Several years ago, James Dickerson decided to “go public” with all the service dog project he was doing…

… and it happened ABOUT the same time that Eno, a combat veteran who had lost just about everything and was rebuilding, inquired about a dog.

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His request wasn’t one James could generally fulfill, yet a twist of Providence entered the picture and the problem was solved.

That led to a road trip to go get the dog…

Which led to inviting Alex (another veteran who rarely left his house due to PTSD and other issues) to take the road trip with him…

Which led to all kinds of interactions along the way.

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En route, James entered a new chapter— something previously “tucked and locked” behind closed doors…

… as did Alex…

… as did a whole lot of others in the wake of it all.

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And that’s the subject of this talk, which all began with “I need a favor” stacked upon “I need a favor” heaped upon “I need a favor” pounced upon “I need a favor,” too.

⭐️

Buckle up, and ride along…

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📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james

💥 Learn more about the difference between PTSD and Moral Injury, 12-minute video = https://www.gy6.online/blog/which

🐾 Rhea County Animal Shelter, mentioned in this episode = https://www.facebook.com/rheacountyanimalshelter/

⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com

There’s something powerful about story…

… especially stories we encounter in real time with actual people…

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… which is what James and Alex encountered along the way to pick pick up Angel…

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Ancient rabbis believed that each time a story of redemption was told, the retelling of the story carried the exact same power and imparted the same possibilities to those who heard it as the person who lived the story actually experienced.

In other words, you find yourself wrapped in that same power of the past again in the present.

Perhaps you’ve experienced it—

— You hear of a miraculous healing and sense faith rising

— You hear of a restarted relationship and sense yours can mend

— You hear of a financial breakthrough and sense hope for your situation

— You hear of another person facing Post Traumatic Stress, Moral Injury, Suicide… and you sense you can push forward too…

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Again…

There’s something STRONG about story.

Especially the “overcoming” version that’s transparent about the obstacles and failures encountered along the way.

Revelation 12 says that we overcome by two things— the blood of Jesus AND the power of your story (see Revelation 12:11).

That is, we overcome by—

— That past work that Jesus has already done 2,000 years ago, and

— The ongoing work of declaring what He’s doing in our lives right now.

When we share the stories— when you share your story of overcoming— people
in midst of their valley sense there might be a way forward.

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This is one of the reasons we find so many instructions throughout the Bible to talk about the stories of God’s past provision.

For instance,

— God told the Children of Israel to continually talk about how they were redeemed from slavery and walked through the Red Sea (see Exodus 12).

— He reminded each generation to tell the next generation the stories of breakthrough and blessing, including all of those which happened during their lifetime as well as those leading up to it (see Psalm 145:4).

— The Children of Israel even created monuments to elicit questions and conversations, so they could retell the stories (i.e., Joshua 4:21-22).

Each time a story was told— and retold— of how God interrupted a catastrophe and ignited hope, the same power was unleashed again.

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Our prayer is that this story is one of those moments for you.

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📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james

💥 Learn more about the difference between PTSD and Moral Injury, 12-minute video = https://www.gy6.online/blog/which

⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com

Look back at every pivotal moment in your life, and the transition probably has more to do with a relationship than a raw decision.

This means that each time you “leveled up” and achieved something, there were probably other people you were connected to…

… and each time you, well, took a plunge into a different direction, there were probably others involved there, too.

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For sure, this doesn’t invalidate our victories nor does it diminish our responsibility for bad choices… but, it does highlight something central to the human condition: we are relational.

We rarely succeed alone.

We rarely “mess up” alone.

And when it comes to trauma… well, people rarely heal alone.

❤️‍🩹

Again, most of the data suggests we need RELATIONSHIPS in order to full walk out of the pains of our past and into our truest, highest potential.

Sometimes, those relationships begin with dogs…

… because neither dogs NOR people reach peak performance on their own.

🐶

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📕 Join the book launch team for James’ upcoming book = www.GY6.online/james

📺 Watch Michelle Hoffman’s Emmy-award winning video about James = www.GY6.online/blog/james

⭐️ James’ website = www.JamesForVets.com

📓 Grab Andy’s book (or audiobook) “Soul & Spirit | Health + Healing” = www.GY6.online/SSHH