How Your Broken-hearted Past Becomes Someone's Hope-filled Future

Jesse:
Hey, this is Jesse, producer for Go Mad with Doug and Brad. Brad is currently in Arizona, so Doug and I kick off today's episode. We then pass it off to Brad and his guest, Weston Francis.

Weston shares some of the pain that he experienced growing up in the Navajo Reservation and how God has met him in that pain and even redeemed it. If you still struggle with the pain of your past and wonder if and how God could use you, this episode's for you. Let's go, Matt!

Doug:
Hey, welcome to Go Mad with Doug and Brad. We are so glad you're here with us today. I'm here with our producer, Extraordinaire Jesse. How are you, my friend?

Jesse:
Hello. I am doing quite well, Doug. How are you?

Doug:
Doing fantastic Man, I'm really excited because we have got a seriously great subject today and a seriously great person to interview. I can't wait for you guys to hear from him. Uh we're we're jumping into some pretty deep and important stuff today.

uh how you can make a difference in the life of someone that's hurting, even if you've been hurt yourself. This podcast is all about Helping us all get some advice, some ideas from God's word, from each other's experiences. Man, how can I be an ambassador for Christ?

How can I be his representative? in all the craziness of this world, in in what goes on in my family, with my friends, in my school, with my teammates, w uh, at work. God can even take something like the awful things that happened to us in our lives, how God can kind of take the garbage of our lives, abuse we've suffered.

um hurt that we've endured and recycle it into something with actual eternal value. Man, only God could do that. We celebrate him here.

We talk about how we can be his ambassador. And boy, do we have a treat today, Jesse. Um, so Brad is actually out in the field, not in a field.

That would be difficult. But he is out in the field to interview our guest today. So instead of actually being here in the studio, he is out and about.

Listen to this, Jesse. How giving of himself. Yeah.

is Brad. Well well, let's just take a moment and consider it. Okay.

Okay. Jesse, as we hear our own weather forecast of ice and snow over the next few days Here we have Brad with his servant heart being willing to go out into the field into 72 degrees in sunny Arizona. Where in the winter there, it's perfect weather.

The golf is ideal. Where even spring training is. You know, Brad heard a need and said, Here am I, Lord.

Wow. Send me. Wow.

Jesse:
Someone's gotta do it.

Doug:
Brad is and you know what?

Jesse:
Servant. And usually if I know Brad, that person is Brad.

Doug:
Oh man. So seriously though, it is cool that Brad can be out in person with our incredible guest today for this episode. Our guest name is Weston Francis.

He is the coordinator Of on Eagles Wings Southwest. If you don't know what that is, you you may know that our ministry organization, RHM, Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, has a year-round ministry in Native America. It's called On Eagle's Wings, and it focuses on reaching Native American young people with the hope of Jesus, who uh Native young people, by the way, suffer things like sexual abuse, suicide, addiction, at many times, three to five times the national average.

I'll tell you this, Native Americans are very strong and resilient, spiritually in touch people, some of the most amazing people I've ever met in my life, but they have suffered some pretty awful things. over the years. I have seen our guest today, Weston Francis, who has had a few of those things in his past.

Let God take a hold of him and make beauty out of ashes, like God's word says, and see him do some beautiful things in his life. So Weston is Navajo. Um, I have seen him share his story of hope with large groups of people.

Jesse, you've seen this where uh we're in person, uh on video. Uh i I I've seen Weston get in front of hundreds of people, uh hurting people, some of the hardest to reach people you'll meet, people who have who have struggled with addiction, uh gang members, people hurting from family dysfunction and and bring them to a place of tenderness where they are ready to give their hearts to the same Jesus that West gave his heart to all those years ago. and begin their healing journey.

What you've seen these things, Jess, when when he's done that.

Jesse:
Yeah, yeah. I uh one of the things I love about Weston's story that we're about to hear is uh God uh coming to meet people not after they get all their stuff together, not after they have all of their messed upness straightened out. God comes and meets us where we are right now.

