September 6, 2024 • 25 mins
Pam is joined by Dianne Partain, founder of the Father's Heart Charitable Foundation, and Eddie Gottlieb, a man whose remarkable journey of faith and transformation will move you deeply.
Dianne shares the heartwarming story of God's divine connection with Eddie, who spent ten years on the streets, his struggles with alcoholism, and eventual restoration. You will be inspired by this powerful testimony filled with hope, faith, and the incredible power of God's love.
To support Dianne's ministry, click here: www.thefathersheartcharitablefoundation.org
Please like, share, and subscribe at www.jesusgirlroar.com
Thank you for supporting the show!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the show that gives you the tools to break through into all you were created to be.
It's the Pam Raimi Show, and Jesus, girls and guys, let's find our roar.
Hey, hey, hey, Jesus, girls and guys, welcome back to the Pam Raimi Show.
And boy, do we have an amazing show today where we're going to be talking about
(00:24):
how, you know what? We can make all the plans we want, but it is truly the Lord
who ultimately directs our steps.
Back in the studio today, we have our dear friend and the founder of the Father's
Heart Charitable Foundation, Diane Partain. How are you doing, girl?
(00:45):
Doing awesome today. It is so good to have you. We also have in the studio for
the very first time, Eddie Gottlieb.
How are you doing today, Eddie? I'm doing fantastic. How are y'all doing?
Oh, we're doing great. And I am very inspired, as have many become very inspired
by your story, the story that the two of you are going to be sharing with us today.
(01:11):
And Diane, I'm going to have you just kick this off.
First of all, tell us again a little bit about the Father's Heart Charitable Foundation. What is it?
And what are you doing with that
ministry okay well we have we feed
and clothe and try to help in
every way we can the homeless population it it
(01:33):
includes not just feeding and providing clothing
and other items they might need but we will go like you
know recently we had a little girl that we found out she
had a birthday so we threw a great big birthday party got her
some presents because she wouldn't have had that if we didn't do something
she got a brand new she got a brand new bike the team
pitched in got her a brand new bike and we do
(01:55):
other things like there's people that are living in their car and
the only thing that's keeping them from maybe being able to get
out of the parking lot that they're in to maybe
look for a part-time job or something is like tires so we provide we'll provide
tires god just keeps adding more and more to it but it it started off like a
year ago with god just dropping a burden on my heart for the homeless because
(02:20):
i live in an area very close to where everybody was.
And I would see people day and night just walking up and down the streets.
And I would always pray for them.
And I had a burden for them, but not like the Lord put on my heart like a year ago.
And I, he told me to pull into this church where they're doing,
they have a huge homeless outreach there and ask them how I could help.
(02:42):
So I did, and they said they needed somebody to serve food on Thursday night.
So it started off with me trying to do that by myself, realizing,
okay, God didn't just call me to this.
It's a kingdom calling. It's a kingdom calling. And since that time, he has been so awesome.
We have probably like 40 to 45 people now that cook and serve,
(03:06):
minister, and everything.
So God has been growing it like crazy.
Exponentially. it really has and he's also been growing
how many are being served each
week correct yes because it started off probably about
40 and now we're like 100 or so each week and i just have to share i was there
of course thursday night and there was a young man that he was so sweet he looked
(03:30):
at me he goes i remember when it was just you coming out here when you first
started doing this he goes i Serving hot dogs.
And he goes, and you were serving pizza, hot dogs, and sandwiches.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And he said, and now look.
He goes, look at your team now. And so for someone out there to even recognize
(03:51):
what God has done was really cool.
That's very cool. Because it gave me an opportunity to give God all the glory
for that and just let this young man know that look what God has done.
He's been growing it and growing it, bringing people to serve. And what a testimony.
Yeah. What a testimony that is for that young man. And I.
You know, Diane, you have a testimony of having lived on the streets,
(04:11):
so you know what it feels like you and I can see why God would,
you know, put that burden on your heart because you know what that feels like.
So as you're moving into this ministry, we are now going to parlay into this
wonderful, our other wonderful guy right here, Eddie, this wonderful guy sitting
(04:34):
right here, because really,
we're looking at a miracle right now of what God has done through your ministry.
And that's really where I'd like to go with the show today is if you could introduce
us to how the two of you met.
That yes well it was amazing it's like i started this like a year ago and i
(04:54):
would see this awesome guy right here eddie every week and i would see him during
the week some too i'd stop and talk to him because i was always drawn to him
i just felt like god had his hand on him and i saw,
so much in him that was that god wanted to tap into that just wasn't because
of alcoholism so i would just stick pretty close to eddie always looking for
(05:17):
him you know and i just had
so much compassion and love for him in my heart.
And then the tremendous thing about this story is during this time,
my husband was dying and I was like a 24-hour caretaker. My husband was dying.
Things were kind of on a personal level for me pretty tough at that time. Yes, they were.
And really the only joy, honestly, that I was having was being able to continue
(05:41):
the ministry, just keep looking forward to that each week.
