A Donkey's Journey: The True Story of a Man's Path from Worthlessness to Purpose

By Gregory Cherven

A Donkey's Journey chronicles the author's life and path to understanding his purpose according to God's will. Although the author had accomplished many things, such as being a Marine Corps veteran from operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and a deputy sheriff and special victims detective, he still felt worthless and was frustrated with the meaning of life. The author takes us on a journey with his bouts with worthlessness and struggles as he relates his life to that of a donkey. The author allows us to feel his pain when acknowledging his failures as a husband which led to the ultimate failure of his marriage. His undiagnosed mental health issues contributed to severe suicidal thoughts. This is of course until the day he turned his entire life over to God, and he asked God to give him a greater purpose for his life. We go on the journey with him as he faces spiritual battles along the way. His purpose in life begins to be identified as his spirit life grows stronger. The purpose of the book is to reach those that are battling some form of struggle in their life, to leave a feeling of worthlessness and find a life of purpose. The key to breaking the chains of bondage from all sorts of issues is to completely turn our lives over to Jesus Christ. He is not only the key to eternal life, he is the key to abundant life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644587508

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A Donkey's Journey

The True Story of a Man’s Path from Worthlessness to Purpose

Gregory K. Cherven

Copyright © 2019 by Gregory K. Cherven

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

To my mother and my four daughters. My mother always believed in me and loved me. She was my earthly strength when I needed it. My daughters were my reason for living. I want them to know how much I loved them even when times were tough. I will always love all of you. I also need to give a special thanks to my wife. She was sent by God to help me accomplish my mission. She is a living angel amongst us. Romina, I could have never done it without you.

Foreword

Prior to me and my wife getting married, she told me that I should write a book. I thought it was a great idea. I told her that I always had the longing to write a book. I started going over all the different ideas and topics for a book that I had been storing in my head over the past several years. My wife stopped me and said, You don’t understand; you need to write a story about your life. I was truly taken back. I looked at my wife and said, Who would want to read a story about my life? I then heard the words everyone who needs it .

I had no idea my life was going to change so much in the near future, and I was going to be blessed and used by God in so many ways. In my mind, I was worthless and useless, but God had other plans for my life. The point is that even though this book is about my personal journey, it’s not about me. It’s about God and what He did for me. I don’t deserve any credit. My goal is not to gain glory or fame. It’s not even to make money. My goal is to reach people and help fulfill the Great Commission. It is meant to bring people to a clear understanding of their salvation, eternal life, and God’s purpose for their life.

I can tell you that I am not a pastor, theologian, or some great scholar of God. I am a simple man that gave up the fight and trusted in God’s love. Along my journey, I discovered God had a greater purpose for my life, and I simply needed to be willing. I like to see myself as a man on a mission, so I guess you could call me a missionary. This book is meant to inspire and encourage everyone that has gone through some sort of struggle and to allow them to understand that God has a greater purpose for their life. I had to learn that God’s timing is perfect. He loves you. You just need to love Him. My only agenda is to one day stand before The Lord and hear the words Well done, good, and faithful servant. (Matthew 25:23).

As you read the story, I hope you find some similarities with your own life. I’m sure if you look back on your journey, God was trying to tell you things and guide you. He even sent people into your life to help you. God always wants the best for you. You went through struggles in life for a reason. God needs you spiritually strong. It is written

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).

Chapter 1

Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

—Joshua 1:9

Let me start off by giving you a little back ground of who I am and where I come from. I was born in upstate western New York in the late 1960s. My parents were children of European immigrants. My mother came from a very poor Polish family, and my father’s family came from Austria. The village in Austria where my grandfather was born is now located in the Czech Republic after changes in borders over time. My mother was Catholic, and my father was Lutheran. Literally, both sides of the Christian faith. I was baptized in the Lutheran church. My father did not go to church at all. My mother tried, but she worked two jobs to support the family and just stopped going. My family moved to Florida when I was only four years old. I probably had what most would consider a very normal childhood until I was ten years old.