Some of Weston's story takes place, or a good chunk of Weston's story that he's going to share takes place after he starts following Jesus. And not everything is as it should be still. And God comes and meets with not a future version of him, but meets with him right where he's at.

I love how he communicates. The God who draws near to the brokenhearted.

Doug:
That's so good, Jesse. I mean, uh praise God that that he meets us in our brokenness. That's where he met me.

I know that's where he met you. I have seen Wes lead many people into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ because he's willing to be transparent and open about the uh the abusive hurt he's suffered in the past and how God has delivered him from the bitterness and despair that that can come from that hurt. Yeah.

Uh we'll get into that in just a second. But that that's just one of the awesome things about Jesus That he he makes beauty out of ashes, he binds up the brokenhearted, like you just mentioned, Jesse, and works all things to the good for those that love him. And you go, man, wait, can any good really come out of the pain?

That I have suffered. I'm still feeling this pain years later. I I do you do you know what I've been through?

How could you say that? Only God could make a claim like that.

Jesse:
Yeah.

Doug:
And only God could deliver on that. 2 Corinthians 1, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Who comforts us in all of our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

That's the story of Weston. That's the story you're gonna hear today, but enough out of me. Let's hand this over to Brad out in the big AZ.

How's it going there, Brad?

Brad:
All right. Well thanks, Doug and Jesse. I yes, as they mentioned, I have the privilege of being here out in Arizona right now, lived here for a number of years, and I'm here with a good friend Weston Francis.

Now West has been part of our on Eagles Wings team uh for several years. He's become a true team leader. I mean, he has taken on a ton of responsibility over the years.

And now he is the coordinator of this part of our on Eagles Wings Ministry that's based in Arizona. So, Wes, welcome to Go Mad with Doug and Brad, and I guess now Wes too.

Wes:
Awesome. Well uh it's uh it's an honor and a privilege to get to be here. Um excited to see what we're gonna be talking about and uh what we can share about today, yeah.

Brad:
Yeah, and I'm excited that you guys get to listen in to some of Wes's heart today because Uh everything I just shared about where you're at now in life. That's where you are, but that's not where you started. That is not where when you were growing up, did you dream that someday you would be the coordinator of this part of a native ministry?

Wes:
Honestly, if we went back in time and we asked a younger Weston, it would probably be the furthest thing from what I'm doing right now if you were to ask what I'm be doing in the future.

Brad:
Did you actually have um I don't know if I've asked this before. Did you have any like dreams, hey when I grow up I would want to do this or be this? Oh anything you thought you'd do?

Wes:
In a sense, I kinda had an idea of what I'd I'd like to do, but when I was younger that was kind of where a lot of the dreams were. Uh it was it was normally somewhere in the health field doing something. to help people. That's kind of my idea of where my mindset was at the time.

Brad:
Okay, so that's pretty fitting because today we're actually going to talk about how you're helping people. But we want to go back a little bit. I I thought maybe you were gonna say, you know, Wes is a Yankees fan as well.

I want to point that out because that's important and thought maybe we're gonna play first base for the Yankees. But uh we've got uh, you know, I can you tell us a little bit about Kind of growing up because yeah, this is a long way from where you started. I mean, you actually aren't very far from your home right now.

Yeah. You grew up where?

Wes:
Uh you know, I grew up in a small community here on the reservation and Definitely a place with uh, you know, we're in a we're in a time of isolation, but growing up that's kinda was the norm being in isolation because You know, our our closest neighbor was usually about three, two miles away.

Brad:
Yeah. And i I have to ask, you willing to do your uh Navajo clan introduction? What clan are you with uh in Navajo Tribe?

Wes:
I am uh Cup Uh huh. That's uh the Water's Age clan.

Brad:
That's awesome. That's awesome. Everyone at home try to say that right now.

You won't say it right. I'm just warning you. But uh can you share a little bit of your story growing up?

