Glitched: My Story of Overcoming a Traumatic Brain Injury Part 3

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When your brain betrays you, where do you turn? After surviving childhood abuse, 26 foster homes, and ultimately a brain tumor requiring multiple surgeries, I've discovered profound truths about dependence, relationships, and faith that I never would have learned otherwise.

The traumatic brain injury (TBI) resulting from my surgeries forced me to develop a different kind of dependence on God. Like a spiritual muscle being trained, I've had to choose daily between being overcome by my limitations or leaning more deeply into divine strength. This journey taught me the practical power of putting on the "full armor of God" described in Ephesians 6 - especially the sword of the Spirit (God's Word) which became my essential offensive weapon when everything else in life felt defensive and reactive.

My mentor Scott became a lifeline when many others disappeared, standing beside me through anger, tears, and even moments of spiritual doubt. This experience revealed not only how vital spiritual mentorship is in crisis, but also how desperately our churches need more spiritual fathers and mothers for generations lacking guidance. Equally transformative was recognizing how my TBI affected family relationships, teaching me to be intentional about connection in ways I previously took for granted. Perhaps most challenging has been relearning emotional regulation - understanding that biblical self-control isn't about suppression but about recognizing feelings, identifying belief systems driving them, and submitting them to the Holy Spirit's guidance.

Whether you're facing neurological challenges yourself or simply navigating life's unexpected difficulties, these principles can anchor your spirit when everything else seems uncertain. Subscribe to the Hopeful Perspective podcast and discover how to move from merely surviving to faithfully thriving, regardless of your circumstances. Support our mission to bring hope to a hurting world by rating, reviewing, or contributing financially through the link in our episode description.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Hopeful Perspective Podcast.
I am your host, jason Hopkins.
This podcast is designed togive you a perspective of hope
that impacts your daily life inan authentic and tangible way.
I aspire to give you a glimpseof how my own life has been
impacted so tremendously, and soI chose to take six full

(00:22):
episodes and share with you myown personal life story, which
illustrates God's glory throughexperiences overcoming child
abuse and trauma, 26 fosterhomes and institutions, various
diagnoses affected me throughoutmy life and an eventual brain
tumor resulting in multiplebrain surgeries on my brain stem
.
I have moved from merely beinga surviving victim to a faithful

(00:47):
and thriving victor who theLord has motivated to help
others discover hope.
Though my past was full of painand suffering, I have been
restored with purpose andsanctification.
I have been redeemed and calledto follow Christ within that
redemption and renewedperspective.
If you want to hear more ofthis transformation, I want to

(01:08):
encourage you to listen to thefirst six episodes, if you have
not already.
If you have been able to, I nowwant to help you to develop and
deepen a biblical and hopefulperspective as you approach
differing situations in your ownlife, from the delightful to
the difficult and everything inbetween.
I do want to thank you formaking the time to listen and,

(01:32):
if you are able to, taking thetime to download our podcast
episodes, as when you download,along with rating our podcast
with an honest response, youhelp the algorithm immensely to
spread in our reach.
We have provided a few optionsto contact our show with your
direct feedback, as I absolutelyvalue your interaction.

(01:54):
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.
We would also invite you tosupport the podcast financially.
If you are called to partnerwith us in bringing hope to a
hurting world, just click theembedded links found on any

(02:15):
episode you're downloading onyour podcast platform.
Before we get started today, Iwant to compel you to grab your
favorite snack, hot or coldbeverage.
Get comfortable and come onthis journey with me.
As we conclude this series on myliving with a traumatic brain
injury and all that it hastaught me throughout life from

(02:37):
pain to promise and hurt to hopeI will be sharing with you
various truths the Lord hasshown me, living with a
traumatic brain injury, thathave impacted my friendships, my
family and my faith along theway.
One of the most significantlessons I have taken away from

(02:59):
living with a TBI is the type ofdependence that I must have on
God.
Learning to depend on the Lordhas been a spiritual muscle.
I have had a lot of practiceflexing and training throughout
my adult life, from healing mypast childhood trauma to
learning how to battle an acutepersonality disorder.