And I'm saying all that to say because this was a time in my life that I was
so uncertain about my future.
I was like, God, I don't know what life looks like without Mike because I was
with him my whole life since the 70s. I'm like, I don't know what life looks
like without him in my life, but I know that you hold my future.
(06:02):
So I'm I'm just trusting you.
And so I kept trusting Diane.
That's beautiful. Because when I looked at it, how do you picture something without your partner?
You know, it's hard to even see life without your partner because that's the
way it's always been. So I didn't really try to I would find myself trying to visualize going on.
But finally, I just was like, God, I don't even have a clue.
(06:23):
So I'm just putting this in your hands. I know that you've got a plan for me
when Mike goes home to be with you.
And I don't know what it is. So I'm just trusting you. Well,
I'm saying all that to say.
So the next thing I know, I Eddie is there one day and he's like, Mr.
I'm through. I'm through. I'm done. I'm ready.
I was on a Thursday night. No, this was on another night. It was just one night
(06:49):
during the week, wasn't it, Eddie?
We had run into each other. Right.
I saw him like at the store that he was at, sat at or something.
So when you said you were done, I'm just done, Eddie. What did you mean when
you said that to Diane? I mean, I'm just done.
I was tired of being on the streets. I was tired of drinking.
(07:10):
And I had just had enough. It was time.
Ten years was ten years too long. So you had been on the street for ten years
at the time that you came to sort of the end of yourself.
Correct. I had made myself a promise at the beginning of this year that there
would not be another winter for Eddie on the streets.
Boy, that's a good promise to make. Hallelujah.
(07:32):
Praise God. Praise God. God, so he's now saying this to you.
You're having this conversation.
And what's booming in your spirit, Diane?
Well, so I just automatically, I kind of took it in my hands.
I didn't even really ask God what his plan was.
So I'm sorry, y'all. I get ahead of myself sometimes. So I kind of took it in my hands.
(07:52):
And I'm like, oh, I know a woman. She's got a ranch. She'll get him out of this area.
I'm pretty sure that we can work it out for him to have a place to stay there.
And this place was like 45 minutes away, wasn't it? It's like, yeah, 45 minutes away.
So I'm talking to the founder of that organization. She's like, yes, we can work it out.
Bring him out here. He can work for us and we'll pay him and get him whatever
(08:15):
he needs and on and on. So to me, it sounded just wonderful.
Like a perfect fit. Sound like a perfect thing.
I think Eddie at first thought it sounded like a perfect thing because,
you know, he was getting out of where he was at.
So we go out there, and then after he's out there for a couple of days,
she didn't check with her board concerning that.
And so after a couple of days, some of the women were like, oh,
(08:37):
we're not comfortable with a man living out here.
And so it got kind of weird.
How did that feel, Eddie? Did that kind of dash your enthusiasm at that point?
That must have been hard.
Oh, it definitely did. I didn't feel that I was a threat.
I was there, you know, to do a job. I did my job. I pretty much kept to myself.
(09:00):
It was kind of a little slap in the face, I guess.
It was. I can understand that. I saw it on him. Yeah.
I saw the discouragement and the disappointment because he had been told, oh, we got this.
And, you know, his life looked like, okay, everything is just falling into place.
Right. And then all of a sudden, wham, this happens.
So it didn't work out. So the Lord spoke to me, and he goes,
(09:24):
and honestly, I was living alone because my husband had passed away in April, and I was living alone.
I really felt like that's what I wanted to do is just live alone and all that.
Well, I had an apartment downstairs in my house that a girl was,
my spiritual daughter was renting, and she was getting ready to move out.
And she had already moved out during this time that Eddie is going back and
(09:49):
forth out there, you know, in that brief amount of time. She had moved out.
So God said, have him move in downstairs. And I'm like, really?
Okay. So I'm like, well, Eddie, don't be discouraged.
You can come live downstairs in
my apartment. You just keep faith in God because he's got a plan for you.
Eddie, I got to stop Diane right there. I want to know how that felt in that
(10:12):
moment. How did that feel?
I didn't know what to think. I was very surprised.
And all I could do was just believe, believe that it was the right thing to
do at the time and let, let God work his magic.
Were you apprehensive after having had the experience where you did go out there
(10:34):
and then it didn't work out? Were you maybe nervous that?
I was very nervous. You know, I, I could foresee myself ending up back on the
streets again, but knowing the person that Miss Diane is, I knew she wouldn't let that happen.
If things didn't work out, if things didn't work out there, there was going
(10:55):
to be another alternative.
And I put a lot of faith in Miss Diane. So you were really in a position,
Eddie, where you had to exercise your faith.
Faith was becoming very real to you. Absolutely. It was very, very, very important.
Amen. That's awesome. So now, Eddie, you move in to the little apartment downstairs.
(11:17):
Which is awesome. Awesome. It's an awesome apartment.
It is an awesome apartment. I have to interject one thing here is just getting a text from you, Diane,
and saying, oh, my goodness, I walked outside and all of the shutters are clean
and the screens are clean and the lawn is mowed.