Just tell us kind of what was it like for you growing up

Wes:
Yeah, um, like I was saying, you know, I grew up in a really really small community. I never really had a big picture of the outside world. My dad was an alcoholic, so I grew up through uh a lot of uh a lot of domestic violence and a lot of uh A lot of things uh, you know, a normal ten-year-old, eleven-year-old kid should have to go through.

Yeah, a lot of times now that I'm older, I really just when I look back on it, there was a lot of things that I saw that A lot of young kids shouldn't see. Mm-hmm. My dad uh really put us through a lot.

Uh whenever my dad would get intoxicated. It uh he got pretty violent and there was a lot of times where I had to really kind of just prepare myself and I hated it. You know, I hated having to hear my dad coming home and then know that something's gonna happen that night.

Then I'm gonna have to clean up after him and my mom get done fighting. then I'm gonna have to, you know, clean up some blood, gonna have to throw away some bottles, you know, and I just it became almost normal to me.

Brad:
Well, and like you said, no that shouldn't be normal for any ten or eleven year old. And I'm sure there were times you felt like you wanted to protect your family, but how do you do that as a ten or eleven year old? And puts a lot of uncertainty there. Um So i in all that you there was brokenness around you.

Wes:
Definitely, yeah.

Brad:
Is that how you would you say it?

Wes:
It was unfortunate that I had to go through those things. Uh I do remember a specific time, uh a specific moment that happened When I was younger, you know, my dad was hurting my mom and I did want to stop it. I thought I could stop it.

And so I remember grabbing my father's arm, thinking that I could stop him from hitting my mom. But As tight as I held it seemed like it did nothing. You know, he still hurt my mom right in front of me.

And that's something that really kind of just broke me. And really uh set me on a course for my life that I would come to look back on and think that, man, you know, that was a life full of brokenness. Because it it taught me how to hate.

It really put me in a position to be real bitter, especially towards my dad, because as I did start to get older, I started to see that not all families were like that. And to come to that realization, it really there was a lot of moments in my heart that really just started to break. And it really felt like a lot of my innocence and stuff was just uh fading away.

I felt like pieces of my heart or pieces of the child in me was was breaking.

Brad:
Well yeah, because you You grow up, like you said, you kind of started to think it was normal, but then you see it's not normal, and that adds to the broken feeling And a lot of people, there's, I know there's a lot of things you went through, choices you made over the years, but the the good news for people listening, because there are people listening right now who have gone through that brokenness. Who may be sitting there broken right now. The good news is you didn't stay broken.

Wes:
Definitely.

Brad:
But kind of where where was the point? What's that turning point for you when you went from Uh when you get to that point of end of your rope to where that turned, uh can you tell us a little bit about that?

Wes:
Yeah, definitely. Um The end of that rope uh was pretty dark because uh, you know, I was high school age. By that time I was about seventeen, eighteen, uh gone.

who knows, but f five, six years without my dad because he left after a while and so I was really just looking for guidance and I was looking for some kind of stability in my life and I didn't know what that looked like. I didn't even know how to talk about the feelings that I was feeling, that bitterness that I had towards my dad, or even the bitterness that I had towards my mom for allowing us to stay stay in those situations. I just had a lot of bitterness, a lot of anger and hatred inside my heart and Because I didn't know how to talk to people about it, because I didn't know how to make it verbal, it kind of was like a compressed pop can.

Eventually it's gonna explode the you know the more you shake it. And that's how my life really just started to feel. You know, that I was I was just being shaken in so many different ways.

Oh, I was a teenager, you know, I was dealing with a lot of different things, like what my friends thought about me, if I was good enough, my worth, different things, relationships, all these different things were just playing a factor into it. And but a big part of it was my relationship with my parents, my relationship with my father. and and using that kind of as an excuse to really just uh be mad at the world or be mad at myself and and because of that There was a moment where I I did tell myself like I didn't want to be here anymore.