(03:20):
But learning how to cope when Ino longer have personalities
that can take away my pain andbeing left vulnerably bare and
exposed gives me one of twooptions To be overcome by the
stress and the spiritual battlesI wage, or to lean on God

(03:40):
closer each and every day.
God closer each and every day.
I have had to put on the fullarmor of God that we believers
have access to, which allow usto be covered within the battle.
If you have not heard of thesebefore or you need a refresher,
you can find this in Ephesians 6, verses 10-18, where the

(04:03):
Apostle Paul is telling us howwe can be strong in the Lord.
Let's read it together now,starting in verse 10.
Finally, be strong in the Lordand in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God sothat you can take your stand
against the devil's schemes, forour struggle is not against

(04:23):
flesh and blood, but against therulers, against the authorities
, against the powers of thisdark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in theheavenly realms.
Therefore, put on the fullarmor of God so that, when the
day of evil comes, you may beable to stand your ground.
And, after you've doneeverything to stand, stand firm

(04:47):
then, with the belt of truthbuckled around your waist, with
the breastplate of righteousnessin place and your feet fitted
with the readiness that comesfrom the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, takeup the shield of faith with
which you can extinguish all theflaming arrows of the evil.

(05:07):
One Take the helmet ofsalvation and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God, and pray in the Spirit on all
occasions, with all kinds ofprayers and requests, prayers

(05:28):
and requests.
You will notice that all ofthese pieces of armor are used
to battle the enemy and histactics defensively, so that if
we put the proper pieces on, wewill be safe from his attack.
Yet there is one piece that wecan use for the offensive, and
this is the sword of the Spiritor the Word of God.

(05:51):
Hebrews 4.12 states that theWord of God is living and active
, sharper than any two-edgedsword piercing to the division
of soul and spirit, of jointsand of marrow, and discerning
the thoughts and intentions ofthe heart.
Now, as I have previouslystated, I have taken my daily
devotional time serious the pastthree years, more so than even
when I was in full-timevocational ministry pastoring

(06:14):
churches.
As a result, I can attest thatI am as close to the Lord now
than I have ever been, and Iwant to encourage all my
listeners to hone yourselfwithin your devotional life,
whether it be getting in theWord daily, finding an app like
YouVersion, which provides notonly the entire Bible with

(06:35):
multiple versions andtranslations, but also gives you
choices of devotions andreading plans for free, or
whatever you can find thatmotivates you to be in His Word,
to learn His Word and todeposit it way down in your soul
.
2 Timothy 3.16 says that allScripture is God-breathed and is

(06:59):
useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting and training in
righteousness correcting andtraining in righteousness.
The next significant takeawaythat I would share in living
with a TBI I would recommend anddid so previous to living with
a traumatic brain injury andthat is to simply seek out the

(07:19):
love and care of a mentor.
Now my mentor, scott, is anabsolute godsend in my life.
He and his wife, who recentlywas called home to heaven, used
to be marriage mentors for mywife and I for several years.
In addition to Scott being my1v1 mentor, he is several years

(07:42):
along in the journey as itpertains in all matters to faith
, parenting, marriage, etc.
And his wisdom has provenitself like gold for me at times
that I've needed him, but noneso much as when I had brain
surgery and the traumatic braininjury.
The fact that he was the oneperson that remained constant

(08:04):
and steady when it seemedeveryone else went radio silent
proved to be like a drop ofwater in a hot desert.
He listened to me when I wasangry, when I was crying out,
when I almost walked away fromGod.
Scott never judged me and healso never pandered to me.