I know. And it's like you were doing the Snoopy dance right about now.
(11:42):
It is like I just can't even begin to tell you what. And so I didn't know what
I needed, but I have since found out that, you know, God was ordering my steps.
He was ordering Eddie's steps.
Actually we ended up needing each other he has been the biggest blessing to
me and he said he tells me all the time i'm a huge blessing to
him you are but i went from someone that just thought well i need to live alone
(12:05):
to someone really that's found so much joy i laugh all the time he's crazy he's
fun to be around likewise no and so we have so much fun together which i hadn't
had that kind of joy for a long time with being a caretaker right you know watching
my husband dying day day after day.
You know, I didn't realize that I had just the kind of place that I was in necessarily,
(12:26):
until he comes along and I'm just, everything is just, I'm joyful.
And then I feel like, you know, and he's taking care of things.
He's kind of like watching over me. And I'm like, I've never even knew I needed
any of that because I was so sure that God's plan for me was to be alone.
God so knows what we need better than we do.
He just does. And I agree with you.
(12:48):
There There's a light and a joy on you that is very supernatural and definitely
on you, Eddie, that is so supernatural.
So now Eddie's in the apartment. Right. And he needs income.
So where do we go from there?
It was so weird. It's like we go to church with a couple that have their own
(13:10):
business. And it's a sign-making, car-wrapping business.
And it was so weird. It's like I don't know why I didn't even think of that initially.
Because, you know, I just took it and was running a whole different direction.
And all of a sudden, when I was thinking about, like, well, okay,
so things have changed, now we're back.
You know, he doesn't have work, or he could have work if he has a means to get 45 minutes away.
(13:34):
Well, he doesn't have a car, and he's getting his license back,
but I didn't have the availability to be driving 45 minutes every day one way.
It was just very challenging. challenging well all
of a sudden god goes well why don't you talk to steven
and i'm like oh my gosh yes they're like five minutes from
the house i mean shout out to flying donkey
(13:55):
right donkey yes steven douglas charlene douglas flying donkey that's right
amen literally like eight minutes from the house or less and it's just literally
around the corner and so he goes and talks to So Stephen will let it go from
there. Yeah, tell us about that experience, Eddie.
Well, I used to paint cars. I did that for about 20 years.
(14:16):
So this was an area that I was familiar with, and I was willing to give it a try.
I didn't realize the extent to the change going from cars to signs.
They're not your normal metal sign.
But we went ahead and decided that we were going to give it a shot.
And, you know, Stephen's teaching me pretty much every aspect of the shop environment,
(14:43):
all the things that we do.
Not only do we paint signs, but we do wraps for cars.
There's a lot that's involved in that. So you're learning all the different
aspects of the business. Correct.
Absolutely. Absolutely, 100%. Do you love it? I do. As Stephen said,
(15:03):
he gives me a hard time every day.
That's because Stephen loves him. That's because Stephen loves him.
Yeah, he does. Calls me his little China doll. I love that.
That's awesome. He gives me a hard time every day.
He says, I want you to be able to give these guys that you're going to be training
(15:24):
a hard time the way I give you a hard time.
That's Stephen, guys, but he's wonderful. Yeah, well, he has a father's heart.
He does. He has a father's heart, and he loves on you with the father's heart.
He definitely does. Well, and when Stephen loves somebody, he picks on them,
and he picks on Eddie like crazy. So I just know that's his love language. Yes.
And another wonderful thing god
(15:47):
actually like now he's got family like charlene is like
a spiritual mother he's got a spiritual sister their daughter how wonderful
other people that work there and it's like he's just gained a family oh god
is so good god worked god had already knew he had already been in these situations
and he just was directing my steps And I kept trying to go a different way,
(16:09):
but he directed my steps to exactly the place and the situation that he had
already prepared for Eddie,
already prepared for me because I certainly didn't know what I needed.
And I don't know, Eddie probably didn't know what he needed either. No, I really didn't.
You know, sometimes when I look at like impossible situations,
I see this ball of string and it, because I see just, all I see is this great big tangled up knot.
(16:35):
I can't see the beginning of the string. I can't see the ending of the string.
And I always say, God, you're the only one that can untangle this knot.
And I think about Jeremiah 33, 3, when he says, I am going to reveal to you
unsearchable things, hidden things. You don't even know.
(16:56):
They're so good for you. And isn't God the best at untangling those knots?
Because we don't always know what we need, but he does. It does.
Because in all honesty, if I had lived alone and hadn't heard from God about
telling Eddie to go ahead and move in downstairs.
Honestly, going through the grieving process and the place I was at,
(17:16):
losing Mike, I think I would have gotten very withdrawn on many levels.
I would have continued with ministry, but I think personally I would have probably
stayed pretty withdrawn.
God has kind of showed me that, you know, whether you realize it or not,
you need people in your life.
Because I always think of myself as being pretty self-sufficient,
don't really need a lot of people.
But he really showed me through the blessing that Eddie's been to me and the
(17:40):
joy that he's brought me, how much I really needed somebody in my life. Yes.
