
I'll never ever get marriedagain because I love the Lord
(14:32):
too much to go through that.
As a matter of fact, when thatrelationship ended, when the
divorce ended, I told my thenpastor that uh don't sign me up
for anything ministry-wise.
I love the Lord and I'll justyou know serve from the pews,
but don't ask me to do anythingministry-wise because my
ministry is effectively over.
(14:52):
God cannot use a divorced umman of God, so to speak.
So so that that that was it.
But as I you know committed tomy new life, my you know, you
know, single life, I do havedesires to, you know, for
companionship and relationshipand so on.
(15:13):
And so I dated a little bithere here and there, but I feel
like I felt like unless aparticular relationship was
gonna end in marriage, it's justgonna be some disappointment
for her or for me, or for maybefor both of us.
So my thought was, I don't wantto get married unless actually
I don't want to date anyoneunless it's the one that God has
(15:37):
chosen for me.
And so, you know, I for themost part, I didn't really seek
relationships and so on.
And as the Lord, as I'vedevoted myself to the Lord,
there are a couple of timeswhere I felt like going out with
with this particular person maytake me off course from what
God has planned for me, and I'drather walk the path God has for
(16:01):
me, wife or no wife, but I mustfulfill the calling on my life.
And so it was in that sensethat I said, I'm I'm done
dating, I'm not dating.
And once I said I'm donedating, I'm just seeking the
Lord, serving the Lord, aboutsix months into that, he
revealed to me someone who I hadactually met four years before,
(16:23):
but I just didn't know thatthis was the one because the
timing wasn't right, right?
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Renee Richel (16:30):
So share with everybody where you met four
years ago that the timing wasn'tright.
Because I think that's thequestion everybody has has is
when and where will I meet thisperson?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (16:41):
Yeah, exactly.
And um and really before Ishare that, I would at times I
would pray for her, my my wife,not knowing who that person is,
so pray just you just keep hersafe, let her know that you love
her at your appointed time, wewe will get connected, right?
So I saw sometimes I wonder,have I have I met my wife
(17:02):
already?
As it turned out, I had met herbefore, right?
Um, so I I met her in I'm aCPA, as I mentioned, she worked
for a client of mine, and one ofthe things I do I try not to do
is uh mix business and you knowpersonal life.
So I would never date anyonewho I work with or anything like
(17:22):
that.
But yet, you know, so there'sthis one person, she works at
the my client's office, and youknow, she's just she's just
another person there who worksat the office.
Every so often when I would goto the office, and and I this
was in May of 2003.
I tend to remember dates,right?
Renee Richel (17:38):
Okay, that's good.
We're in your business.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (17:41):
Good, good, good, yeah, exactly.
Yeah, so in May of 2003, we wewe met.
Um, and she was just anotherclient there.
Every so often, going to theclient's office, I'll bring
lunch for the staff.
And so um, so that was that.
So I would see her probablyabout once or twice a year as I
would go to the client's office.
But this particular time, in inSeptember of 2007, four years
(18:01):
later, I called the office forher boss.
He wasn't available, but as youknow, she answered the phone
and she said, Hey, my my mybirthday's coming up.
I'm just like, Great.
So maybe I'll I'll I'll takeyou to lunch for your birthday.
And she said, That that that'llbe nice.
So I'm just like, okay, cool,take her to lunch for her
birthday.
Yeah, and then as the date waswe so we set the time for me to
(18:25):
take her to lunch, and she toldme that she does not, she only
gets 30 minutes for for lunch.
And so if it's if it's okay ifwe could go to dinner as a
instead of lunch, I'm just like,I'm like, I'm sure that that's
fine.
But for me, it was not a datebecause I don't mix business and
and and personal life, so itwas not a date.
So I just went to work, workwas done that day.
(18:46):
I um I didn't dress up for adate, I just went after work and
just you were just you, youwere just coming as you.
That's correct.
No, no cologne, no extra,nothing, you know.
I wasn't, I wasn't, I wasn'tsweaty or anything, but but just
I didn't dress up for a date.
Right.
So I just I just took her out.
But as I took her, took herout.
(19:08):
Um first one of the greatthings I thought was cool.
I tend to I love to listen tocountry music, right?
So I listened to country music,I listened to to Toby Keith's
greatest hits as I was drivingdriving to the restaurant, and
she never really heard the musicbefore, but she thought it was
kind of cool.
So I was like, okay, that'sthat's cool.
So anyway, we went to this toto um to dinner and it was cool.
(19:32):
There was like a connection.
I never really had much of aconversation with her before,
and it was it was cool, it wasnice.
And then I, you know, we had wehad a good evening, and I took
took her back home.
And then, you know, thefollowing week, I I asked her
out, like on a date type typething now.
And then, you know, over time,it was kind of I felt like this
(19:56):
is this is cool, this is this isnice, and I could see myself,
you know, with her uh for thefor the long haul.
The challenge though was mydaughter, right?
Because my daughter, she waslike eight years old at the
time, and I remember actuallyshe she had just turned nine.
My daughter, as I'm saying, howdo I, because I had even though
(20:18):
I dated a little bit before,you know, between my former
former marriage and my nowmarriage, I thought, how do I,
you know, I dated a bit before,but I never introduced anyone to
my daughter because I don'twant her to see people coming in
and out of my life like that.
So I told my yes, I told mydaughter, hey, um, this is you
(20:40):
know, my wife is Dindley.
So I said, Miss Uh, this is youknow, it's Dindley, and you
know, and we're in arelationship and so on.
And my daughter was not happyat all.
Renee Richel (20:49):
Oh no, she wanted to share dad.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (20:52):
Yeah, and then as we got closer, my
daughter became a bit morewithdrawn and a little bit
resentful.
And so when we're looking intogetting getting married, my
daughter said to me, the way Ifeel is like I had your heart
all to myself, right?
And I feel like she's coming inthe picture, so your heart gets
(21:12):
cut in two one half for me, theother half for her.
And then if you get married andthen you have more children,
every other child you have, myhalf is just gonna get smaller
and smaller, you know.
Renee Richel (21:26):
And when I showed she was nine having this
conversation with you, yeah,that's correct.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (21:31):
It's like she was nine.
But as time went on, I just gotlet her know listen, you're my
firstborn child, right?
I would probably have morechildren, but you're my
firstborn child, you're daddy'slittle girl, and that will not
change.
Yeah, and our pastor at thetime told me, as you know, if we
got engaged and so on, ourpastor told me that she's always
(21:53):
daddy's little girl, so alwaysmake special time for her
without your wife, without ifyou have other children, and so
on.
And so that that was it.
And it was it, it was, it's,it's turned out beautiful, it
turned turned out wonderful.
I just gave God God thanks forthat.
But you know, in betweenwaiting, between you know, wife
number one, wife number two, inwaiting, I was strengthened by
(22:16):
Psalm 27, verse 14.
Wait on the Lord, be of goodcourage, and he shall strengthen
thine heart.
Wait, I say, on the Lord.
It's in the waiting on the Lordthat he perfects um certain
things with within us.
I believe that had we had meand my wife had we dated before
it was his time, then we mayhave had some rocky roads on the
(22:41):
way there.
I just kind of feel like God'stiming was the right timing and
it worked great for us.
Renee Richel (22:46):
Amen.
It's so true, and so many timeseverybody I always give the
example we try to put a roundpeg in a square hole, and we're
like, it's just never going towork.
So make it easy and find whatGod will make it easy for you to
know, too.
So I love that.
Well, thank you for sharingthat story.
I know it's not been easy foryou particularly, but it's all
(23:07):
worked out for the good and theglory of God and the two of you
to be fruitful together.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (23:11):
Amen.
Amen.
Yeah, and and I should I shouldsay to you, we have two
wonderful sons now.
Our my daughter's 27, um, andand then our sons are 15, and
the 12, the 12-year-old is aboutto turn 13, which is really
awesome.
Renee Richel (23:26):
And how long have you been married now?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (23:29):
We've been married for 16 and a half
years.
Renee Richel (23:31):
Okay.
And I got to meet his lovelybride, which was a delight to
meet the two of you together.
So you guys are just your lovepours out to everyone you meet
together.
I love both of them.
