I am retired and disabled and a Christian having been baptised last November and saved at ten years old in Bible Camp. I have seven cats and one dog and I love to read, go to movies, go to Church, Blog and draw Cartoons. I am also a retired fifth dan black belt in karate and aikido. I am presently working on other blogs like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Tumblr and my own FB Page of cartoons called "LeoToons". I am also trying to get all the family up in PA online so that we can communicate with each other.
My profile and life with Jesus is stretched out for 56 years. I was a premature 7 month old 3 pound baby whom my mom gave me up for dead. I had a very bad childhood of abuse and both parents were alcoholics and abusers. At 16 I found out that I had cancer called fibrosarcoma and I left home on my own. After sever surgeries the cancer was finally in remission. I changed my name and for thirty more years took a journey to find Christ. I have been a Baptist, Unitarian, Mormon and Church of Christ until I found my church in Jackson Tn. called Love and Truth Church.
I have several illnesses like Job. I have heart failure, glaucoma, neuropathy in my legs, strokes, silent heart attacks, headaches, depression, bipolar and Borderline Personality Disorder! Everyday I don't curse God but praise His gift of another day He gave me to live and His blessings and His gift of Jesus Christ to me. Now I look forward to living and I am not afraid to die and I am not afraid of fear for myself. For I know God will be there and will protect me!
Note: When I was in the hospital for my legs in October 2010 I was told that I had celliutis a very fatal skin rash on both legs and on my arms and back. I was in the hospital under IV steriods for 10 days. I nearly died. My legs were blistered with sores and they were swollen twice their size and brown. When I came out of the hospital coming off of massive steriods my wife of 30 years left me.
She went back up north. I assume that she couldn't deal with all these illnesses and the costs so she left me on disability with seven pets and trying to support us. I haven't heard from her once since she left me in Oct. 2010. I need to be employed or my home and car will have to go.
I believe God has a plan for me. Sometimes I feel like Job in the Bible. Everything is taken away from me. Please pray for me this next month.
Here is my testimony....
THE FAVOR OF GOD:
MY TESTIMONY
I was born 2 months premature in a hospital where my mother tried to abort me. I weighed a little over 3 pounds and didn’t see my mother at all for 28 days. Growing up I was physically and emotionally abused by two parents who were not married and who dranked and smoked three packs per day.
My father couldn’t keep a job and my mother got laid off at her job when I turned 16. I also found out that I had a cancer called Fibrosarcoma and my onocologist said I only had three years to live. My mother didn’t want me to go into the hospital to take care of this tumor so I left and went out on my own and put myself in the hospital at age 17.
My tumor showed up after I had an accident taking a fall while practicing judo at the local YMCA in Louisville Ky. I started to learn karate and for the next several years I had a total of seven surgeries for my cancer and I progressed through the ranks in karate until I reached first degree black belt after I took my test twice. Each time I went into the hospital for more surgery, I got a new belt ranking. Each surgery lasted 12 to 14 hours each except the third surgery.
The third surgery was a killer for me. They actually rebuilt my jaw, neck, shoulder and voice box. My left side of my jaw was replaced by a donor jaw. I lost part of my tongue, lost part of my voice box, lost part of the left side of my neck and shoulder and I had a 50 percent chance of getting strokes later on in my life.
I died when I was in the recovery room for about a minute and a half. I went out of my body and went to a beautiful place and was walking over a bridge above a small stream. I saw my Grandmother and my best friend at the end of the bridge on the other side. I stopped and a voice said to me: “Not time yet. I have things for you to do”. I was revived in the recovery room and two weeks later I was sent home and a month later I was cancer free after 7 operations.
I changed my name, relocated to Tennessee and got a new job as a draftsman in a local firm in Jackson. For the next 30 years I was on a quest to find Jesus. I was a Mormon, Church of Christ, a Baptist and a Unitarian. I also was getting ill in other ways. I have gone through two divorces, a bankruptcy, a job loss in 2001 ( my employer said he needed to pay for his wife’s alimony so he laid me off) , two strokes, 8 TIA’s, heart failure, LVH Cardiomyopathy, Neuropathy in the legs, surgery on both legs, Glaucoma, two heart attacks, Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar illnesses.
It doesn’t bother me. I have a good church now and friends to support me. I have always had the Favor of God upon me before I was born and will have until I go home and see my Father.
Leonard Bruce
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