(08:26):
He kept it real with me all thetime when I was going off
course or when I wasn't beingreal with myself.
The truth is, I am not sure I'dbe here today had it not been
for his presence and influencein my life at my darkest moments
.
One of my observations of theWestern Church today is that we

(08:48):
are lacking spiritual mentorsfor generations that are
fatherless and who desperatelyneed spiritual fathers and
mothers speaking biblical lifeand love into them.
Conversely, we have to behumble and receptive to walking
in a mentoring relationshipwhere we are open to receiving

(09:09):
counsel in all areas of our life.
We have all, more than likely,heard the proverb 2717, where
iron sharpens iron, and I wantus to think about the many
biblical examples of mentorshipthat are provided in the
scripture.
Moses was to Joshua a mentor,just as Elijah was to Elisha and

(09:36):
Paul was to Timothy.
And these are just a few.
Now, the next significant truththat living with a TBI has
revealed to me is just howimportant it is to be connected
to each member of your family,to learn their individual love
languages and to invest yourtime accordingly, value and

(10:09):
ability that you have to do so.
I would never have believed youif you had told me I was taking
such a freedom for granteduntil I was diagnosed with my
traumatic brain injury.
Now, all of a sudden,connection with each member of
my family grew increasinglydifficult, from my wife to my
youngest child.
Now seven years has gone by,and I wish I could deliver some

(10:31):
beautiful spiritual moral of thestory that all of this has
turned out wonderfully and inmany ways I am indeed fortunate,
but also true is that eachrelationship has suffered due to
the cognitive and emotionaldysfunction that is charged to
my TBI, and all I can count onis the grace of God to keep each

(10:56):
relationship with all three ofmy now two adult children and
one teenager healthy.
I know how the enemy attacksfamily without the challenges of
a TBI, and so I want toencourage you to be intentional
with your loved ones.
Schedule time, if you mustSchedule family game nights.

(11:20):
Schedule your vacation times,the date nights with your spouse
, vacation times, the datenights with your spouse,
whatever is necessary toprioritize your relationships
with your family.
You have to make these a centerand the priorities of your life
.

(11:41):
The final nugget that I'd liketo share with my listeners about
what it's like to live with theTBI is that I have had to
relearn what it means to be intouch with my feelings.
The first thing, though, as aman, I want to say how
biblically unhealthy it is toregulate your emotions.

(12:01):
This is what the Bible refersto in the fruit of the Spirit,
as self-control.
This doesn't mean not to cry,to be clear, nor does it mean a
person must cry.
Nor does it mean a person mustcry.
Rather, we need to understandwhat we are feeling, to
recognize the belief systemsthat drive our emotions, that

(12:24):
can, in turn, drive our behavior.
As a biblical counselor, suchlingo and therapy was
commonplace prior to me beingdiagnosed with a TBI.
Afterward learning,self-control, maturity,
regulation, etc.
It's like a whole new world forme, my friends and my family.

(12:46):
I don't know about you, but, asfor me, I do not like to be
controlled by my impulses, andso I would much rather be
governed by the Holy Spirit orsubmit my feelings to the Holy
Spirit when I'm feeling so raw.
And let me be real with you,this wasn't necessarily easy

(13:07):
before and isn't particularlyeasy now, yet I could probably
use that descriptor for my wholejourney.
Friends, my journey wasn't easybefore, and it isn't easy now.
I don't think my story isparticularly special or in some
way unique, even if it may beparticularly different than what

(13:31):
we are used to hearing.
Rather, I choose to trust theLord.
On this path I am on, just likeyou have to.
I cannot even begin to imagineanybody, though, who is trying
to walk this life and enduretheir burdens without first
putting their trust in the Lord.
And yet many people do thisevery single day.

(13:54):
Some do so willingly, havingbeen given the choice to follow
Christ, while others have neverheard the gospel and therefore
have never been given the choiceto follow Christ with their
heart and with him.
I believe there are no accidents, incidents, coincidences or

(14:17):
instances where he is notweaning his redemptive work in
your life.
Rather, as we are joinedtogether right now on a podcast,
as Jesus himself declared 2,000years ago, we have an
opportunity to join the kingdomof heaven.
You have reason to havesignificant hope in your life

(14:38):
right now.
Perhaps you are sensing theSpirit moving you toward Him
today through even this podcast,and I would be remiss if we
left our time today withoutproviding an opportunity for us
to respond.
And I want to pray for youright now.
So, for all of you listening, Iwant you, in your spirit, to

(14:59):
either agree with this prayerand to lift those up praying it
for the first time to the Lord,to be blessed and to be drawn to
him.
Lord Jesus, I sense you drawingme in.
I hear your whispers and yourbeckoning and, though I do not
understand them all, I want toacknowledge you in them.
Now, for some of you.