Okay, so with singles that arestill waiting for their reveal
of who the one is for them thatstruggle with identity and
(23:56):
self-worth, how can they build ahealthy self-image rooted in
Christ rather than relationshipstatus in the societal
expectations of today?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (24:08):
Yeah, and I'm I'm so glad that you you
phrase the question that waybecause you know, the societal
expectations of today, I cannotimagine what it would be like
dating in the now world, right?
In the world of um Instagramand Facebook and TikTok and and
so on, you know, put yourrelationship status and put your
(24:30):
stuff out there, and you're ina relationship, and then you're
not in a relationship anymore.
So do you put take down thosepictures and and unfriend the
person and block the person,whatever it might look like, you
know?
It's it's it's a mess.
Renee Richel (24:42):
That's why you need a matchmaker because doing
it alone is really tough thesedays.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (24:46):
Absolutely, absolutely, 100%.
Yeah, I feel like you know, thethe in the beginning, God
creates the heavens and theearth, right?
And he we lay we learn later onin the book of in the in the
first book of the first chapterof of Genesis that God made us
(25:06):
in his image and after hislikeness, right?
So one of the things I love tosay is if you want to know what
God looks like, look in themirror, right?
Because every human being wasmade to some degree in God's
image and after his likeness.
And he doesn't make us as acouple, right?
He doesn't he makes us asindividuals.
(25:26):
We are one individual, myfingerprint is unique to me,
right?
There's no other person on theplanet with this particular
fingerprint.
And I just as I look at that, Iyou know in the process of
answering your question, I'llsay this this to you.
For much of my life, I feltlike you know, I was told you
(25:47):
should be more like this person.
Take a page out of thisperson's book, take a page off
that person's book.
And effectively, what was saidto me is that by yourself,
you're not good enough.
You're not good enough.
And you know, to her credit, myI don't talk much about my
exes, but for this per for thepurpose of this interview, I'll
share this.
My my ex, the the one who's nota Christian, the one who's a
(26:09):
Muslim.
She's the first person in myentire life who ever said to me
that you're good enough just asyou are.
You don't have to try to belike the next person or like the
next person.
You're good enough just as youare.
Renee Richel (26:21):
Amen.
I love that.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (26:23):
And so once that once that was became
apparent to me, I began toreally see who I am, and then
that's when my identity inChrist became like the central
focus of my life because Icannot be like the next person,
I cannot be, you know, someonewho I can, you know, someone who
(26:45):
I can never be, but I can bethe best version of Rodrick
Walters that God would desire topresent to the world.
And I believe that there's eachperson is uniquely gifted,
uniquely created by God.
When a when a child isconceived, there are in excess
of five million sperm that canpotentially fertilize a mother's
(27:08):
egg.
And so I like to say you werechosen by God as less than one
in five million was your chanceof being the one to fertilize
your mother's egg.
So I believe that you came intothe world with a specific
purpose and God had a greatpurpose in his mind.
And your singular goal is notto get married, your singular
goal is to pursue and to performthat particular purpose that
(27:34):
God had on his mind when hecreated you.
I feel like if we live thislife and we exit this life
without having not justdiscovered that, but you
discover it and then you pursueit with all your might.
It doesn't matter, you don'thave to be a multimillionaire or
billionaire to pursue God'scall on your life.
As long as you look to him andallow him to take you through
(27:57):
the process, I believe that justlike a lot of great and
wonderful things can happen.
So, what's one's identity?
Go to the word of God and hewill reveal to you who you are,
the fullness of who you are.
And I and I cannot effectivelyanswer this question uh without
saying this.
(28:18):
And and for the singles and forother individuals who have
identity issues and so on.
I remember as a youngChristian, I got baptized in
November of 1993, and I remembersaying then that I just wish, I
wish that God would talk topeople like he did in the Bible,
(28:39):
right?
Because he said, Moses, Moses,draw not thy hither, take off
thy shoes from off thy feet, forthe place where thou standest
is holy ground.
And then you look in the NewTestament and you see all these
red letters of Jesus' word.
And I just say, I just wishthat God could speak to people
today, like he did in his word.
And so for about 18 months, Isought the Lord, and I sought
(29:01):
the Lord with my whole heart.
I said, I just God, I just wishwhat should I do?
What should I do here andthere?
Right?
And and it was just amazing tome that for 18 months I sought
the Lord, and it was not untilFebruary, well, I really started
in October of '93, in Februaryof 95, when that relationship
(29:25):
ended.
And the next very next month iswhen I was called, as I
mentioned to you earlier.
And I say this to you mycalling, and each of it is not
all of us are called to bepastors, etc., but one thing
that I know is that God, each ofus is called for some
particular purpose that Godwants to reveal to us.
(29:45):
And I say, God is not in thesecret service, he loves to
share his secrets with hispeople, and it comes from him in
different ways.
And so when God really calledme and showed me what you know,
he showed me.
What he had packaged for me.
He it was over a three-weekperiod that he showed this to
(30:05):
me.
He showed me my past, that heknew everything in my past, the
times where I was depressed, thetime where I wasn't suicidal,
but I wish I would I would havedied, right?
And I regretted that I wasborn, a whole series of things.
He showed me my past, he showedme my present, and he showed me
my future specifically.
And so 30 years ago this year,he showed me things that were to
(30:32):
come, and he has not yet behe's not he's not yet been
proven wrong.
He hasn't he doesn't show youall the details.
Renee Richel (30:40):
He's been planting the seeds along your entire
course that he has designed foryou.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (30:45):
Absolutely.
And so what's one's identity?
You go to Christ, he'll he'llshow it to you, he'll show you
the specific, the exact reasonthat he created you and how your
life can be used to glorifyhim.
Matthew chapter 5, verse 16.
Let your lights shine beforemen that they may see your good
(31:06):
works and glorify your fatherwho is in heaven.
Renee Richel (31:09):
Amen.
And I love as you're sharingyour story to people out there,
whoever then shares this withsomebody else that has walked
the fine line that you have tojust be a light to continue to
keep going.
When people have likeinsecurities or they feel like
they're disqualified becausethey didn't have the easy path,
(31:31):
if that's what you want to callit, that you can really give
people that hope and purpose andto keep, you know, knowing that
love does exist, right?
And it and it will find youwhen you seek it with all of
your heart and trust in theLord.
Okay.
So, in your views, what aresome of the most important
biblical um disciplines orhabits for singles um to
(31:55):
cultivate in their preparationfor future relationships or
marriage?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (32:02):
The the first one is just is just to
have a daily walk with God,right?
You know, they say Rome was notbuilt in a day, right?
When I was in high school, uhmy younger brother was driving
the car, and we had an oldercar, older um Pontiac Lamans.
(32:22):
My brother was driving the car,and the car, the uh one of the
the one of the rear tires felloff the car while he was while
he was driving.
So he was driving like athree-wheel, and someone's
pointing out to him, the tirefell off the car, and he pulled
over, and it was not until hepulled over that the car kind of
fell down, right?
Renee Richel (32:45):
Oh my gosh, that's crazy.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (32:46):
Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.
But what happens?
So sometimes people feel ifthey're not in a relationship,
then they're they're they'regonna fall apart, right?
So it's you you you you end upusing relationships as a crutch.
Renee Richel (33:00):
Yes, yeah, I see it all the time, yeah.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (33:03):
But if you can just learn to stand with
God, knowing that as long asyou're with God, as long as He
is light in your path, Proverbs3, 5 and 6, trust in Allah with
all your heart, lean out to yourown understanding, and all your
ways acknowledge him, and he'lldirect your path.
As long as he is the center ofyour life, as long as he is
(33:26):
controlling every aspect of yourbeing, then you can move
forward, right?
You can move forward.
So just learning to trust him,learning to have that daily walk
with him, learning to hear hisvoice.
You know, for me, the the besttimes of my life, and I don't
desire for more times like this,but the best times of my life
(33:51):
were the times where I waslonely, right?
After the divorce, and my wife,my former wife had custody, and
I'm living in this apartment bymyself.
Some of those are some of thebest times.
Why?
Because you could be in themultitudes, you hear, you know,
you picture at the Super Bowl,right?
(34:11):
There's 80,000, 100,000 people,all these voices all around
you.
Which of these many voices isthe voice of God, right?
But when you're in this, inyour solitude, when you're
alone, and you just learn tohear that voice, the Bible says,
My sheep um know my voice, anda stranger they will not follow.
(34:31):
So you learn to hear the voiceof God.