I didn't want to be alive anymore. And it scared me. It scared me because I did want to be here.

I just didn't know why. I didn't have a reason. And no matter what I looked at, whether it was my traditional beliefs or what other people were telling me I should do I couldn't see any good in all of it and I just kept thinking about my brokenness.

But the turning point. And what changed my life was the curiosity of who the God of the in the Bible is. Because what started that curiosity was when people would tell me all these horrible things about the church.

You know, I grew up hearing some some horrible stories about how the church hurt Native America. and how people who who claim to believe in the Bible hurt Native America or hurt other cultures. And it really just drew me away from the fact of ever giving the God of the Bible a chance.

But at the same time I would hear some amazing stories about him as well. I would hear some amazing stories about the Jesus of the Bible, about how he loved people and how he he caused the you know, the the ones who couldn't walk to walk or or the blind to see, you know, like just stories like that was like almost unbelievable. But yet they were this they were the things that I hung on to about him.

And I really just came to a point where I felt like I owed it to myself to learn more about the God of the Bible because I was you I was used to what other people were giving to me and telling me. that I never actually gave it a shot myself. And I felt like I owed it to myself.

You know, I felt like I I needed to take that responsibility and and and take a step to to learn more about this God of the Bible and have my own um view on it and and see where I stood with it. And it really started to change my life when I read about God and How the God of the Bible is the type of God that regardless if I believe in him or not, he's going to exist. And the where I I sought that and and found that was in the book of Job.

Because when Job's complaining to God at one point God says something in almost a humorous way, you know. He says, Job, where were you when I created the foundations of the earth And it kind of just made me look at my own life and the things that I was going through. And in a way it felt like he was saying, you know, Wes, I I I do hear all these things that you're saying.

I d I do know about the things that you have been through, but Look, I created the foundations of the earth. And I wasn't there. But to see that this was a God that could exist without my approval.

it a sense of respect started to to form towards him. This isn't like other beliefs where it's about what you give. Because I was used to that.

I was used to giving my time. I was used to giving bits and pieces of me, you know, even in a sense I felt like growing up, I was giving pieces of my childhood. going through what I was going through.

But to hear about a God that loved me so much that he was willing to come down from that place that everyone's trying to obtain come down to me. It really just struck a chord in my life reading about John three sixteen, about how he loved the world so much that he gave his life for it. I just that that what he was offering me was a relationship, a living, breathing relationship, not rules, not religion, not not something that I I have to follow or or boxes that I have to check off in order to get to heaven It was about a living, breathing relationship with the one who made me.

Wow. Yeah, it it still freaks me out to this day, you know, and it really just astonishes me at times because I was seeking and it even says in the Bible to to seek after him, he's gonna find you. And I'm just glad that he's he was a God that pursues and he is a God that pursues.

And there's probably even some of you out there that have been I'm trying to figure out where you stand with all of this, but I just wanna let you know that, you know, God God loves you. He loves where you at where you are at, but he loves you even more to not let you stay there. And I've seen that evident in my life because I started to see that the decisions I was making in high school, the decisions I was making, being angry, doing that in different various ways, whether it be like parties or drinking or drugs.

or relationships, you know. I tried to do all those different things but I was really starting to see that what I was doing was wrong.

Brad:
Because all of a sudden you had this relationship. You had this connection with the created God through his son Jesus. that you hadn't had before and you found in the midst, in all that brokenness, you've been through a lot.

You had all these reasons, these excuses to say, I'm gonna dull the pain. I'm gonna do a go a different direction. But you found hope in this relationship with Jesus that has then now allowed you, as we were sharing at the beginning, you are at a different place.

Now you've been able to now invest your life In helping other people who are feeling broken, who are in the midst of brokenness, you've been able to help them find hope. Talk to us a little bit about how God has used your hurt to help bring others hope because of the hope you found.

Wes:
Yeah Well one thing I've realized about um Native America or even my story is that my story is not rare. My story is very common amongst Native America. And there's even a lot of students that I work with today that are living what I've gone through.