And it was somebody just like Eddie, somebody that's – and I'm going to have to share this.
It wasn't just somebody like Eddie. It was Eddie. Yes, it was Eddie. It was Eddie.
Because I have to kind of crack up. I know when I first shared this with a few
people, they didn't understand because he was homeless for 10 years.
A lot of people don't understand homelessness is not an identity. It's a circumstance.
(18:04):
That's right. And so I never saw Eddie as like, I saw him as the person he was
and his integrity and his kind heart and just the way he would look out after
people and stuff. So I always saw all these things about Eddie.
So when he moved in, I had a couple of my friends were like,
well, you do have a lock on your door going downstairs.
(18:26):
I don't know if I told Eddie this. You did. And I said, yes,
but I don't really feel like I need a lock.
And they go, well, I think you should lock it anyway. And I'm like,
I'm like, well, I don't really think I need to.
And that's just how much trust I had in what God was doing.
But, you know, but other it's hard for others to understand because they just,
(18:46):
you know, God can blow people's minds. You know, he just like he sure can.
He blew my mind. But he sure can. He sure can.
Eddie, what's this experience like for you right now?
What's life for you like right now? Now, like I love how when you said at the
beginning of the year, you said this is the Eddie is not spending another winter on the street.
(19:11):
Now we fast forward into the summer and you've been living at Diane's. How long has it been?
Two months? About three months. About three months now.
About three and a half. Three and a half. So let us know what your life is like right now.
My life has completely changed. I went from, you know, living in a tent to having an apartment,
(19:37):
a job, someone that I can trust with anything. I...
God is amazing. That's all I can say. It's wonderful.
Eddie, do you feel like this experience has brought you closer in your relationship with God?
(20:00):
Absolutely. A hundred percent. How would you say so? Well, I've...
Yeah. Okay. So I've spent a lot of time in and out of the hospitals.
And recently, actually this week, Tuesday, I felt the need to go to the hospital.
I was having chest pains again, numbness in my arms.
(20:20):
I went to the emergency room. They said that I had two of my arteries in my
neck going to my brain were hardening, and I needed to make an appointment with
the cardiologist and go from there.
So I came home, told Ms. Diane, the only person that I had told.
I wasn't ready to tell anybody else.
(20:42):
And Diane had sent me some information.
I sat, I watched, I listened, and miraculously, as I'm watching this,
one of my veins in my neck popped.
And I said, wow.
Popped in a good way? In a good way. In a good way. In a good way. Did it just pop?
(21:04):
Did you feel any warmth or it just popped? It just popped.
And it felt good? it did it felt very good i was like okay so i continued watching
this video i went outside.
Praying and i'm just looking at the ground and all of a sudden i see all these shadows,
(21:25):
leaving i said wow showcase i'm gonna back you up right there you saw all these shadows leaving,
where where were they they were in your body and you saw the wow what did you
how did what we What did you feel in that moment?
I didn't know what to feel other than I'm like, hmm, I had all this darkness
(21:49):
within me, but I'm seeing it leave, which was an amazing feeling.
That's amazing. An amazing feeling. That's amazing.
And did you experience in that moment when you saw that darkness leave,
did your body feel different in that moment, Eddie?
It felt completely different. As I sat there and thought about it,
(22:09):
I looked around and I realized I have had this headache that has not gone away in months. My goodness.
And I realized my headache's gone.
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Amen. And I started thinking and I'm like,
the pain in my neck is gone. Wow. I said, wow.
(22:33):
All these things. Wow.
In just a video that I watched that reminded me of my faith and believing,
it's just unbelievable.
God is amazing. God is amazing. And you experienced a miracle, my friend.
(22:57):
You experienced a miracle healing in your body in that moment.
Absolutely. Absolutely. So you went from the hospital. You went from the hospital
bed last week, Eddie, to no headache, no symptoms, feeling fantastic a couple
of days later. Absolutely.
God is so good. God is amazing.
(23:19):
Yes, he is. Hallelujah. He is so good.
Well, I would like to continue our conversation, but let's go ahead and kind
of land this plane for right now. Now, because would you both be willing to just stay in the studio?
Because I'd like to continue this conversation. It's so exciting.
(23:39):
Okay. Absolutely. You feel good about that? All right. So to our listeners,
here's the biggest takeaway for you.
And I'm going to read this right out of the Passion Translation, Proverbs 16.
Go ahead and make all the plans you want. Right, Diane and Eddie?
Absolutely. Make all the plans you want. but it's the Lord who will ultimately direct your steps.
(24:02):
So if you're feeling like things or situations in your life right now are a
big tangled up knot and you can't see the beginning or the end, just know this.
God does see the beginning and the end. He sees everything. He lives outside of time.
He has a plan and a purpose for your life and call on the name of the Lord, your God,
(24:27):
just like Eddie had to do, just like he has done, because God,
just like Diane had to do.
God has gone before you and he will direct your steps.