So hearing the voice of Godwhen He says go left, says go
right, make this phone call, putyour resume together, relocate
from this city to that city, doall of these things, and it's
amazing.
You learn to hear the voice ofGod, and so for singles, for
anyone, learn to hear the voiceof God for yourself.
(34:52):
And once you learn to hear thatvoice, it will not disappoint
you.
It'll tell you there are 10different job offers that you
have.
Which one of these should Iaccept?
There's only one that God wantsfor you to accept, and He will
tell you which of the 10.
And this is so essential, soimportant.
Renee Richel (35:10):
Which I love to hear you say that, and such a
huge reminder because in mysingle season-ish, like of many
couple years, I will say that'swhat gave me the stepping stones
to where God wanted me to bebecause I didn't have all the
noises and I was focused onhearing and listening to God
during that time because youhave that special time to focus
(35:33):
on nothing more but yourrelationship with Him.
Absolutely.
I love to hear you say that.
So singleness is also a verysacred time with God after you
have children and you have aspouse and you have it, there's
a lot of noises going on all thetime.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (35:49):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Yeah, and and this is achallenge for me.
I hear voices, yeah, all thetime.
Why have my kids and so on?
So that that time, you know,and I love spending time with
the Lord, not even to get asermon for Sundays, just time
with the Lord to really hearfrom him, just for me.
If a sermon comes as a resultof it, that's great and
wonderful, but I need him, youknow.
(36:10):
They in in in Deuteronomy, uh,the the uh the thing about I
think in in Deuteronomy 8 abouthaving the ah man shall not live
by bread alone, but by everyword that proceeds from the
mouth of God.
I desire to hear his voicefeeding me on a day-to-day
basis.
Renee Richel (36:31):
I love that.
Okay, so how can the church dobetter to support and discipline
singles, not just in thewaiting season, but in helping
them thrive and serve in, youknow, purpose currently?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (36:46):
Yeah, I think what the church can do is
just let them, you know, don'tisolate the singles like you
know, you're you have, you know,you're uh I guess a single
single person over here overhere.
Actually, I should also add tothat that some people are
single, great, wonderful.
But what about the person who,like I was, married and then no
(37:08):
longer married, and then youknow, I'm the in-betweener.
Yeah, the in-betweener, right?
And so I think this there'sthings that that the church can
do to support such suchindividuals, whether it be
single or someone who's who'sdivorced, just to embrace um
each season of life that thatthey're in, right?
(37:29):
Um maybe there they're thereare widows and widowers who are
like 80, 90 years old who areprobably not looking to get
married, right?
But then and so they don't theydon't have have a mate.
If you could just help helpindividuals to just you know
cultivate the best relationshipwith God in their particular
(37:51):
season of life.
You know, my my mom died 10years ago, sadly.
Um, my dad is is 87 years oldand he's been been um you know
10 years a widower, and he hasjust learned to embrace the
season of life in which he is.
Um, you know, selfishly, Iwould want him to get married
again because I don't want a newmom, right?
(38:14):
Selfishly.
But if that was his desire,that's his desire, then great,
wonderful.
A lot of times I think uhpeople think I must be married,
I must be in a relationship,etc.
I kind of alluded to thisbefore, in order to be whole and
and complete.
I think the church can justhelp each individual to say,
(38:34):
hey, whatever season of life I'min, I just want to be in God's
will.
I just want to be in God'swill.
And if God's will for me inthis season of my life is that
I'm single, then I embrace it.
If God's will for my life isthat I should never be married
for his glory, then I embrace itfully.
(38:56):
It's easier said than done.
But I believe that as long aswe embrace what God is doing in
each season of four lives.
Renee Richel (39:03):
One thing I say that I feel like the churches,
and I, you know, I'm not achurch, so I can't say that, but
it's restricted by ages.
It's restricted by if you'reunder 39, then you're in this
group.
If you're over third, or youknow, 21 or 20.
But the problem is, and Ialways say, regardless of your
age, God brings people in theirlives in all their seasons to
(39:24):
learn from them.
So the youth need to hear fromthe older, the older, wiser,
whatever you want to call them,need to kind of be reminded what
it was like to be in theiryouthful years.
And I so I just I feel likeit's a huge mission and a
difficult um place for thechurches to be in.
But if we just love all and wehave relatable people in the
(39:44):
seasons we're in, it'll justhelp us to connect and not feel
lonely.
Okay.
So what is a like words offinally, like, what are some
encouragement you would givesomeone who feels weary in their
singleness, but desire theirtrust in God's timing with joy
and faith?
Some for some final words thatyou can leave with our audience
(40:07):
today.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (40:08):
I want to quote something I a verse I
quoted earlier, Psalm 27, verse14.
Wait on the Lord, be of goodcourage, heal strength in your
heart.
Wait, I say on the Lord.
If you if you think aboutsomeone like the man of God,
David, David was a littleshepherd boy when he was
anointed.
(40:28):
He wasn't they they it wasn'tjust prophesied over him.
Samuel went to Jesse's houseand he anointed David as king of
Israel.
But he didn't just, okay, I'manointed and go become king of
Israel.
He went through a time and aseason of preparation.
In his preparation, Saul triedto take his life, right?
(40:50):
Yes, he he he went through manydangerous toils and snares, but
it was not until God's timingfor him that it became a uh it
became a reality.
And so to my single friends,you know, I've been single and
it's not it's not easy, andparticularly uh for those who
(41:10):
are divorced and would desire toget married again, you the the
companionship and livingtogether in holy matrimony, and
then you're living in that timeand that season, and then it
seems like somehow or the otherthat life is taken from you.
It could be could be divorce,it could be the death of your
(41:30):
your spouse, where you you aremarried and you find yourself
single again, and then what doesthat what does it look like,
you know, in in terms of yournext relationship?
I just say just you know, waiton the Lord and just trust God's
timing.
There's a song in my oldBaptist church in Jamaica called
Take Time to Be Holy, right?
(41:51):
I think the second verse ofthat song says, Take time to be
holy, let God be your guide, andrun not before him, whatever
betide, right?
He's leading you, he's guidingyou step by step by step.
But try not to go ahead of himbecause going ahead of him, he
knows you know, the man of Godjob, he knows the way that I
(42:11):
take, and when he has tried me,I shall come forth as gold.
So he knows your path, he knowshow he's gonna you know change
different things, you know he'sgonna change the king's heart to
favor you for a particular timeand season.
He knows he's gonna harden theking's heart to let you leave
that job so you can go to thisother job.
(42:33):
Maybe you have to relocate andgo elsewhere to where God would
have for you to be.
So just trust that God isworking the master plan.
And listen, I I would love thatGod would use would use my life
as the apostle Paul referencesin 2 Corinthians chapter 3 as a
living epistle.
(42:54):
So because some people arediscouraged, some people don't
want to go to church anymore,and especially in this day and
age, people can stay at home andnot go to church, or maybe they
grew up in church and they kindof get discouraged with church
as you know the institution ofchurch and all that that
entails.
But God can use you, use me asliving epistles.
(43:16):
So rather than going to churchand hearing a sermon, they
interact with you on the job inthe grocery store at your kids'
baseball game, they interactwith you and you become a living
epistle to tell others of hisgoodness and of his
faithfulness.
So just you know, the the lastverse I'll quote is uh is it
will be a repeat.
Proverbs 3, 5 and 6.
(43:36):
Trust in the Lord with all yourheart, do not lead to your own
understanding, and all your waysacknowledge him, and he will
direct your path.
Step by step by step, he'lldirect your path.
And so, single, single folks,there's a time and a season, and
you embrace the season becauseyou know when when marriage
comes, it comes differentresponsibilities and so on.
(43:56):
So just embrace the season thatthat you're in, and God will do
great wonders through you andfor you.
Renee Richel (44:03):
Amen.
I love it.
Well, this has been such a joyto have you join us to share
your pearls of wisdom withpeople out there that have had
ups and downs and walked throughthe season of singleness and
maybe marriage and maybedivorce, that you have found
your one true bride.
Um, and then I may, you know,as we continue to speak to
(44:27):
pastors and just be a light anda resource to so many
individuals.
When we have our um coupleseries going through, we'll have
you and your wife come on andshare with us what life is like
being married now in today's dayand age, because we obviously,
as you know, or if you're new tolistening to our One True
(44:47):
Talks, is we are here for thewhole season from not only
finding the one, but goingthrough the journey of dating,
engaged, and married.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (44:55):
So Amen.