And to be able to to walk alongside them, to be able to live life alongside them. And Just give them an outlet, whether that's something as simple as hanging out and playing basketball or just different things like that, you know, play a big role in making a difference in Native America because w growing up for myself, I didn't have a Weston in my life. I didn't have someone who was willing to to go out to me and and meet me where I'm at and and just conversate with me.

Brad:
Seriously, this just like really hits me because you are sitting here saying that You were in brokenness and you didn't have that person to come. So instead of you turning bitter now You have said, I'm going to be that person. I'm going to make sure that I am making a difference for someone by being there for them. That is huge because there are people listening right now who have said I was broken, so I'm gonna turn inward.

Wes:
Yeah.

Brad:
I'm just gonna I there there we hear all the time these cycles of brokenness because hurt people hurt people. But you used it to say, I'm going to make a difference in someone's life because I don't want that brokenness for anyone else.

Wes:
Definitely. That is huge. Yeah.

Brad:
I mean that is a and for you, I even with your family, you Had some of that that hurt growing up. And I know you and your mom stayed close over the years still and everything, but you could have said, you know what, I'm moving on from my family. But for those listening right now who are saying, you know what, my family's been part of that brokenness. What would you say? How what's the difference you've seen just Jesus make through you in your family?

Wes:
One thing that's really helped me is uh taking a step back and seeing that uh we can't always change our situation. Sometimes we're put in positions and situations that just seem like it's out of our control. But what matters is how we're going to approach that.

What we can change and what we can do about it is what we is how we view it. I could have looked at my my situation with my dad and my mom. and I could have totally just shut it out.

I could have totally just ignored it, you know, I could have continued to internalize it. You know, and I could have I could have been on a total different path or I might not even be here today. Like that's how severe and how serious it is.

And in a way, I want to plead with those of you that are listening to this that if you are going through something like that or you are in a situation that you feel like you can't control, remember that it's not about you trying to change it. It's about how you are going to view it, how you are going to look at it. Because, you know, we can look in the past all we want, but we can't change the past.

But we can do something today. And so I would just encourage you to focus on on today and realize that forgiveness is a big, big part. And it's not about Forgiveness is not about the other person, the person who hurt you.

This is about you and and God. Because when I forgave my dad, it was It was wild and it's a wild story. My dad was close to death and I found out that he was in the hospital and I I didn't want to go, to tell you the truth.

Uh by that time I was a couple of years into being a believer in Christ and I still didn't want to go see him. That's when I was really starting to see that I I did not deal with that unforgiveness. And and it was it was really severe because I started to see that it was bleeding into my relationships with the people that I had at the time, my friends at the time and my relationship with my mother and my family.

I saw that it was bleeding into that And that and I needed to deal with it. And the only way that I could have dealt with it was with God's help. And the only way I knew that is because I'm I was basically asking God to forgive me.

For the things that I did, for the hurt and the pain that I've caused other people through my actions. I'm asking God to forgive me, and yet I'm not willing to forgive my own dad. It really just it really really broke my heart because I was finally seeing what God was trying to put in front of me for so long.

And so I mustered up the courage uh to see my father. And in my mind, for a long time, I made my dad into something more than he really was. It was almost like I made him into some monster I had to defeat.

But as I was standing outside of his hospital door and I grabbed the door handle, I felt like a little kid again going through a lot of the things that I went through. And I was afraid and I was scared. I was I'm d I was terrified.

But What allowed me and what helped me open that door was the many promises in the Bible that God says to fear not. I'm with you. And I wanted to believe in those promises.

And so I opened that door and God just really broke my heart because my dad was laying there in the hospital and he looked nothing like he did in the past. You can tell drugs and alcohol took its toll on him. He looked really feeble and I've never seen my dad like that before.

I've never seen him look so weak and it really. God was God just broke my heart because I saw I didn't see this monster. I didn't see this this thing I had to defeat.