Reach out to him. We are so happy that you have joined us today on the show,
and we hope that you have been encouraged.
(24:47):
Please share with your friends, like us, subscribe.
We love you. We are praying for you. The most important thing for you as you
go through your day today, remember this, Jesus is absolutely crazy in love with you.
God bless you. We'll see you next time on the Pam Raimi Show.
Music.
Welcome to the show that gives you the tools to break through into all you were created to be.
It's the Pam Raimi Show, and Jesus, girls and guys, let's find our roar.
Hey, hey, hey, Jesus, girls and guys, welcome back to the Pam Raimi Show.
And boy, do we have an amazing show today where we're going to be talking about
(00:24):
how, you know what? We can make all the plans we want, but it is truly the Lord
who ultimately directs our steps.
Back in the studio today, we have our dear friend and the founder of the Father's
Heart Charitable Foundation, Diane Partain. How are you doing, girl?
(00:45):
Doing awesome today. It is so good to have you. We also have in the studio for
the very first time, Eddie Gottlieb.
How are you doing today, Eddie? I'm doing fantastic. How are y'all doing?
Oh, we're doing great. And I am very inspired, as have many become very inspired
by your story, the story that the two of you are going to be sharing with us today.
(01:11):
And Diane, I'm going to have you just kick this off.
First of all, tell us again a little bit about the Father's Heart Charitable Foundation. What is it?
And what are you doing with that
ministry okay well we have we feed
and clothe and try to help in
every way we can the homeless population it it
(01:33):
includes not just feeding and providing clothing
and other items they might need but we will go like you
know recently we had a little girl that we found out she
had a birthday so we threw a great big birthday party got her
some presents because she wouldn't have had that if we didn't do something
she got a brand new she got a brand new bike the team
pitched in got her a brand new bike and we do
(01:55):
other things like there's people that are living in their car and
the only thing that's keeping them from maybe being able to get
out of the parking lot that they're in to maybe
look for a part-time job or something is like tires so we provide we'll provide
tires god just keeps adding more and more to it but it it started off like a
year ago with god just dropping a burden on my heart for the homeless because
(02:20):
i live in an area very close to where everybody was.
And I would see people day and night just walking up and down the streets.
And I would always pray for them.
And I had a burden for them, but not like the Lord put on my heart like a year ago.
And I, he told me to pull into this church where they're doing,
they have a huge homeless outreach there and ask them how I could help.
(02:42):
So I did, and they said they needed somebody to serve food on Thursday night.
So it started off with me trying to do that by myself, realizing,
okay, God didn't just call me to this.
It's a kingdom calling. It's a kingdom calling. And since that time, he has been so awesome.
We have probably like 40 to 45 people now that cook and serve,
(03:06):
minister, and everything.
So God has been growing it like crazy.
Exponentially. it really has and he's also been growing
how many are being served each
week correct yes because it started off probably about
40 and now we're like 100 or so each week and i just have to share i was there
of course thursday night and there was a young man that he was so sweet he looked
(03:30):
at me he goes i remember when it was just you coming out here when you first
started doing this he goes i Serving hot dogs.
And he goes, and you were serving pizza, hot dogs, and sandwiches.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And he said, and now look.
He goes, look at your team now. And so for someone out there to even recognize
(03:51):
what God has done was really cool.
That's very cool. Because it gave me an opportunity to give God all the glory
for that and just let this young man know that look what God has done.
He's been growing it and growing it, bringing people to serve. And what a testimony.
Yeah. What a testimony that is for that young man. And I.
You know, Diane, you have a testimony of having lived on the streets,
(04:11):
so you know what it feels like you and I can see why God would,
you know, put that burden on your heart because you know what that feels like.
So as you're moving into this ministry, we are now going to parlay into this
wonderful, our other wonderful guy right here, Eddie, this wonderful guy sitting
(04:34):
right here, because really,
we're looking at a miracle right now of what God has done through your ministry.
And that's really where I'd like to go with the show today is if you could introduce
us to how the two of you met.
That yes well it was amazing it's like i started this like a year ago and i
(04:54):
would see this awesome guy right here eddie every week and i would see him during
the week some too i'd stop and talk to him because i was always drawn to him
i just felt like god had his hand on him and i saw,
so much in him that was that god wanted to tap into that just wasn't because
of alcoholism so i would just stick pretty close to eddie always looking for
(05:17):
him you know and i just had
so much compassion and love for him in my heart.
And then the tremendous thing about this story is during this time,
my husband was dying and I was like a 24-hour caretaker. My husband was dying.
Things were kind of on a personal level for me pretty tough at that time. Yes, they were.
And really the only joy, honestly, that I was having was being able to continue
(05:41):
the ministry, just keep looking forward to that each week.
And I'm saying all that to say because this was a time in my life that I was
so uncertain about my future.
I was like, God, I don't know what life looks like without Mike because I was
with him my whole life since the 70s. I'm like, I don't know what life looks
like without him in my life, but I know that you hold my future.
(06:02):
So I'm I'm just trusting you.
And so I kept trusting Diane.