Amen.
And and I I just want to saybefore before we're done, um,
thank thank God for you.
And and sometimes I I think,you know, where was an
organization like like this, youknow, as in my in my years when
I was waiting on the Lord,right?
I know that God's purpose andplan, you know, ultimately uh
prevailed.
(45:15):
You know, Proverbs 19 verse 21,many are the plans in the man's
heart, but it's God's purposethat prevails.
What you're doing is helpingand encouraging people, um, not
just people, Christian people,to find that one person that God
has for them.
And I love, you know, we'vetalked a bit about how you kind
of do some of the legwork sothat as people get to get get
(45:39):
connected, they've been vetted,if you will, yeah, gone through
the particular process so thatthe persons who person who they
meet is someone who you know whoGod, first of all, God approves
of.
Renee Richel (45:55):
And um and we we verify, he approves, we verify.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (45:59):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
And he's he's using you toreally bless many lives.
So thank you for for the workthat you do.
And it's it's a it's truly aministry, and I'm just thankful
for the way that God has usedyou and is using you, and will
use you in the future to blessmany lives.
Renee Richel (46:16):
Well, thank you, because I always say it takes a
village when it comes to loveand relationships in today's
world, and tell everybody howthey can find you at your church
and come be a part of yourorganization or I mean your uh
church if they are close by.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (46:32):
Sure, yeah.
Our church is Word LifeChristian Fellowship.
Our website is W-O-R-D-L-I-F-E,um, C F as in Christian
Fellowship.org.
Right?
That's our church.
And we we are based in CoralSprings, Florida.
But one of the beautiful thingsabout our church is that it's a
hybrid service.
So we have we have members ofour church and people who
(46:54):
participate in the servicephysically in the building, but
because of the hybrid nature ofit, we have people who join us
and participate in the servicefrom as far away as Europe and
Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, andin different parts of the
United States.
And so it's a wonderful thingthat Laura has done, you know,
through technology to be able tohave a hybrid service.
(47:17):
So God has done some great,great works.
Um, our church telephone numberis 954-775-0436.
And I love it.
Renee Richel (47:27):
If you want to hear him, um, Pastor Rodrick
preach and hear more about hisstories or have any questions,
please reach out and uh we willconnect you if you don't reach
out to him individually.
Awesome.
Have a blessed day, and we willdefinitely have you on for more
chats with you and your bride,maybe next.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (47:45):
Oh, absolutely.
I very much look forward tothat.
Thank you so much, Renee.
Renee Richel (47:55):
It's been another great talk on this episode of
1 True Talks by Renee Richel.
I look forward to our nextchat.
Please write in your questionsand comments so I can be sure to
talk about whatever it is youwant to discuss in our next
upcoming episode.
Lots of love, God Bless, XOXO.
Hello, loves, and welcome back.
I am so excited to be sittinghere side by side, virtually
with Pastor Rodrick Walters ofWord Life Christian Fellowship
and CPA, an incredible husbandand father of three, that we met
a while back at an event, andof course, couldn't stop talking
(01:06):
about our relationship,obviously, with the Lord,
changing the divorce rate,making a difference in just
singles and just in generalcouples and people's hearts.
So I wanted to bring him ontoday, of course, to pick his
branding and share a little bitabout his story to inspire our
audience.
And also give them pearls ofwisdom and hope and just hear
(01:31):
his testimony that has led himto his beautiful wife today and
being an incredible pastor andfather and mentoring others.
So welcome, Rodrick.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (01:40):
Hi, hi, Renee.
It's great to be with you.
It's a uh joy to be with you.
As you said, we we we met at anevent some time ago, and it was
great to just just to connectand see how how we're from
different backgrounds, but wehave similar stories that are
just really a testament to thegoodness and the faithfulness of
our God.
Renee Richel (02:00):
Yes, yes.
So I'm gonna start off.
We're gonna ask some questionsbecause I want to make sure that
you know we learn more aboutyou, but also inspires others.
So can you share a bit aboutyour personal journey,
testimony, and how you werecalled into ministry and how
your relationship with God hasevolved over the years?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (02:20):
I'm originally from Jamaica.
Uh when I was when I was 12years old, I was family
relocated to the United States.
Growing up in rural Jamaica,um, my father, he was a school
principal, but in our particularcommunity, the pastor, because
there weren't many pastors inthat part of Jamaica, our pastor
(02:41):
was actually the pastor overfour different churches.
And so he would be at our homechurch on first Sunday and then
the other three churches on thefollowing Sundays.
My father, who was a schoolprincipal, he would typically
preach on at least one or two ofthe other Sundays in a given
given month.
So I'm not quite a pastor'skid, but I grew up in the church
(03:03):
and seen my father preach manya time.
However, despite growing up inthat setting, in that
environment, I kind of felt likeI was like the out one out, the
ugly duckling in the family, ifyou will.
I wasn't very smart in school.
There's a series of things thatwere going on in my life.
And I just felt like, you know,this salvation journey, it's
(03:24):
not, it's not for me, maybe forsomeone else.
And that was it.
I had some self-esteem issues.
I spoke with a speechimpediment, and there's a series
of things that were going on.
Then we left our small town inJamaica, come to a big city in
the United States, Houston,Texas, the fourth largest city
in the country, and I was like afish out of water.
(03:45):
And I've I had a degree ofloneliness and and so on,
despite our happy home, but justfitting in socially and other
with otherwise with folks, itwas a challenge.
Anyway, I was able to get intothe University of Texas at
Austin, and then while at UT, Ididn't have to go to church
anymore, right?
(04:05):
Because mom and dad would forceme to go to church as a child,
but when I'm away at school, whygo to church?
So I didn't go to church forthe first couple of years,
except for maybe around Eastertime or some some other time
like that.
Interestingly, at the time, Iand this really gets to my
salvation journey.
I I was uh dating a young ladyum who I grew up in a Christian
(04:29):
home, but I wasn't a devotedChristian.
She grew up in a Muslim home,but but she wasn't a devoted
Muslim.
So there we are were fromdifferent backgrounds, different
religions, and and and it wasit was fine, or so I thought.
And so in that relationship, asthat relationship developed, I
began to think of me beyondcollege, me as an adult, me as a
(04:52):
responsible man.
And in that process, I thinkI'm thinking a good responsible
man and husband, etc., would goto church with his wife.
So I'm I'm now rehearsing whatthat might like, what that life
might look like.
So I would go to church withher on Sundays, even though she
didn't go to church.
So I invited her, and we wouldgo to church on a regular basis.
(05:13):
As we as the more we went tochurch, the more the Lord was
like reigniting some of thethings that I learned in my
childhood in Jamaica and so on.
And without going through thewhole long story, my salvation
came out of me just going tochurch with my Muslim
girlfriend, right?
Yeah, we yeah, we spoke a bit,we spoke a lot about marriage
(05:37):
actually.
And I did say I was matureenough in my relationship with
the Lord to say that I love theLord too much to marry someone
who is not a believer.
So I told her that, listen, Iif we if you're a believer, then
you know we can get getmarried, otherwise it uh that
(05:58):
can't happen.
And this was in in early 1995.
Now she was she kind of said tome, you know, we talked about
it for a bit, and essentiallyshe said to me, um, after a
while, after about a year, yearand a half, she said, Listen,
this isn't gonna work.
Um, I'll marry you if you're anatheist, if you're a Buddhist,
(06:21):
if you're Hindu, it doesn'tmatter because I love you for
you, but you cannot say the sameto me, therefore the
relationship is over.
And that tore my heart intopieces.
Yeah, I just envisioned thiswonderful life together um you
know with her, and and therelationship ended.
That was in February of 1995.
(06:42):
The very next month, in Marchof 1995, the Lord called me into
ministry.
The very next month, and what Irealized is that my devotion to
him cost me that relationship,but his plan for my life was
(07:05):
that I would serve him in abivocational way.
I'm a CPA, I didn't say thatearlier.
I'm a certified publicaccountant, I've been one since
1993, and so as a practicingCPA, the Lord called me into
ministry.
Renee Richel (07:19):
I love that.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (07:20):
Yeah, yeah.
It's wonderful.
Um and what that might havelooked like for me at the time,
I didn't know.
I just know he called me toserve him to a greater capacity.
But one of his distinct uhinstructions was that he's
keeping me in the working world,he's keeping me in the working
world, he's not taking me out togo full-time into ministry in a
(07:44):
in the traditional sense.
