Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: And I know you're in pain every day, but yet you're always smiling.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: I have to. I'm thankful.
You know, in a sense, life couldn't be better because there's people in here that need to hear the gospel.
[00:00:12] Speaker A: So you think part of your reasoning for living in a nursing home is to be a like to other people?
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Oh, I know it is.
Foreign.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Chad Hudson, it is such a blessing to be here with you today. Thank you for making making time to share your story with me and so many others.
[00:00:45] Speaker B: My pleasure.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: Let's just talk about your journey. Where did you grow up?
[00:00:49] Speaker B: So I, I spent what, eight, say, call it 10 years in Dayton, Ohio, and then moved to plano, Texas, spent 10 years there, graduated from Plano east, moved to Austin and spent 10 years there and graduated from University of Texas.
[00:01:06] Speaker A: And when you finished in Austin, then what, what did you do, career wise?
[00:01:09] Speaker B: Well, I was working at Dell Computer and I became a dellionaire, almost about $900,000. My stock went shooting up. I worked for seven years. Right. So I was, at 28 years old, I had that kind of money and I played the stock market and paper money went up and went down.
But I retired and I wanted to go to Hawaii and get toe rings and tattoos, as they say.
[00:01:32] Speaker A: I'm not seeing them, but okay.
[00:01:33] Speaker B: No, I didn't end up doing that. I wanted to, you know, I wanted to get out of the concrete jungle and I wanted to get closer to God and I wanted to, like, row my own hoe of food. But I had a friend in Vegas and he was selling timeshare and he told me that it was.
It was legitimate and it was, you're helping people and that it was actual deed and title. And so I went out there and I tried it. I drove my Corvette out there and I told my wife, yep, it's legit. And I, you know, I could sell this to my family.
So I went out, I went back to. I flew to play back to Austin, loaded up a truck, my dog and my seven my. At that point, I had two cats, I think, and my wife and drove all the way back to Vegas.
[00:02:22] Speaker A: So you were then living in Vegas for a while?
[00:02:24] Speaker B: I lived in Vegas for five years.
[00:02:25] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:02:26] Speaker B: Spent all my Dell money, ended up getting a divorce.
Drugs played a part in that. And then went, after about five years of that, got clean for five years, started working for Steve.
And that's when I made a bunch of money with Steve again in 2010 and fell in love with this girl and courted her and Chased her for all the wrong reasons, met her in the wrong place.
And that lasted about three years. Went into depression.
And then I prayed for God to get me out of depression. And that's when I met Claudia. And summer of 2015, we broke up and found out we were pregnant. And so we got back together and tried to make it work for five years and didn't work. And so I prayed to God and I left. And then I got hurt a year later. That was 2021.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: So 2021 you had an injury.
[00:03:24] Speaker B: I got hurt in 2021 when I was not following. You know, this was a spiritual thing. This is a spiritual attack. I felt it come on me from my feet to my ankles to my knees, right? And I was in. When I wasn't able to sleep and I went to a.
I was at my friend's, we were building a. I was number one sales rep for a solar company. And I got headhunted and I opened up a roofing company. We got the ein number, we got our trucks wrapped. I went out and got about $300,000 worth of business or about $450,000 worth of business. And I had this knot in my back, kept hurting me. And I thought it was because I wasn't in a king size bed because I had bought a single and I was working on that roofing company. Me and him had a little small apartment. And so I went to the hotel room closest to me and it was this guest inn. And it was a no tell motel. And it's a place where I'd been before, you know, doing immoral things, you know, sexual immorality and drugs. And that's when the attack happened, when I became paralyzed. And it was in that place. So it was symbolic that I was in that place, place of sin, when I became paralyzed. A previous place of sin.
[00:04:39] Speaker A: So do you somehow think that what happened with the paralysis was somehow tied to God allowing that to get your attention?
[00:04:48] Speaker B: I think God said, where's Hudson? What's he doing? He's living a fast life. Slow him down. And saved my soul. This wheelchair saved my soul.
[00:04:56] Speaker A: The wheelchair saved your soul?
