Salvaged: A True Story About the Power of Prayer and God's Mercies in Disguise

By Rebecca Smith Davis

This gripping true story is narrated by Rebecca Smith Davis as she shares firsthand experiences on how God can intervene in our lives by transforming our trials into a greater purpose for God’s glory. Rebecca tells about her husband, Leroy, before they had met. She shares how he had struggled to stay sober until God planted him in a prison cell while God dealt with his heart. Rebecca reveals her own struggles with wavering commitment to God since childhood, and how her rebellion resulted in three broken marriages. Her chronicle continues as she shares Rebecca and Leroy’s love story where they met in church and formed a quick bond that further cemented their love for God and for each other. These stories of faith allow readers to relate to instances with their own struggles and shortfalls and how God extends grace and forgiveness to those who have a willing heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781664294226

Rebecca Smith Davis

Rebecca Smith Davis writes inspiring stories about real people and their faith in God. Her first book, titled Blessed, portrays a loving true story about her husband, Leroy Davis, and his encounter with an angel while in a coma fighting for his life. Rebecca and Leroy have been married for 16 years and have a blended family of five children, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. When she’s not writing, she lives a quiet retired life with her husband, Leroy, their cat, Nanny, and their rat terrier, Jack. She and her husband currently reside in Kodak, Tennessee, where they enjoy the beauty of the Smoky Mountains. Rebecca has future plans to release new books for her Tell Your Story series and is currently working on a devotional about journeys of faith for everyday life.

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Copyright © 2023 Rebecca Smith Davis.

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Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-9423-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9424-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-9422-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023904094

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/10/2023

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART 1: LEROY’S STORY

Chapter 1     Peace in a Pillow

Chapter 2     Subtle Trouble

Chapter 3     Laundry Days

Chapter 4     Finding Purpose

Chapter 5     Moving On

Chapter 6     Home Sweet Home

PART 2: REBECCA’S STORY

Chapter 1     Renewed

Chapter 2     Damaged Goods

Chapter 3     Running from God

Chapter 4     Rebellious Choices

PART 3: LEROY AND REBECCA

Chapter 1     Dream of Me and Only Me

Chapter 2     The Mountains Are Calling

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Without my husband, this book could not have been written. Thank you for providing me the inspiration and for allowing me to share our story.

To my daughters, Christine and Leigh, who were my very first readers—thank you for reading my hundreds and millions of revisions as I began this journey toward authorship. Your feedback and support have been invaluable. Thank you for believing in me.

To my friend Sharon Tabor, your encouragement has been endearing. When I sent you my manuscript, and asked that you give me your opinion, I knew that you would be honest. I needed an affirmation that I was on track with what God had asked me to do. I recall your words of encouragement to me. Everybody has a story and none of us are perfect, so by sharing our experiences, others can relate to your trials and find trust in God. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Introduction

Many are reluctant to tell their story of salvation because they may feel their experience is insignificant to others, or perhaps that a part of their past may bring them shame.

This book is based on a true story of my husband and myself about the ups and downs of living a Christian life and how God extends grace and forgiveness when we fail him.

In October 2005, I was at church, and I watched as Leroy Davis gave his life to Jesus in baptism. I didn’t know Leroy at the time. I had no idea that someday he would be my husband.

We formally met at church in the spring of 2006, where we quickly formed a love connection, and together our bond cemented our love for God. We were married a year later.

We shared with each other our backgrounds and how God had changed our hearts. Our testimonies were so very different. Leroy revealed to me how God had intervened in his life when God removed him from a pattern of alcohol abuse by planting him in a prison cell and dealt with his heart. He shared his struggles to stay sober. In turn, I had also shared with Leroy my downfall of three broken marriages and my own struggles with commitment to God.

Leroy’s story of how he ended up in prison for something frivolous was incredible. He talked about the many truths he saw with violence and despair in prison. He confided with me about his own experience in solitary confinement. Some of the encounters that he had met while in prison were not a coincidence. Looking back, we both realized that God had been there with him through every trial that he suffered and that God was just waiting for Leroy to surrender.

I knew that Leroy’s testimony was one that may inspire others and I wanted to write his story. Leroy agreed that I could share his story of salvation, but he wanted to remain anonymous.

A few short months before retirement in 2021, I began writing the book that I had titled, Salvaged. When I had almost completed my manuscript, I was perplexed on how to end the story. Leroy had been recovering from a severe illness at that time, so I focused on taking care of my husband, and I put my writing to rest for a while. I spent time in prayer asking God to tell me what was missing. It turned out that God had other plans. He was leading me to write a different book, a story about my husband and his recent battle to survive an illness while in a coma. Once I had authored the book Blessed, everything else fell into place for my second book, Salvaged.

As I went back to writing the conclusion of Salvaged, God spoke to me again. Because Salvaged was about salvation, God wanted me to include my own story. This was the missing piece. I questioned, But why Lord? My salvation story was so ordinary. In fact, I was ashamed of many parts of my testimony. Being a Christian since childhood gave me an advantage to prosper early on toward a holy life; and yet, I chose to stray from my relationship with God over and over again. Why would people be inspired by knowing about my blunders and big fat mistakes, all due to my not keeping my eyes on Jesus?

God kept saying to me, Tell your story.

This book was written for anyone who struggles with their own failures and shortfalls while living for Christ. Walk with me on this journey as I share our testimonies about how God transformed our lives and how we learned that our pain and suffering can lead to a lesson in trusting God.

For privacy reasons, the names of the individuals in the stories have been changed. Dialogue written may not be word for word but remains authentic and the details are as accurate as possible.

Part One

LEROY’S STORY

Chapter One

PEACE IN A PILLOW

A pril 2004. Leroy was beyond tired. He was brought back to the county detention center after his hearing. Going before the judge and then listening to the sentencing had been too much to deal with, yet he now felt such a wave of peace. The impact of the hearing soared through his mind, and it had not been what he had expected. He laid down and buried his face against the lumpy pillow. All he wanted to do was sleep, so he stretched out on the narrow, saggy mattress in his jail cell. This was nothing like home, and he guessed he needed to get used to the sparse living conditions.

Before going in front of the judge, he’d prepared for the worst. He’d been kicked out of his apartment again, so he packed what little things he had and put them in storage. He went over to work to get his paycheck. They had been surprised to see him. Nobody had been able to find him for days. He’d been avoiding the chance of running into Lil, which would have made his situation far worse. The phone had been disconnected at home, and he’d had no way to call anyone even if he wanted to. Honestly, it had been the perfect tranquility he’d needed. Lil, his wife of only several short months, did not care about the court order that was put in place to prevent any contact between them. If she had the opportunity, she would belly up on him and ask for money. It didn’t matter that she was the reason he was in jail. In her eyes, nothing went wrong.

Friday before, he had missed his meeting with his probation officer regarding his DUI charges. It slipped his mind. By the time he’d remembered, it was the weekend, and he hadn’t bothered to find a pay phone to call the probation office. He had been trying to sort out the events he knew were coming. He should have known going into work was a mistake. It was a setup. He’d walked across the parking lot and into the building, but his gate card wouldn’t work. He’d gone into the office. Everyone had been acting weird, so they went to get Pappy, the shift supervisor. The cops came within minutes, and he had immediately been arrested.