He's keeping me in the workingworld.
And so that was that that wasuh part of part of the journey.
Renee Richel (07:50):
No, which I love.
I love.
I always say when we stoptrying to do it our own way and
we listen to the Lord's designfor our life, right?
It's amazing how it's alwaysbetter than we can imagine.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (08:00):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Renee Richel (08:02):
Um, so you often have shared about how renewing
your mindset changed thetrajectory of your life.
How can singles apply that sameprinciple to overcome feelings
of loneliness, discouragement,and delay that you went through?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (08:20):
Well, it's a it's an interesting
thing.
I I feel, you know, in Romans12, verse 2, it says, be not
conformed any longer to thepattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing ofyour mind.
I believe that one's mindset,it it just it well, when the
Holy Spirit dwells within you,it changes your mind.
And you you no longer conformto the way other people think.
(08:44):
And I believe that in theprocess of living, in the
process of of serving God, hisdesire for you ultimately
becomes your desire.
Psalm 37, verse 4 delightyourself also in the Lord, he'll
give you the desires of yourheart.
I cannot speak for anyone else,but I I know that there are
(09:06):
desires that my heart has hadthroughout my life that were not
of God, right?
Renee Richel (09:11):
Right.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (09:12):
But if you delight yourself in the
Lord, then the Lord will makehis desire for you your desire.
And you have a passion for hisdesire.
And and with that in mind, ithelped me to just have a you
know, I I had some certainnegative perceptions of myself,
(09:32):
you know, throughout my life andso on.
But as I began to see myselflike God sees me, it's like,
wow, what a difference, youknow, what a difference.
And because of that, I feltlike, you know, before, you
know, when I was in high school,because I, you know, in
Houston, Texas, right?
I'm from Jamaica, I'm not fromhere, I'm I'm not from the
(09:55):
United States.
I speak with a weird accent.
I had a series of things goingon, and I I had a big speech
impediment that caused me tostutter a lot while trying to
communicate.
And as a result of that, I waslike very often the odd one out.
I was in my one of my nicknamesin high school was the Lone
Ranger, because I was alwaysalone.
(10:15):
Because I was always alone.
I didn't really have manyfriends or anything like that.
But I found that you know, overtime, as I got closer to the
Lord and began to reallyunderstand his plan for my life,
then it changed my entireperception of myself.
And once I got thatunderstanding, it's not like a
(10:38):
light bulb went off, butgradually over time, it's just
amazing.
So the loneliness and all ofthose things which come with the
human experience, it's justgood to know that you're never
really alone.
I would love to say that youand God will always make a
majority.
It doesn't matter if there'syou and God versus Amen.
Renee Richel (10:59):
I love that.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (11:00):
Yeah, you it could be you and God
versus the multitudes, as longas it's you and God, you're a
majority.
Renee Richel (11:06):
That's the only love we really need, right?
That fuels us.
So I love that you say that.
Um, that's you know, and at theend of the day, I think that's
the hardest part when you'relonely, you need somebody to
talk to, you need somebody toconnect with.
And I'm like, just tell peopleyou're dating Jesus today,
right?
Or this needs to be.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (11:25):
Absolutely.
Renee Richel (11:26):
Yeah.
So from your experience as apastor and a business leader,
what does it look like to pursuepurpose and um excellence while
waiting on God's timing forrelationships?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (11:41):
So I mentioned before that that my
love for the Lord cost me thatrelationship.
And thank God, thank God itcost me that relationship
because as long as I have God,you know, then everything else
is well.
All right.
So in here in I relocated fromHouston, Texas to South Florida
in 1996.
There's a young lady who I whoI had met several years before,
(12:05):
and we got reacquainted um uh inin 1996.
And after uh you call it awhirlwind romance, we got
married and you know, just gonnalive happily ever after.
I mean, she she was, you know,she went to Oral Roberts
University, right?
So she so I'm thinking aboutministry, and even though I'm a
CPA, thinking about ministry andso on, and I just thought it
(12:28):
was like the perfect thing.
And I really believe that thatwas part of God's plan for my
life and to get married to her.
So we got married the firstthree years or so, it was it was
good, you know.
We our daughter was was born tous at that time, but then not
long after the three-year mark,we began to notice that there
(12:48):
were some issues that were athand, some issues going on.
And without going through thedetails of that, that marriage
dissolved um officially in 2002.
So officially we were marriedfor five and a half years.
So going from a Christianhusband to a Christian divorcee,
(13:11):
it was a very challenging time,it's a very challenging moment
for me.
And I was, I kind of felt likethe family law system is very
anti-God.
Here in South Florida, here inFlorida, it's changed quite a
bit over the years in a positiveway, I believe, right?
Renee Richel (13:29):
Yeah.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (13:30):
But I believe in, you know, the the
man has a great responsibilityuh for the success of his
family.
And so he has to lead, youknow, with godly example and so
on.
And I believe believe that thefamily law system, at least at
the time, would effectivelyemasculate a male who's trying
to live by biblical principles.
(13:51):
And I thought I thought verydifficult is very difficult.
I found I found that you knowthere's a lot of dads who
perhaps wanted to have a greatrelationship with their
children, but because the familylaw system could be so hostile,
they just get discouraged andjust rinse their hands and and
and walk away.
I had a very bad experiencewith that, but yet there's my
(14:12):
daughter who was, I feel wascaught in the crossfire of that
the ending of that relationship.
And so my thought was I willnever ever get married again
unless God Himself tells me thatthis is the one till that the
part.
I'll never ever get marriedagain because I love the Lord
(14:32):
too much to go through that.
As a matter of fact, when thatrelationship ended, when the
divorce ended, I told my thenpastor that uh don't sign me up
for anything ministry-wise.
I love the Lord and I'll justyou know serve from the pews,
but don't ask me to do anythingministry-wise because my
ministry is effectively over.
(14:52):
God cannot use a divorced umman of God, so to speak.
So so that that that was it.
But as I you know committed tomy new life, my you know, you
know, single life, I do havedesires to, you know, for
companionship and relationshipand so on.
(15:13):
And so I dated a little bithere here and there, but I feel
like I felt like unless aparticular relationship was
gonna end in marriage, it's justgonna be some disappointment
for her or for me, or for maybefor both of us.
So my thought was, I don't wantto get married unless actually
I don't want to date anyoneunless it's the one that God has
(15:37):
chosen for me.
And so, you know, I for themost part, I didn't really seek
relationships and so on.
And as the Lord, as I'vedevoted myself to the Lord,
there are a couple of timeswhere I felt like going out with
with this particular person maytake me off course from what
God has planned for me, and I'drather walk the path God has for
(16:01):
me, wife or no wife, but I mustfulfill the calling on my life.
And so it was in that sensethat I said, I'm I'm done
dating, I'm not dating.
And once I said I'm donedating, I'm just seeking the
Lord, serving the Lord, aboutsix months into that, he
revealed to me someone who I hadactually met four years before,
(16:23):
but I just didn't know thatthis was the one because the
timing wasn't right, right?
Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Renee Richel (16:30):
So share with everybody where you met four
years ago that the timing wasn'tright.
Because I think that's thequestion everybody has has is
when and where will I meet thisperson?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (16:41):
Yeah, exactly.
And um and really before Ishare that, I would at times I
would pray for her, my my wife,not knowing who that person is,
so pray just you just keep hersafe, let her know that you love
her at your appointed time, wewe will get connected, right?
So I saw sometimes I wonder,have I have I met my wife
(17:02):
already?
As it turned out, I had met herbefore, right?
Um, so I I met her in I'm aCPA, as I mentioned, she worked
for a client of mine, and one ofthe things I do I try not to do
is uh mix business and you knowpersonal life.
So I would never date anyonewho I work with or anything like
(17:22):
that.
But yet, you know, so there'sthis one person, she works at
the my client's office, and youknow, she's just she's just
another person there who worksat the office.
Every so often when I would goto the office, and and I this
was in May of 2003.
I tend to remember dates,right?
Renee Richel (17:38):
Okay, that's good.
We're in your business.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (17:41):
Good, good, good, yeah, exactly.
Yeah, so in May of 2003, we wewe met.
Um, and she was just anotherclient there.
Every so often, going to theclient's office, I'll bring
lunch for the staff.
And so um, so that was that.