I saw another Native American man who needs Jesus also.

Brad:
Yeah, and it really just changed a lot. And it even worked to, I don't know, some of the other part of the story where it even worked to start changing your dad's heart.

Doug:
Yeah.

Brad:
And What I would say is what I hear you saying there is you walked into that room and this is what you're doing and I would encourage people to hear Wes's heart on this because what he is trying to live out and it's not always easy, he's making that clear Not always easy, but he is trying to see other people that are broken through the eyes of Jesus because you walked into that room and you saw your broken father And you could have used it to do whatever with that information, but you said, I want to reach out to someone who is broken because I have been broken, but I found healing I found hope in his name is Jesus. So you are investing your life, whether it is your family, your community around you, the place where God has put you now. You are using it to invest in others and bring hope to those who are broken.

And I hope that is an encouragement to those who are listening today because Wes here is one example of How God can take something that many people would say, you know what? That that guy's done. He he can't come back from that.

No, he got back up and he kept fighting because of Jesus. So before we turn it back to Doug and Jesse, Wes, anything else you would say?

Wes:
Yeah, um there's definitely one more thing I'd like to say, you know, just even just talking about the, you know, the subject of brokenness. the thing about the God that we serve is that he takes those broken pieces of our lives and he makes it into something beautiful. And I think that's what's so awesome and amazing about about Jesus, about God and I Sometimes I I just can't overlook that.

And you guys need to understand that you're you're probably looking at all the broken pieces of your life and thinking like, man, how am I gonna fix this? How am I gonna how am I gonna do this? Just understand that God uses those broken pieces.

There are many people in my life that I've I've shared, even have been vulnerable with, and it's probably one of the hardest things I've had to do. in my life is because I'm not a vulnerable person. I'm I'm not good at sharing my feelings.

I'm not good at at being open about a lot of things, but I know that it's necessary because The people that I'm speaking to, they lived it. And they need to hear that they're not alone in their pain. They're not alone in their brokenness.

In your brokenness, God can still make something beautiful.

Brad:
I want to say a huge thank you to US for being part of Go mad today because this, if people are listening close, you are helping them go make a difference because of the difference you have made in others. Wes Would you wrap us up today with just praying for those who are walking through brokenness right now and wanting to make a difference?

Wes:
I'd love to. Let's pray yes. You know, Father God, I just come before you, Lord, and I just uh I just thank you for everything.

You know, you are the God of miracles. And Lord, I just thank you so much for seeing us and seeking us and loving us so much that you would come down to us. And I just can't help but think of everything that I've been through and even just some of the people who are listening to this God.

You know what we've gone through. You know the things that we struggle with and that That seem impossible to overcome. God, I just I just ask that you just come into our hearts That you would put a fire inside our hearts, God, that would just consume us, Lord, that would just hunger after you, that would want to seek you and be closer to you every day.

And not just say, oh, I want that, but to actually reach out and take it. So God, I just pray that anyone who's going through brokenness, who's who's trying to figure this out, God, I just pray that you would put the courage inside their hearts that they would be able to reach out to somebody that they know could help them. And God, so I just I just uplift this time to you.

And I thank you so much for everything that you do for us. Because at the end of the day, I know I don't deserve this. And yet you still look at me, you still look at the people that are listening to this.

And you say I do it for you. And so, God, I just thank you and I just uplift this in your son's name.

Doug:
Amen. Amen. Amen.

Thank you, Wes, for that awesome prayer. Uh, thank you for taking the time to listen. today.

We really appreciate you tuning in. Hey, if you get a moment, would you go and subscribe to the podcast if you're enjoying it and maybe even leave a review. That's how other people find the podcast.

and can also get some of this practical advice uh that might help them. So uh especially if you want to do that hint hint on the Apple Podcast area, that'd be great. But you can get these episodes anywhere you get your podcasts.

So thank you very much for listening. We will see you next time with Go Mad with Doug and Brad.