(15:20):
You have never said yes toChrist, and this may be what you
are sensing, and I want to praywith you right now.
Lord Jesus, I repent of my sinsand I surrender my life to you.
Wash me and cleanse me from allunforgiveness and pride that
has blocked me before, andcleanse me from all
unforgiveness and pride that hasblocked me before.

(15:41):
I believe that you are theMessiah and the one true God.
You are the Son of God.
I believe that you died on thecross for forgiveness of my sins
and rose again on the third dayfor my victory.
I believe that in my heart andmake confession with my mouth
that you, jesus, are my Lord andmy Savior and that the kingdom
of heaven is both now andforever.

(16:05):
I want to live my life accordingto your terms and I want you to
change my reliance from myselfand any earthly vessels or vices
in which I have previouslyplaced my hope, in which I have
previously placed my hope.
Instead, I want to trust yourplan and ask for you to put the
people, the processes and theplans to pursue forgiveness,

(16:25):
restoration and recovery in mylife where I am still feeling
broken inside.
I ask for you to reveal to mewhere I have neglected the needs
of those around me who arebroken, where I have become
indifferent, incapable or havebeen unable to prioritize the
people in my life who need tofeel the hope of Christ.

(16:46):
Make me sensitive and lovingfor their story.
Show me where I am called to bea part of your mission and I
entrust myself to your equippingand sending, as you will.
Thank you for being a God ofmercy, a God of healing and a
God of truth, a God of hope.
Might I become a beacon of hopeto the hurting.

(17:09):
May I be the one who shows andshares eternal life with those
who, on their way to spiritualdeath.
Make me your salt.
Help me to be your light.
Show me your ways, lord.
Give us the spiritual eyes tosee on earth as it is in heaven.
May our priorities begin toreflect your heart and your

(17:31):
kingdom.
It's in your name, jesus, thatI pray Amen.
If you have today agreed withthis prayer from the depths of
your name, jesus, that I prayAmen, if you have today agreed
with this prayer from the depthsof your heart, I either welcome
you to the eternal family ofGod or perhaps you felt Jesus
compelling you to return to him.
Perhaps you have been gone awayfrom the fellowship and

(17:53):
restoration of the Lord and youhear him calling you back today.
Whether you are new to thefamily or returning, I say
welcome home.
And now I want to encourage youto find a church faith family
who worships the Lordpassionately, is committed to
the teaching and preaching ofthe Scriptures and is committed
to serving the community andbeyond.

(18:14):
Also, devote yourself to thereading of the scriptures, as
there is so much to grow, tolearn and be discipled in as it
pertains to new life andmaturity in Christ.
The Lord has so much in the wayof hope to show His children in
His love letters that he haswritten to them Hopeful family.
This has been my pleasure tospend a morning, afternoon or

(18:37):
evening growing and learningwith you.
I look forward to tuning in nexttime on the Hopeful Perspective
podcast.
Until then, I want to thank youfor joining me along this
journey, allowing me to sharefrom my heart today and if you'd
be so kind as to follow,subscribe and, most importantly,
rate and write a review forothers on your podcasting

(18:58):
platform, others who may needthe hopeful perspective in their
life.
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If you believe in what we do, Iwould cherish your prayerful
giving to the cause.

(19:19):
I want to shout out mygratitude to the multiple new
donors who already have madethis commitment to support the
show financially.
Without you, it would not bepossible to reach as many people
with the messages we do oranyone who needs to be reminded
that hope is real.
So thank you so much in advanceand until next time.

(19:42):
Remember you are loved.