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My Plan for Life: I grew up in Elysian Valley along with my other seven siblings and had no real connection with God except for occasional visits to our local Catholic church, which was more out of obligation than a heartfelt need. My primary goal in life was to work hard, invest wisely and become rich so I could retire and live a life of luxury, by the time I was 30 years old. By the age of 23, I was a home owner, landlord, and business partner with my first wife. |
I thought I had it all figured out. I thought I was on the right track to wealth and an early retirement, but instead of staying the course, I wound up working hard, investing not so wisely, divorced with an eight month old daughter and living back with my parents at the age of 30. I did the opposite of what the scripture clearly teaches. (Genesis 2:24 “A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife.”) I was only interested in making a lot of money and living the good life. Now, I realize what I should have been taught back then, a person cannot serve two masters. (Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”)
A Life without Jesus:
I never imaged that life could be so lonely and meaningless. In my attempt to fill the void, I began to drink heavily, party hard, gamble recklessly and womanize. This wasn’t just a weekend habit, but an everyday habit. It got so bad that I would just drive drunk directly from the club to work. I would sleep my drunkenness off in my car until work started. Out of the seven De Alba’s who worked there with dependable and hardworking reputations, I was the only one known as the screwball. My life continued downward and looked like there was no hope for recovery.
A Continuation of Sin:
In July of 1994, I was reunited with Renee, (my present wife) an old girlfriend who was separated with two children and had become a so called baptized Jehovah’s Witness. She too was on a road to destruction when we met again at her brother’s party house. Ironically, she was the first person to ever witness to me as a born again Christian when I was 16 years old. God chooses the strangest people, the strangest places and strangest times to fulfill His will and purpose in a man and woman’s life. Within five months of our relationship, we bought a home and moved in together with our children; Michael, Gabrielle and Melissa. We became the ultimate blended family with all its own trials and tribulations. This only encouraged us to seek peace by continuing to drink and take spontaneous trips to Las Vegas and the race track whenever we could.
Rejecting the Light:
By this time, my sister Rosa who was also my co-worker began witnessing to me every day about the love of God and the peace that I could experience through a personal relationship with His son Jesus Christ. I wanted nothing to do with her or her Jesus because I was willfully living in sin and thought I was enjoying life as it was. But with sin in your life and no relationship with God, there is NO peace. I thank my sister for her persistence and her insistence in showing the love of Christ and the grace of God to me.
The Turning Point:
It was then that Renee decided she needed to get right with God and return to the kingdom hall. For her, it was being a Jehovah’s Witness or nothing. So I found myself one morning dressed in a shirt and tie, minus the suitcase, at our local Kingdom Hall. After my visit at the Kingdom Hall I knew that religion was not for me. I remember telling her that I could never be the spiritual leader of the family or even lead us in prayer or worship, but I loved her and didn’t want to lose her. It was a struggle. With only the spiritual knowledge of a Christmas and Easter Catholic, I did not have a doctrinal leg to stand on. I could not defend myself against the errors of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Watchtower Society. I quickly became a spiritual pretzel that eagerly wanted to know the truth. This was the turning point of my spiritual walk. I studied for a whole year in secrecy while Renee was at work. I didn’t know at the time that Renee was also being ministered to by Mike MacIntosh on KWVE radio each day on her way home from work. She too kept this a secret. God is good! And with the help of two wonderful grounded Christian brothers I was able to begin to understand the darkness that I was truly in. After much studying, I came to the conclusion that not only was the Jehovah’s Witnesses doctrine wrong, but I was wrong as a Roman Catholic, in that I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Taking a Stand:
In September of 1996, I took a stand for Jesus and began attending Calvary Chapel of Golden Springs. Needless to say, this caused us to compromise. Jesus said in Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” The pot was boiling and we had to make a decision. I was in a win, win situation. If Renee decided to stay, I win by having Jesus and her in my life. If Renee decided to leave, then I still had Jesus in my life. Only the Lord knew what would happen, but as for me and my house, we were going to serve the Lord no matter what!
Receiving Jesus:
As Renee continued to visit the local Kingdom Hall by herself, I was being exhorted and challenged to repent from my wicked ways and receive Jesus. On October 30th, 1996, I was more than ready to receive Jesus into my heart. I was the first person to answer Pastor Raul’s alter call and for the first time in my life, I felt the peace that passes all understanding! The only thing standing in the way of serving the Lord completely was my situation at home. So I invited Renee to join me for Pastor Raul’s Wednesday night study the day before Thanksgiving. I still remember the words that came out of her mouth when the service ended, “I cannot do this again.” I thought for sure that this was the end our relationship. I just continued to pray and left the whole situation in the His hands and I was ready to accept whatever His will was for us. Two weeks later she returned with me to church. I’ll never forget the message Pastor Raul gave on hell and neither will she. She recommitted her heart to the Lord that night! Praise the Lord!
The Union:
Once we had both committed our heart to the Lord, we knew we could no longer live in willful sin. I asked Renee to marry me and in a month and a half we were married. At the wedding ceremony the Pastor dedicated our entire family unto the Lord and life has never been the same. Jesus is at the center of our hearts and our home.