So I would see her probablyabout once or twice a year as I
would go to the client's office.
But this particular time, in inSeptember of 2007, four years
(18:01):
later, I called the office forher boss.
He wasn't available, but as youknow, she answered the phone
and she said, Hey, my my mybirthday's coming up.
I'm just like, Great.
So maybe I'll I'll I'll takeyou to lunch for your birthday.
And she said, That that that'llbe nice.
So I'm just like, okay, cool,take her to lunch for her
birthday.
Yeah, and then as the date waswe so we set the time for me to
(18:25):
take her to lunch, and she toldme that she does not, she only
gets 30 minutes for for lunch.
And so if it's if it's okay ifwe could go to dinner as a
instead of lunch, I'm just like,I'm like, I'm sure that that's
fine.
But for me, it was not a datebecause I don't mix business and
and and personal life, so itwas not a date.
So I just went to work, workwas done that day.
(18:46):
I um I didn't dress up for adate, I just went after work and
just you were just you, youwere just coming as you.
That's correct.
No, no cologne, no extra,nothing, you know.
I wasn't, I wasn't, I wasn'tsweaty or anything, but but just
I didn't dress up for a date.
Right.
So I just I just took her out.
But as I took her, took herout.
(19:08):
Um first one of the greatthings I thought was cool.
I tend to I love to listen tocountry music, right?
So I listened to country music,I listened to to Toby Keith's
greatest hits as I was drivingdriving to the restaurant, and
she never really heard the musicbefore, but she thought it was
kind of cool.
So I was like, okay, that'sthat's cool.
So anyway, we went to this toto um to dinner and it was cool.
(19:32):
There was like a connection.
I never really had much of aconversation with her before,
and it was it was cool, it wasnice.
And then I, you know, we had wehad a good evening, and I took
took her back home.
And then, you know, thefollowing week, I I asked her
out, like on a date type typething now.
And then, you know, over time,it was kind of I felt like this
(19:56):
is this is cool, this is this isnice, and I could see myself,
you know, with her uh for thefor the long haul.
The challenge though was mydaughter, right?
Because my daughter, she waslike eight years old at the
time, and I remember actuallyshe she had just turned nine.
My daughter, as I'm saying, howdo I, because I had even though
(20:18):
I dated a little bit before,you know, between my former
former marriage and my nowmarriage, I thought, how do I,
you know, I dated a bit before,but I never introduced anyone to
my daughter because I don'twant her to see people coming in
and out of my life like that.
So I told my yes, I told mydaughter, hey, um, this is you
(20:40):
know, my wife is Dindley.
So I said, Miss Uh, this is youknow, it's Dindley, and you
know, and we're in arelationship and so on.
And my daughter was not happyat all.
Renee Richel (20:49):
Oh no, she wanted to share dad.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (20:52):
Yeah, and then as we got closer, my
daughter became a bit morewithdrawn and a little bit
resentful.
And so when we're looking intogetting getting married, my
daughter said to me, the way Ifeel is like I had your heart
all to myself, right?
And I feel like she's coming inthe picture, so your heart gets
(21:12):
cut in two one half for me, theother half for her.
And then if you get married andthen you have more children,
every other child you have, myhalf is just gonna get smaller
and smaller, you know.
Renee Richel (21:26):
And when I showed she was nine having this
conversation with you, yeah,that's correct.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (21:31):
It's like she was nine.
But as time went on, I just gotlet her know listen, you're my
firstborn child, right?
I would probably have morechildren, but you're my
firstborn child, you're daddy'slittle girl, and that will not
change.
Yeah, and our pastor at thetime told me, as you know, if we
got engaged and so on, ourpastor told me that she's always
(21:53):
daddy's little girl, so alwaysmake special time for her
without your wife, without ifyou have other children, and so
on.
And so that that was it.
And it was it, it was, it's,it's turned out beautiful, it
turned turned out wonderful.
I just gave God God thanks forthat.
But you know, in betweenwaiting, between you know, wife
number one, wife number two, inwaiting, I was strengthened by
(22:16):
Psalm 27, verse 14.
Wait on the Lord, be of goodcourage, and he shall strengthen
thine heart.
Wait, I say, on the Lord.
It's in the waiting on the Lordthat he perfects um certain
things with within us.
I believe that had we had meand my wife had we dated before
it was his time, then we mayhave had some rocky roads on the
(22:41):
way there.
I just kind of feel like God'stiming was the right timing and
it worked great for us.
Renee Richel (22:46):
Amen.
It's so true, and so many timeseverybody I always give the
example we try to put a roundpeg in a square hole, and we're
like, it's just never going towork.
So make it easy and find whatGod will make it easy for you to
know, too.
So I love that.
Well, thank you for sharingthat story.
I know it's not been easy foryou particularly, but it's all
(23:07):
worked out for the good and theglory of God and the two of you
to be fruitful together.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (23:11):
Amen.
Amen.
Yeah, and and I should I shouldsay to you, we have two
wonderful sons now.
Our my daughter's 27, um, andand then our sons are 15, and
the 12, the 12-year-old is aboutto turn 13, which is really
awesome.
Renee Richel (23:26):
And how long have you been married now?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (23:29):
We've been married for 16 and a half
years.
Renee Richel (23:31):
Okay.
And I got to meet his lovelybride, which was a delight to
meet the two of you together.
So you guys are just your lovepours out to everyone you meet
together.
I love both of them.
Okay, so with singles that arestill waiting for their reveal
of who the one is for them thatstruggle with identity and
(23:56):
self-worth, how can they build ahealthy self-image rooted in
Christ rather than relationshipstatus in the societal
expectations of today?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (24:08):
Yeah, and I'm I'm so glad that you you
phrase the question that waybecause you know, the societal
expectations of today, I cannotimagine what it would be like
dating in the now world, right?
In the world of um Instagramand Facebook and TikTok and and
so on, you know, put yourrelationship status and put your
(24:30):
stuff out there, and you're ina relationship, and then you're
not in a relationship anymore.
So do you put take down thosepictures and and unfriend the
person and block the person,whatever it might look like, you
know?
It's it's it's a mess.
Renee Richel (24:42):
That's why you need a matchmaker because doing
it alone is really tough thesedays.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (24:46):
Absolutely, absolutely, 100%.
Yeah, I feel like you know, thethe in the beginning, God
creates the heavens and theearth, right?
And he we lay we learn later onin the book of in the in the
first book of the first chapterof of Genesis that God made us
(25:06):
in his image and after hislikeness, right?
So one of the things I love tosay is if you want to know what
God looks like, look in themirror, right?
Because every human being wasmade to some degree in God's
image and after his likeness.
And he doesn't make us as acouple, right?
He doesn't he makes us asindividuals.
(25:26):
We are one individual, myfingerprint is unique to me,
right?
There's no other person on theplanet with this particular
fingerprint.
And I just as I look at that, Iyou know in the process of
answering your question, I'llsay this this to you.
For much of my life, I feltlike you know, I was told you
(25:47):
should be more like this person.
Take a page out of thisperson's book, take a page off
that person's book.
And effectively, what was saidto me is that by yourself,
you're not good enough.
You're not good enough.
And you know, to her credit, myI don't talk much about my
exes, but for this per for thepurpose of this interview, I'll
share this.
My my ex, the the one who's nota Christian, the one who's a
(26:09):
Muslim.
She's the first person in myentire life who ever said to me
that you're good enough just asyou are.
You don't have to try to belike the next person or like the
next person.
You're good enough just as youare.
Renee Richel (26:21):
Amen.
I love that.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (26:23):
And so once that once that was became
apparent to me, I began toreally see who I am, and then
that's when my identity inChrist became like the central
focus of my life because Icannot be like the next person,
I cannot be, you know, someonewho I can, you know, someone who
(26:45):
I can never be, but I can bethe best version of Rodrick
Walters that God would desire topresent to the world.
And I believe that there's eachperson is uniquely gifted,
uniquely created by God.
When a when a child isconceived, there are in excess
of five million sperm that canpotentially fertilize a mother's
(27:08):
egg.
And so I like to say you werechosen by God as less than one
in five million was your chanceof being the one to fertilize
your mother's egg.
So I believe that you came intothe world with a specific
purpose and God had a greatpurpose in his mind.
And your singular goal is notto get married, your singular
goal is to pursue and to performthat particular purpose that
(27:34):
God had on his mind when hecreated you.