That's beautiful. Because when I looked at it, how do you picture something without your partner?
You know, it's hard to even see life without your partner because that's the
way it's always been. So I didn't really try to I would find myself trying to visualize going on.
But finally, I just was like, God, I don't even have a clue.
(06:23):
So I'm just putting this in your hands. I know that you've got a plan for me
when Mike goes home to be with you.
And I don't know what it is. So I'm just trusting you. Well,
I'm saying all that to say.
So the next thing I know, I Eddie is there one day and he's like, Mr.
I'm through. I'm through. I'm done. I'm ready.
I was on a Thursday night. No, this was on another night. It was just one night
(06:49):
during the week, wasn't it, Eddie?
We had run into each other. Right.
I saw him like at the store that he was at, sat at or something.
So when you said you were done, I'm just done, Eddie. What did you mean when
you said that to Diane? I mean, I'm just done.
I was tired of being on the streets. I was tired of drinking.
(07:10):
And I had just had enough. It was time.
Ten years was ten years too long. So you had been on the street for ten years
at the time that you came to sort of the end of yourself.
Correct. I had made myself a promise at the beginning of this year that there
would not be another winter for Eddie on the streets.
Boy, that's a good promise to make. Hallelujah.
(07:32):
Praise God. Praise God. God, so he's now saying this to you.
You're having this conversation.
And what's booming in your spirit, Diane?
Well, so I just automatically, I kind of took it in my hands.
I didn't even really ask God what his plan was.
So I'm sorry, y'all. I get ahead of myself sometimes. So I kind of took it in my hands.
(07:52):
And I'm like, oh, I know a woman. She's got a ranch. She'll get him out of this area.
I'm pretty sure that we can work it out for him to have a place to stay there.
And this place was like 45 minutes away, wasn't it? It's like, yeah, 45 minutes away.
So I'm talking to the founder of that organization. She's like, yes, we can work it out.
Bring him out here. He can work for us and we'll pay him and get him whatever
(08:15):
he needs and on and on. So to me, it sounded just wonderful.
Like a perfect fit. Sound like a perfect thing.
I think Eddie at first thought it sounded like a perfect thing because,
you know, he was getting out of where he was at.
So we go out there, and then after he's out there for a couple of days,
she didn't check with her board concerning that.
And so after a couple of days, some of the women were like, oh,
(08:37):
we're not comfortable with a man living out here.
And so it got kind of weird.
How did that feel, Eddie? Did that kind of dash your enthusiasm at that point?
That must have been hard.
Oh, it definitely did. I didn't feel that I was a threat.
I was there, you know, to do a job. I did my job. I pretty much kept to myself.
(09:00):
It was kind of a little slap in the face, I guess.
It was. I can understand that. I saw it on him. Yeah.
I saw the discouragement and the disappointment because he had been told, oh, we got this.
And, you know, his life looked like, okay, everything is just falling into place.
Right. And then all of a sudden, wham, this happens.
So it didn't work out. So the Lord spoke to me, and he goes,
(09:24):
and honestly, I was living alone because my husband had passed away in April, and I was living alone.
I really felt like that's what I wanted to do is just live alone and all that.
Well, I had an apartment downstairs in my house that a girl was,
my spiritual daughter was renting, and she was getting ready to move out.
And she had already moved out during this time that Eddie is going back and
(09:49):
forth out there, you know, in that brief amount of time. She had moved out.
So God said, have him move in downstairs. And I'm like, really?
Okay. So I'm like, well, Eddie, don't be discouraged.
You can come live downstairs in
my apartment. You just keep faith in God because he's got a plan for you.
Eddie, I got to stop Diane right there. I want to know how that felt in that
(10:12):
moment. How did that feel?
I didn't know what to think. I was very surprised.
And all I could do was just believe, believe that it was the right thing to
do at the time and let, let God work his magic.
Were you apprehensive after having had the experience where you did go out there
(10:34):
and then it didn't work out? Were you maybe nervous that?
I was very nervous. You know, I, I could foresee myself ending up back on the
streets again, but knowing the person that Miss Diane is, I knew she wouldn't let that happen.
If things didn't work out, if things didn't work out there, there was going
(10:55):
to be another alternative.
And I put a lot of faith in Miss Diane. So you were really in a position,
Eddie, where you had to exercise your faith.
Faith was becoming very real to you. Absolutely. It was very, very, very important.
Amen. That's awesome. So now, Eddie, you move in to the little apartment downstairs.
(11:17):
Which is awesome. Awesome. It's an awesome apartment.
It is an awesome apartment. I have to interject one thing here is just getting a text from you, Diane,
and saying, oh, my goodness, I walked outside and all of the shutters are clean
and the screens are clean and the lawn is mowed.
I know. And it's like you were doing the Snoopy dance right about now.
(11:42):
It is like I just can't even begin to tell you what. And so I didn't know what
I needed, but I have since found out that, you know, God was ordering my steps.
He was ordering Eddie's steps.
