"The Awakening"

The following is my abridged personal testimony, and the amazing Wonder that revolutionized my life. As a child, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, but as time went

on, I fell away from the Lord. May 13, 1988, I was struck by a car while bicycling on a road where we lived. I was injured severely; my most serious injury was a compound fracture to

my leg, which lost a great portion of bone and muscle. I spent a long time in the local Shock Trauma unit, undergoing many operations. During my stay I was administered morphine for my pain, which developed an addiction in my life to narcotics. After my recovery, some years later, I got married to a beautiful woman, in the years to come, we would have four precious

children together. Eventually we found ourselves residing in Pennsylvania.. In the fall of 1997, I began visiting my doctor for the pain in my nerve damaged leg. I was administered narcotic

pain pills, which in a short period of time, I became extremely addicted to and they became a great ball and chain in my life.

April 6, 1998, I was traveling to my place of employment, when suddenly all went black.........The next day I opened my eyes to see my lovely wife gently washing my face, I was in a familiar place, Shock Trauma, again for the second time in almost ten years. I soon found out what had happened the previous day. Under the influence of my pain medication, I blacked out

at the wheel of my 4x4 truck. Horrifically, crashed head on into a mini-van occupied by a family of five. The driver, which was the precious father of the family, was fatally injured on impact, the others were injured severely. My whole life seemed to have become a dreadful nightmare, and so it had. After I was released from the hospital, I awaited my court date. January 5, 1999, I found myself standing before the Circuit Court Judge who found me guilty on the charge of vehicular manslaughter.

March 1999, I was sentenced to ten years in State Prison. Consumed by regret and guilt, I began to turn my life over to Jesus Christ, this time my experience with Him would become something awesome. Through persistent study of God's Word, the Holy Bible (KJV), I began to find out just who this God was as I quickly learned of all He had actually done for a wretch like me. I discovered I could and would be forgiven for all my sins, even though I knew of this as being brought up in a Christian home, I never truly took. it to heart, under my circumstances, I desperately needed some wholesome direction for my life. As time marched on, I began to discover what being a Christian was all about. I found that God deeply loves me and through His grace, I could live a wonderful life. Soon enough, I began applying His will for my life after I seriously re-dedicated my life to Him. Peace unspeakable, began to overwhelm me in wondrous ways, an intense love began to fill my heart, and an unexplainable joy began to fill my mind. To keep this long story short, I found myself truly experiencing God in ways I never had before. God allowed me to come to the end of myself to find the beginning with Him. Today, my life has been revolutionized, by the love of Jesus and my new found love for Him. I realize the free world's perception of prisoners finding "religion" behind walls, but it is not like that in my case. For I didn’t find

anything, Jesus found me, lost, broken, and finally ready for a real relationship with Him, He called, I answered. Now my path is not hectic anymore, because a divine transformation

has turned my life around, and now I continue to flourish in my daily walk with Jesus as Jesus walks with me, heart to heart.

Jeffrey B. Quante IV