[00:04:58] Speaker B: I was heading the wrong way.
Sexual immorality and drugs.
[00:05:02] Speaker A: Where do you think you would be today if you did not end up?
[00:05:06] Speaker B: I feel like I would be reprobate or dead.
Praise Jesus.
I'm thankful for the. I go through pain every day, but God chastises the ones he loves.
[00:05:23] Speaker A: You know, the scripture says that God continue. He will. He will discipline those whom he loves.
Right.
I think we all need to be disciplined at times. Right.
[00:05:31] Speaker B: I'm so thankful for the discipline, but
[00:05:33] Speaker A: it's for our own good.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: It's painful emotionally, especially since I can't be with my son, but I'm so thankful at the same time. It's painful physically, everyday pain, but.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: And you know, I'm seeing tears of joy.
[00:05:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: And I know you're in pain every day, but yet you're always smiling.
[00:05:56] Speaker B: I have to. I'm thankful.
You know, in a sense, life couldn't be better because there's people in here that need to hear the gospel and there's a lot of people in there that know the gospel.
[00:06:11] Speaker A: So you think part of your reasoning for being in a. Literally living in a nursing home is to be a light to other people?
[00:06:21] Speaker B: Oh, I know it is.
I mean, what else? I mean, the Bible says that we're supposed to be a fisher of men.
[00:06:29] Speaker A: Chad, I'll never forget. It just so happens that the lesson that particular evening was Jesus and the healing of the paralytic. And Jesus shows up and this guy has been paralyzed, wanting to be made well, no one will help him. Jesus looks at him and says, do you want to be well?
And of course he has all these reasons and excuses and things like that. And Jesus says, pick up your mat and walk.
And of course the guy miraculously is on his feet, jumping for joy. He goes into the temple to worship. He doesn't even know who healed him. Right. And so we go through the whole lesson. It was beautiful. It was powerful. And then at the end, I said, is there anybody that's online? Maybe I can't see your cameras on? Anybody have any comments, questions? And then all of a sudden on the big screen in the room, I'm with all these guys in the Bible study. All of a sudden here I see you for the first time and you're in your wheelchair like this and you're in a nursing home.
And I'll never forget you said, did you guys know there was going to be a paralytic on this call tonight? Remember that?
[00:07:30] Speaker B: Yeah, I just remember I was surprised. I thought maybe that you had picked that sermon for me and turned out it was not the case.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: No, no. God had it picked for you.
[00:07:41] Speaker B: And I didn't know that either.
[00:07:45] Speaker A: And then you said, the whole time that you guys have been talking, I've been thinking about that question when Jesus said, do you want to be well?
Do you want to be well?
And then I'll never forget you said, guys, it's time for me to be all in.
I'm going to take a stand for Jesus. You want to repeat that? What did you say?
[00:08:08] Speaker B: Yeah. I was ready to repent and turn away from sin and commit fully.
Yeah. I think I said I'm ready to go. I wanted to go all in. This is it.
[00:08:25] Speaker A: And here I've got all these guys of different ages, some guys in high school, college, senior adults, and we're all. There's not a dry eye in the place.
[00:08:34] Speaker B: For real?
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Oh, I'm for real.
Because in there you had tears of joy going down your face.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: Wow.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: And you're such an inspiration to each one of us.
[00:08:44] Speaker B: Well, I couldn't be more honored.
I'm gracious, I'm humbled. I don't feel worthy.
The love that you've shown me and Steve and Randy is, can only be Godlike. It can only be Christian love.
And you know, I used to, I used to, I used to beat up bullies.
I used to protect people. I used to be the one that could verbally because I was a top notch salesman.
I could talk people off a cliff. I could, I could, you know, wrestle people to the ground and protect people. I mean, I was that person that did it. And now I can't do, I can't do it for other people. I can't do it for myself.