Actually we ended up needing each other he has been the biggest blessing to
me and he said he tells me all the time i'm a huge blessing to
him you are but i went from someone that just thought well i need to live alone
(12:05):
to someone really that's found so much joy i laugh all the time he's crazy he's
fun to be around likewise no and so we have so much fun together which i hadn't
had that kind of joy for a long time with being a caretaker right you know watching
my husband dying day day after day.
You know, I didn't realize that I had just the kind of place that I was in necessarily,
(12:26):
until he comes along and I'm just, everything is just, I'm joyful.
And then I feel like, you know, and he's taking care of things.
He's kind of like watching over me. And I'm like, I've never even knew I needed
any of that because I was so sure that God's plan for me was to be alone.
God so knows what we need better than we do.
He just does. And I agree with you.
(12:48):
There There's a light and a joy on you that is very supernatural and definitely
on you, Eddie, that is so supernatural.
So now Eddie's in the apartment. Right. And he needs income.
So where do we go from there?
It was so weird. It's like we go to church with a couple that have their own
(13:10):
business. And it's a sign-making, car-wrapping business.
And it was so weird. It's like I don't know why I didn't even think of that initially.
Because, you know, I just took it and was running a whole different direction.
And all of a sudden, when I was thinking about, like, well, okay,
so things have changed, now we're back.
You know, he doesn't have work, or he could have work if he has a means to get 45 minutes away.
(13:34):
Well, he doesn't have a car, and he's getting his license back,
but I didn't have the availability to be driving 45 minutes every day one way.
It was just very challenging. challenging well all
of a sudden god goes well why don't you talk to steven
and i'm like oh my gosh yes they're like five minutes from
the house i mean shout out to flying donkey
(13:55):
right donkey yes steven douglas charlene douglas flying donkey that's right
amen literally like eight minutes from the house or less and it's just literally
around the corner and so he goes and talks to So Stephen will let it go from
there. Yeah, tell us about that experience, Eddie.
Well, I used to paint cars. I did that for about 20 years.
(14:16):
So this was an area that I was familiar with, and I was willing to give it a try.
I didn't realize the extent to the change going from cars to signs.
They're not your normal metal sign.
But we went ahead and decided that we were going to give it a shot.
And, you know, Stephen's teaching me pretty much every aspect of the shop environment,
(14:43):
all the things that we do.
Not only do we paint signs, but we do wraps for cars.
There's a lot that's involved in that. So you're learning all the different
aspects of the business. Correct.
Absolutely. Absolutely, 100%. Do you love it? I do. As Stephen said,
(15:03):
he gives me a hard time every day.
That's because Stephen loves him. That's because Stephen loves him.
Yeah, he does. Calls me his little China doll. I love that.
That's awesome. He gives me a hard time every day.
He says, I want you to be able to give these guys that you're going to be training
(15:24):
a hard time the way I give you a hard time.
That's Stephen, guys, but he's wonderful. Yeah, well, he has a father's heart.
He does. He has a father's heart, and he loves on you with the father's heart.
He definitely does. Well, and when Stephen loves somebody, he picks on them,
and he picks on Eddie like crazy. So I just know that's his love language. Yes.
And another wonderful thing god
(15:47):
actually like now he's got family like charlene is like
a spiritual mother he's got a spiritual sister their daughter how wonderful
other people that work there and it's like he's just gained a family oh god
is so good god worked god had already knew he had already been in these situations
and he just was directing my steps And I kept trying to go a different way,
(16:09):
but he directed my steps to exactly the place and the situation that he had
already prepared for Eddie,
already prepared for me because I certainly didn't know what I needed.
And I don't know, Eddie probably didn't know what he needed either. No, I really didn't.
You know, sometimes when I look at like impossible situations,
I see this ball of string and it, because I see just, all I see is this great big tangled up knot.
(16:35):
I can't see the beginning of the string. I can't see the ending of the string.
And I always say, God, you're the only one that can untangle this knot.
And I think about Jeremiah 33, 3, when he says, I am going to reveal to you
unsearchable things, hidden things. You don't even know.
(16:56):
They're so good for you. And isn't God the best at untangling those knots?
Because we don't always know what we need, but he does. It does.
Because in all honesty, if I had lived alone and hadn't heard from God about
telling Eddie to go ahead and move in downstairs.
Honestly, going through the grieving process and the place I was at,
(17:16):
losing Mike, I think I would have gotten very withdrawn on many levels.
I would have continued with ministry, but I think personally I would have probably
stayed pretty withdrawn.
God has kind of showed me that, you know, whether you realize it or not,
you need people in your life.
Because I always think of myself as being pretty self-sufficient,
don't really need a lot of people.
But he really showed me through the blessing that Eddie's been to me and the
(17:40):
joy that he's brought me, how much I really needed somebody in my life. Yes.
And it was somebody just like Eddie, somebody that's – and I'm going to have to share this.
It wasn't just somebody like Eddie. It was Eddie. Yes, it was Eddie. It was Eddie.
Because I have to kind of crack up. I know when I first shared this with a few
people, they didn't understand because he was homeless for 10 years.