I feel like if we live thislife and we exit this life
without having not justdiscovered that, but you
discover it and then you pursueit with all your might.
It doesn't matter, you don'thave to be a multimillionaire or
billionaire to pursue God'scall on your life.
As long as you look to him andallow him to take you through
(27:57):
the process, I believe that justlike a lot of great and
wonderful things can happen.
So, what's one's identity?
Go to the word of God and hewill reveal to you who you are,
the fullness of who you are.
And I and I cannot effectivelyanswer this question uh without
saying this.
(28:18):
And and for the singles and forother individuals who have
identity issues and so on.
I remember as a youngChristian, I got baptized in
November of 1993, and I remembersaying then that I just wish, I
wish that God would talk topeople like he did in the Bible,
(28:39):
right?
Because he said, Moses, Moses,draw not thy hither, take off
thy shoes from off thy feet, forthe place where thou standest
is holy ground.
And then you look in the NewTestament and you see all these
red letters of Jesus' word.
And I just say, I just wishthat God could speak to people
today, like he did in his word.
And so for about 18 months, Isought the Lord, and I sought
(29:01):
the Lord with my whole heart.
I said, I just God, I just wishwhat should I do?
What should I do here andthere?
Right?
And and it was just amazing tome that for 18 months I sought
the Lord, and it was not untilFebruary, well, I really started
in October of '93, in Februaryof 95, when that relationship
(29:25):
ended.
And the next very next month iswhen I was called, as I
mentioned to you earlier.
And I say this to you mycalling, and each of it is not
all of us are called to bepastors, etc., but one thing
that I know is that God, each ofus is called for some
particular purpose that Godwants to reveal to us.
(29:45):
And I say, God is not in thesecret service, he loves to
share his secrets with hispeople, and it comes from him in
different ways.
And so when God really calledme and showed me what you know,
he showed me.
What he had packaged for me.
He it was over a three-weekperiod that he showed this to
(30:05):
me.
He showed me my past, that heknew everything in my past, the
times where I was depressed, thetime where I wasn't suicidal,
but I wish I would I would havedied, right?
And I regretted that I wasborn, a whole series of things.
He showed me my past, he showedme my present, and he showed me
my future specifically.
And so 30 years ago this year,he showed me things that were to
(30:32):
come, and he has not yet behe's not he's not yet been
proven wrong.
He hasn't he doesn't show youall the details.
Renee Richel (30:40):
He's been planting the seeds along your entire
course that he has designed foryou.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (30:45):
Absolutely.
And so what's one's identity?
You go to Christ, he'll he'llshow it to you, he'll show you
the specific, the exact reasonthat he created you and how your
life can be used to glorifyhim.
Matthew chapter 5, verse 16.
Let your lights shine beforemen that they may see your good
(31:06):
works and glorify your fatherwho is in heaven.
Renee Richel (31:09):
Amen.
And I love as you're sharingyour story to people out there,
whoever then shares this withsomebody else that has walked
the fine line that you have tojust be a light to continue to
keep going.
When people have likeinsecurities or they feel like
they're disqualified becausethey didn't have the easy path,
(31:31):
if that's what you want to callit, that you can really give
people that hope and purpose andto keep, you know, knowing that
love does exist, right?
And it and it will find youwhen you seek it with all of
your heart and trust in theLord.
Okay.
So, in your views, what aresome of the most important
biblical um disciplines orhabits for singles um to
(31:55):
cultivate in their preparationfor future relationships or
marriage?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (32:02):
The the first one is just is just to
have a daily walk with God,right?
You know, they say Rome was notbuilt in a day, right?
When I was in high school, uhmy younger brother was driving
the car, and we had an oldercar, older um Pontiac Lamans.
(32:22):
My brother was driving the car,and the car, the uh one of the
the one of the rear tires felloff the car while he was while
he was driving.
So he was driving like athree-wheel, and someone's
pointing out to him, the tirefell off the car, and he pulled
over, and it was not until hepulled over that the car kind of
fell down, right?
Renee Richel (32:45):
Oh my gosh, that's crazy.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (32:46):
Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.
But what happens?
So sometimes people feel ifthey're not in a relationship,
then they're they're they'regonna fall apart, right?
So it's you you you you end upusing relationships as a crutch.
Renee Richel (33:00):
Yes, yeah, I see it all the time, yeah.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (33:03):
But if you can just learn to stand with
God, knowing that as long asyou're with God, as long as He
is light in your path, Proverbs3, 5 and 6, trust in Allah with
all your heart, lean out to yourown understanding, and all your
ways acknowledge him, and he'lldirect your path.
As long as he is the center ofyour life, as long as he is
(33:26):
controlling every aspect of yourbeing, then you can move
forward, right?
You can move forward.
So just learning to trust him,learning to have that daily walk
with him, learning to hear hisvoice.
You know, for me, the the besttimes of my life, and I don't
desire for more times like this,but the best times of my life
(33:51):
were the times where I waslonely, right?
After the divorce, and my wife,my former wife had custody, and
I'm living in this apartment bymyself.
Some of those are some of thebest times.
Why?
Because you could be in themultitudes, you hear, you know,
you picture at the Super Bowl,right?
(34:11):
There's 80,000, 100,000 people,all these voices all around
you.
Which of these many voices isthe voice of God, right?
But when you're in this, inyour solitude, when you're
alone, and you just learn tohear that voice, the Bible says,
My sheep um know my voice, anda stranger they will not follow.
(34:31):
So you learn to hear the voiceof God.
So hearing the voice of Godwhen He says go left, says go
right, make this phone call, putyour resume together, relocate
from this city to that city, doall of these things, and it's
amazing.
You learn to hear the voice ofGod, and so for singles, for
anyone, learn to hear the voiceof God for yourself.
(34:52):
And once you learn to hear thatvoice, it will not disappoint
you.
It'll tell you there are 10different job offers that you
have.
Which one of these should Iaccept?
There's only one that God wantsfor you to accept, and He will
tell you which of the 10.
And this is so essential, soimportant.
Renee Richel (35:10):
Which I love to hear you say that, and such a
huge reminder because in mysingle season-ish, like of many
couple years, I will say that'swhat gave me the stepping stones
to where God wanted me to bebecause I didn't have all the
noises and I was focused onhearing and listening to God
during that time because youhave that special time to focus
(35:33):
on nothing more but yourrelationship with Him.
Absolutely.
I love to hear you say that.
So singleness is also a verysacred time with God after you
have children and you have aspouse and you have it, there's
a lot of noises going on all thetime.
Pastor Rodrick Walt (35:49):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Yeah, and and this is achallenge for me.
I hear voices, yeah, all thetime.
Why have my kids and so on?
So that that time, you know,and I love spending time with
the Lord, not even to get asermon for Sundays, just time
with the Lord to really hearfrom him, just for me.
If a sermon comes as a resultof it, that's great and
wonderful, but I need him, youknow.
(36:10):
They in in in Deuteronomy, uh,the the uh the thing about I
think in in Deuteronomy 8 abouthaving the ah man shall not live
by bread alone, but by everyword that proceeds from the
mouth of God.
I desire to hear his voicefeeding me on a day-to-day
basis.
Renee Richel (36:31):
I love that.
Okay, so how can the church dobetter to support and discipline
singles, not just in thewaiting season, but in helping
them thrive and serve in, youknow, purpose currently?
Pastor Rodrick Walters (36:46):
Yeah, I think what the church can do is
just let them, you know, don'tisolate the singles like you
know, you're you have, you know,you're uh I guess a single
single person over here overhere.
Actually, I should also add tothat that some people are
single, great, wonderful.
But what about the person who,like I was, married and then no
(37:08):
longer married, and then youknow, I'm the in-betweener.
Yeah, the in-betweener, right?
And so I think this there'sthings that that the church can
do to support such suchindividuals, whether it be
single or someone who's who'sdivorced, just to embrace um
each season of life that thatthey're in, right?
(37:29):
Um maybe there they're thereare widows and widowers who are
like 80, 90 years old who areprobably not looking to get
married, right?
But then and so they don't theydon't have have a mate.
If you could just help helpindividuals to just you know
cultivate the best relationshipwith God in their particular
(37:51):
season of life.
You know, my my mom died 10years ago, sadly.
Um, my dad is is 87 years oldand he's been been um you know
10 years a widower, and he hasjust learned to embrace the
season of life in which he is.