At the age of ten, I had a spiritual experience which would solidify my faith in God at such an early age. It was during the summer break of 1979 when I was with a group of friends at a friend’s house. We were unsupervised and looking for things to occupy our attention. One of my friends found a semiautomatic handgun. We were all outside of the house and hanging around the front yard and front porch area of the house. The kid who had the gun was sixteen years old, and he pointed the gun at the ground and pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

A fourteen-year-old friend of mine named Mike was sitting on the front porch. He was sitting on the ground with his back to the front wall of the house. I vividly remember watching the next moments unfold as if in slow motion. The kid pointed the handgun at Mike and said, Hey Mike. He then pulled the trigger and with a surprising bang. Mike was struck in the side of the head with one 0.45-caliber bullet. His head instantly fell to the side, and blood exited through the wound. We all then disappointingly scattered like cockroaches. We were all so scared; we didn’t know what to do. I ran a couple of blocks down the road, and I stopped. Something told me to go back. Remember, I was only ten years old. I was the youngest of the group of kids. I thought maybe they were playing a joke on me. I went back to the house. I was all alone. I saw Mike still sitting in the same spot, and blood dripping from the wound causing a puddle on the concrete patio. I then ran away again.

I remember seeing the boy that shot Mike banging on a neighbor’s door begging for help. I continued running all the way to my elementary school which was about two miles away. They were having some sort of a summer program, and I walked right into a game of bingo to try and forget about what I had just witnessed. At some point, another friend that was not at the incident came up to me. He asked me if I heard what had happened. I then broke down and started crying hysterically. I eventually went home and told my parents what had happened. I had to testify to police detectives that the incident was an accident. Even at the young age of ten years old, I started to question life. By the way, this part of my story is not meant to dispute gun control in any way, shape or form. It is a simple fact that this happened.

A couple of weeks after the incident, I was sitting on the driveway of my parent’s house. I was all alone, and I was reflecting and still in sorrow about losing my friend Mike. A white dove suddenly landed on the driveway. My first thought was, Wow! What a pretty bird. I watched the bird for a few moments while it walked around the driveway. The dove started coming closer to me. I thought it was so strange. I figured I would reach out to the bird, and it would then fly away. However, I was wrong. The bird actually let me pet it. I couldn’t believe it. The dove then turned around and had a hole in the side of its head, and the hole was on the same side as where my friend Mike was shot. I was completely in shock. I took a few steps back, and the dove just looked at me. The dove then flapped its wings and flew up into the sky. The dove kept flying directly up until I could no longer see it. I then ran in the house and told my mother what I had just witnessed. My mother, of course, did her best to try and explain to me what happened. But I think she was just as confused as I was at the time.

I know that God sent that white dove to me. It was to let me know that Mike was with Him in heaven, and everything was okay. At this early stage in my life, there was nobody that was going to tell me that God did not exist. I did not need a priest or pastor or anyone else for that matter to tell me about the existence of God. I experienced it. God probably had a greater purpose for my life even at that time, but I didn’t get it. I chose to live my life the way I wanted to. I wasn’t a bad person. I was just free to make my own decisions and do what I wanted to do. When I was twelve years old, a friend asked me to go to the store with him to buy a baseball bat. When we arrived at the store, we quickly realized we did not have enough money for the baseball bat. My friend then switched the price tags on the bat to a lower price so that we could afford it. The store frowned upon this form of purchasing, and we were caught by the store security. I was actually arrested and transported to the police station where I was booked and later released to my mother. I was eventually sentenced to community service and ordered to report to the Veterans Administration hospital where I transported prosthetic legs around the hospital. Do I need to remind you that I was twelve years old? It was crazy.

My mother tried teaching me at this time the best she knew how. She obviously did not want me growing up to be a thief. She sat me down at the dining-room table on a Saturday