A lot of people don't understand homelessness is not an identity. It's a circumstance.
(18:04):
That's right. And so I never saw Eddie as like, I saw him as the person he was
and his integrity and his kind heart and just the way he would look out after
people and stuff. So I always saw all these things about Eddie.
So when he moved in, I had a couple of my friends were like,
well, you do have a lock on your door going downstairs.
(18:26):
I don't know if I told Eddie this. You did. And I said, yes,
but I don't really feel like I need a lock.
And they go, well, I think you should lock it anyway. And I'm like,
I'm like, well, I don't really think I need to.
And that's just how much trust I had in what God was doing.
But, you know, but other it's hard for others to understand because they just,
(18:46):
you know, God can blow people's minds. You know, he just like he sure can.
He blew my mind. But he sure can. He sure can.
Eddie, what's this experience like for you right now?
What's life for you like right now? Now, like I love how when you said at the
beginning of the year, you said this is the Eddie is not spending another winter on the street.
(19:11):
Now we fast forward into the summer and you've been living at Diane's. How long has it been?
Two months? About three months. About three months now.
About three and a half. Three and a half. So let us know what your life is like right now.
My life has completely changed. I went from, you know, living in a tent to having an apartment,
(19:37):
a job, someone that I can trust with anything. I...
God is amazing. That's all I can say. It's wonderful.
Eddie, do you feel like this experience has brought you closer in your relationship with God?
(20:00):
Absolutely. A hundred percent. How would you say so? Well, I've...
Yeah. Okay. So I've spent a lot of time in and out of the hospitals.
And recently, actually this week, Tuesday, I felt the need to go to the hospital.
I was having chest pains again, numbness in my arms.
(20:20):
I went to the emergency room. They said that I had two of my arteries in my
neck going to my brain were hardening, and I needed to make an appointment with
the cardiologist and go from there.
So I came home, told Ms. Diane, the only person that I had told.
I wasn't ready to tell anybody else.
(20:42):
And Diane had sent me some information.
I sat, I watched, I listened, and miraculously, as I'm watching this,
one of my veins in my neck popped.
And I said, wow.
Popped in a good way? In a good way. In a good way. In a good way. Did it just pop?
(21:04):
Did you feel any warmth or it just popped? It just popped.
And it felt good? it did it felt very good i was like okay so i continued watching
this video i went outside.
Praying and i'm just looking at the ground and all of a sudden i see all these shadows,
(21:25):
leaving i said wow showcase i'm gonna back you up right there you saw all these shadows leaving,
where where were they they were in your body and you saw the wow what did you
how did what we What did you feel in that moment?
I didn't know what to feel other than I'm like, hmm, I had all this darkness
(21:49):
within me, but I'm seeing it leave, which was an amazing feeling.
That's amazing. An amazing feeling. That's amazing.
And did you experience in that moment when you saw that darkness leave,
did your body feel different in that moment, Eddie?
It felt completely different. As I sat there and thought about it,
(22:09):
I looked around and I realized I have had this headache that has not gone away in months. My goodness.
And I realized my headache's gone.
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Amen. And I started thinking and I'm like,
the pain in my neck is gone. Wow. I said, wow.
(22:33):
All these things. Wow.
In just a video that I watched that reminded me of my faith and believing,
it's just unbelievable.
God is amazing. God is amazing. And you experienced a miracle, my friend.
(22:57):
You experienced a miracle healing in your body in that moment.
Absolutely. Absolutely. So you went from the hospital. You went from the hospital
bed last week, Eddie, to no headache, no symptoms, feeling fantastic a couple
of days later. Absolutely.
God is so good. God is amazing.
(23:19):
Yes, he is. Hallelujah. He is so good.
Well, I would like to continue our conversation, but let's go ahead and kind
of land this plane for right now. Now, because would you both be willing to just stay in the studio?
Because I'd like to continue this conversation. It's so exciting.
(23:39):
Okay. Absolutely. You feel good about that? All right. So to our listeners,
here's the biggest takeaway for you.
And I'm going to read this right out of the Passion Translation, Proverbs 16.
Go ahead and make all the plans you want. Right, Diane and Eddie?
Absolutely. Make all the plans you want. but it's the Lord who will ultimately direct your steps.
(24:02):
So if you're feeling like things or situations in your life right now are a
big tangled up knot and you can't see the beginning or the end, just know this.
God does see the beginning and the end. He sees everything. He lives outside of time.
He has a plan and a purpose for your life and call on the name of the Lord, your God,
(24:27):
just like Eddie had to do, just like he has done, because God,
just like Diane had to do.
God has gone before you and he will direct your steps.
Reach out to him. We are so happy that you have joined us today on the show,
and we hope that you have been encouraged.
(24:47):
Please share with your friends, like us, subscribe.
We love you. We are praying for you. The most important thing for you as you
go through your day today, remember this, Jesus is absolutely crazy in love with you.
God bless you. We'll see you next time on the Pam Raimi Show.
Music.
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