But it's people like you and people in here that are doing it for me now that mean so much. And only thing I can do is give glory to God and thank him for it because it's a church family and I'm so thankful.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Well, we're grateful for you, man. And you're such an inspiration to us.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: I'm sorry I'm such a crybaby.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: No, this is powerful. Well, I remember. And then last week I get an email from Randy, our mutual friend. And the email said, you said to Randy, you said, randy, I need to be baptized.
And so then we got on the phone and I said, you know what, Chad?
I'll fly to Texas and we'll do your baptism. And you couldn't believe it. You were like, what?
[00:10:26] Speaker B: You made it happen.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: And here we are. And here in a few moments, we're going to have many of the guys from the Bible study, some of whom saw your face for the first time when I did, thanks to technology, when you came on, when you were on that zoom call. And I just think there's a passage of scripture that says that some are planting, some are watering, and then God brings the growth.
And there's just a chain here. There's a link of how God used so many people in your life, even in the time I've known you, whether it's Randy that invited you on that call for the first time, to Steve and things he's done to encourage and to help you.
My friend Heron has come in all the way from Arkansas to be here
[00:11:08] Speaker B: for this, Steve, to. To not let leave a detail out. He. He Uber. You just saw my son Gabriel and his mother Claudia, all the way from Josephine, Texas. He Ubered them here. And so.
[00:11:22] Speaker A: So they could be here today.
[00:11:23] Speaker B: Yeah. Because otherwise they wouldn't have been able to make it.
[00:11:25] Speaker A: And what does that mean to you? That you're.
[00:11:27] Speaker B: It's priceless.
It's priceless.
This is priceless.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: I agree. I am so honored and blessed to be part of this. What do you think it was that captured you that day at that Bible study that made you decide?
You know what? I want to be all in, and I want to give my life to Christ fully, and I want to be baptized. What do you think it was?
[00:11:48] Speaker B: I've been making wrong decisions my whole life, and mankind will let you down, but Jesus is always there.
I just want to have a relationship with him. I want to get to know Jesus. I want to feel his presence.
I want to be a light for others.
I want to be unoffendable.
I want to be thankful and gracious and humble.
I want to do God's will.
And that day, I saw such an interest coming from Randy and you, and it was a powerful interest that y'. All. You know, there was somebody else that was going to baptize me, but you kept on showing this interest, and I was like, if you guys are taking that much of an interest in me, and then I can't imagine how much Jesus interest is.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:12:45] Speaker B: So let's do it. I'm in. I need it.
[00:12:48] Speaker A: I want it.
[00:12:49] Speaker B: You know, if you just confirmed a desire that was within me, and I really appreciate that Christian love and to somebody I'd really never met, but you were all, you know, thank you.
[00:13:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, you're an inspiration to me, man, and so many others who know you and your story.
I mean, for us to be part of this and to be able to come up here and just hang out, and the fact of all these special people in your life going to be here to witness your baptism and be part of that.
[00:13:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:16] Speaker A: And then go have a good meal afterwards. I mean, I can't think of a better way to spend my day.
[00:13:21] Speaker B: Well, thank you so much. I'm honored and humbled.
[00:13:23] Speaker A: Yeah. So thank you.
[00:13:39] Speaker B: It's just very important to me to have everybody from all groups of my life and for all over the nation.
You came in from Little Rock. Who else came here from another state?
Little Rock, North Carolina, New Jersey. New Jersey.
I'm overwhelmed and humbled. I want to make a commitment to Jesus and have a relationship with God and be able to feel that nudge and communicate with God much more. Being baptized will help me. So God bless all y' all and
[00:14:12] Speaker C: thank you for coming. Chad, you're a great guy.
The one thing you learned in football, never quit.
[00:14:20] Speaker B: Right?
[00:14:21] Speaker C: And you haven't quit.
And watching you the last two years fight this battle up and down, all around, and the people you've had to take on at the same time, I'm very proud of you.
[00:14:34] Speaker B: Life's a challenge. We all know that. And I'm so grateful that his friends, you all are here through thick and thin.
No question about it.
Chad's a lucky guy in that respect. Yeah. And Chad's a challenge. And I'll tell you without question. I know. I don't know how he's doing what he's doing and handling it the way he's handling it.