Um, you know, selfishly, Iwould want him to get married
again because I don't want a newmom, right?
(38:14):
Selfishly.
But if that was his desire,that's his desire, then great,
wonderful.
A lot of times I think uhpeople think I must be married,
I must be in a relationship,etc.
I kind of alluded to thisbefore, in order to be whole and
and complete.
I think the church can justhelp each individual to say,
(38:34):
hey, whatever season of life I'min, I just want to be in God's
will.
I just want to be in God'swill.
And if God's will for me inthis season of my life is that
I'm single, then I embrace it.
If God's will for my life isthat I should never be married
for his glory, then I embrace itfully.
(38:56):
It's easier said than done.
But I believe that as long aswe embrace what God is doing in
each season of four lives.
Renee Richel (39:03):
One thing I say that I feel like the churches,
and I, you know, I'm not achurch, so I can't say that, but
it's restricted by ages.
It's restricted by if you'reunder 39, then you're in this
group.
If you're over third, or youknow, 21 or 20.
But the problem is, and Ialways say, regardless of your
age, God brings people in theirlives in all their seasons to
(39:24):
learn from them.
So the youth need to hear fromthe older, the older, wiser,
whatever you want to call them,need to kind of be reminded what
it was like to be in theiryouthful years.
And I so I just I feel likeit's a huge mission and a
difficult um place for thechurches to be in.
But if we just love all and wehave relatable people in the
(39:44):
seasons we're in, it'll justhelp us to connect and not feel
lonely.
Okay.
So what is a like words offinally, like, what are some
encouragement you would givesomeone who feels weary in their
singleness, but desire theirtrust in God's timing with joy
and faith?
Some for some final words thatyou can leave with our audience
(40:07):
today.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (40:08):
I want to quote something I a verse I
quoted earlier, Psalm 27, verse14.
Wait on the Lord, be of goodcourage, heal strength in your
heart.
Wait, I say on the Lord.
If you if you think aboutsomeone like the man of God,
David, David was a littleshepherd boy when he was
anointed.
(40:28):
He wasn't they they it wasn'tjust prophesied over him.
Samuel went to Jesse's houseand he anointed David as king of
Israel.
But he didn't just, okay, I'manointed and go become king of
Israel.
He went through a time and aseason of preparation.
In his preparation, Saul triedto take his life, right?
(40:50):
Yes, he he he went through manydangerous toils and snares, but
it was not until God's timingfor him that it became a uh it
became a reality.
And so to my single friends,you know, I've been single and
it's not it's not easy, andparticularly uh for those who
(41:10):
are divorced and would desire toget married again, you the the
companionship and livingtogether in holy matrimony, and
then you're living in that timeand that season, and then it
seems like somehow or the otherthat life is taken from you.
It could be could be divorce,it could be the death of your
(41:30):
your spouse, where you you aremarried and you find yourself
single again, and then what doesthat what does it look like,
you know, in in terms of yournext relationship?
I just say just you know, waiton the Lord and just trust God's
timing.
There's a song in my oldBaptist church in Jamaica called
Take Time to Be Holy, right?
(41:51):
I think the second verse ofthat song says, Take time to be
holy, let God be your guide, andrun not before him, whatever
betide, right?
He's leading you, he's guidingyou step by step by step.
But try not to go ahead of himbecause going ahead of him, he
knows you know, the man of Godjob, he knows the way that I
(42:11):
take, and when he has tried me,I shall come forth as gold.
So he knows your path, he knowshow he's gonna you know change
different things, you know he'sgonna change the king's heart to
favor you for a particular timeand season.
He knows he's gonna harden theking's heart to let you leave
that job so you can go to thisother job.
(42:33):
Maybe you have to relocate andgo elsewhere to where God would
have for you to be.
So just trust that God isworking the master plan.
And listen, I I would love thatGod would use would use my life
as the apostle Paul referencesin 2 Corinthians chapter 3 as a
living epistle.
(42:54):
So because some people arediscouraged, some people don't
want to go to church anymore,and especially in this day and
age, people can stay at home andnot go to church, or maybe they
grew up in church and they kindof get discouraged with church
as you know the institution ofchurch and all that that
entails.
But God can use you, use me asliving epistles.
(43:16):
So rather than going to churchand hearing a sermon, they
interact with you on the job inthe grocery store at your kids'
baseball game, they interactwith you and you become a living
epistle to tell others of hisgoodness and of his
faithfulness.
So just you know, the the lastverse I'll quote is uh is it
will be a repeat.
Proverbs 3, 5 and 6.
(43:36):
Trust in the Lord with all yourheart, do not lead to your own
understanding, and all your waysacknowledge him, and he will
direct your path.
Step by step by step, he'lldirect your path.
And so, single, single folks,there's a time and a season, and
you embrace the season becauseyou know when when marriage
comes, it comes differentresponsibilities and so on.
(43:56):
So just embrace the season thatthat you're in, and God will do
great wonders through you andfor you.
Renee Richel (44:03):
Amen.
I love it.
Well, this has been such a joyto have you join us to share
your pearls of wisdom withpeople out there that have had
ups and downs and walked throughthe season of singleness and
maybe marriage and maybedivorce, that you have found
your one true bride.
Um, and then I may, you know,as we continue to speak to
(44:27):
pastors and just be a light anda resource to so many
individuals.
When we have our um coupleseries going through, we'll have
you and your wife come on andshare with us what life is like
being married now in today's dayand age, because we obviously,
as you know, or if you're new tolistening to our One True
(44:47):
Talks, is we are here for thewhole season from not only
finding the one, but goingthrough the journey of dating,
engaged, and married.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (44:55):
So Amen.
Amen.
And and I I just want to saybefore before we're done, um,
thank thank God for you.
And and sometimes I I think,you know, where was an
organization like like this, youknow, as in my in my years when
I was waiting on the Lord,right?
I know that God's purpose andplan, you know, ultimately uh
prevailed.
(45:15):
You know, Proverbs 19 verse 21,many are the plans in the man's
heart, but it's God's purposethat prevails.
What you're doing is helpingand encouraging people, um, not
just people, Christian people,to find that one person that God
has for them.
And I love, you know, we'vetalked a bit about how you kind
of do some of the legwork sothat as people get to get get
(45:39):
connected, they've been vetted,if you will, yeah, gone through
the particular process so thatthe persons who person who they
meet is someone who you know whoGod, first of all, God approves
of.
Renee Richel (45:55):
And um and we we verify, he approves, we verify.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (45:59):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
And he's he's using you toreally bless many lives.
So thank you for for the workthat you do.
And it's it's a it's truly aministry, and I'm just thankful
for the way that God has usedyou and is using you, and will
use you in the future to blessmany lives.
Renee Richel (46:16):
Well, thank you, because I always say it takes a
village when it comes to loveand relationships in today's
world, and tell everybody howthey can find you at your church
and come be a part of yourorganization or I mean your uh
church if they are close by.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (46:32):
Sure, yeah.
Our church is Word LifeChristian Fellowship.
Our website is W-O-R-D-L-I-F-E,um, C F as in Christian
Fellowship.org.
Right?
That's our church.
And we we are based in CoralSprings, Florida.
But one of the beautiful thingsabout our church is that it's a
hybrid service.
So we have we have members ofour church and people who
(46:54):
participate in the servicephysically in the building, but
because of the hybrid nature ofit, we have people who join us
and participate in the servicefrom as far away as Europe and
Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, andin different parts of the
United States.
And so it's a wonderful thingthat Laura has done, you know,
through technology to be able tohave a hybrid service.
(47:17):
So God has done some great,great works.
Um, our church telephone numberis 954-775-0436.
And I love it.
Renee Richel (47:27):
If you want to hear him, um, Pastor Rodrick
preach and hear more about hisstories or have any questions,
please reach out and uh we willconnect you if you don't reach
out to him individually.
Awesome.
Have a blessed day, and we willdefinitely have you on for more
chats with you and your bride,maybe next.
Pastor Rodrick Walters (47:45):
Oh, absolutely.
I very much look forward tothat.
Thank you so much, Renee.
Renee Richel (47:55):
It's been another great talk on this episode of
1 True Talks by Renee Richel.
I look forward to our nextchat.
Please write in your questionsand comments so I can be sure to
talk about whatever it is youwant to discuss in our next
upcoming episode.
Lots of love, God Bless, XOXO.
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