That's the man inside of my mouth.
I'm grateful for it. He's got a beautiful son. Some other things here.
Taller than me, a lot better looking, for sure.
I am so grateful for all of you being here for my boy. Thank you, Chad.
[00:15:19] Speaker C: What a great day.
[00:15:20] Speaker B: Mr. Heron.
[00:15:21] Speaker C: Yes, sir. I'm so proud of you. You are an inspiration to all of us. You are a gift from God, and you are a blessing.
And you are going to bless people in this nursing home. You're going to bless people that God puts in your path. And you are going to be a light, not only to your path, but to the path of others.
You are going to glorify God's kingdom each and every day. As you seek to honor him, worship him and to receive his love and share his love and his life with others.
God bless you with your baptism. I'm so grateful to be here. So grateful for your family.
Praise Jesus.
[00:16:05] Speaker B: Amen.
[00:16:06] Speaker C: I love you.
God bless you, Daddy.
[00:16:09] Speaker B: May Jesus fill up your heart, help you and heal you, and may Jesus continue to protect my mom and the rest of the family. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen.
[00:16:20] Speaker A: What does it mean to you to have some of the friends here from where you live?
[00:16:24] Speaker B: Well, I'm just honored and I'm humbled. I don't feel worthy, but I know Jesus Makes me worthy because of his blood. And I never met them before. I never met a lot of people. I didn't meet Chet. I didn't meet Heron. And you guys are shedding tears, you know, because of the brotherhood in Christ. And praise Jesus. All glory to God.
[00:16:45] Speaker A: Well, I've got something here for you I thought you might like.
[00:16:48] Speaker B: How come? Horns.
Class of 95.
[00:16:52] Speaker A: Yeah. Here you go.
[00:16:53] Speaker B: Class of 95.
[00:16:55] Speaker A: Yeah, you, too.
[00:16:58] Speaker D: You know, we can say we read and we learned the other day. What will it profit man to gain the world and lose his soul? But Chad's kind of living the opposite. What does it gain a man to lose the world as he knew it and gain his soul? Because that's what he's doing. And he's having a profession of faith today that, like, I've never seen. And Chad and I have been longtime friends a long, long time.
And he's been through a lot. I watched it, and I've watched how he's grown since the tragedy. Yeah, sure.
I've watched how you've grown with God.
I've watched what you've done. I know that you speak with people and you speak from the heart, and you touched a lot of lives, lives you probably wouldn't have had to. Been able to touch had you not been in this position. And God works in mysterious ways.
You don't always know what he's going to give you. And Chad takes it day by day and takes it on a positive note. You can't get Chad to say, this is wrong with me, or that's wrong with me. What he says is, my gosh, at least God let me have this hand. Working pretty well, right?
[00:18:07] Speaker B: Praise the Lord for that.
[00:18:08] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:18:09] Speaker D: And he's praising the Lord. That's being thankful. I think we can all learn from Chad's attitude and love you, brother. Love you back.
[00:18:19] Speaker B: Here, get some of this on you.
[00:18:23] Speaker D: It's going to be a great day. We brought 12 buckets out. 12 buckets.
There's a lot of symbolism in the Bible. It united the Old Testament with the New Testament, the twelve tribes of Judah.
[00:18:34] Speaker B: Twelve disciples.
[00:18:35] Speaker D: The twelve disciples.
[00:18:38] Speaker B: Twelve months in a year.
[00:18:39] Speaker D: Twelve months in a year.
So we're gonna.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: We have exactly 12 people that can hold it back and to be part of it.
[00:18:46] Speaker D: Yeah. And that was not intentional. That's God's doing that. He brought 12 of us out here today to baptize you.
[00:18:53] Speaker A: It's a special day, Chad, that we are so honored to be part of this. And this commitment that you're making of that it is an outward expression of the inward change about what the Lord has done in your life. And he is healed you, and he has forgiven you, and he's with you always. And we're so glad to be part of this special day with you.
So, Chad Hudson, have you trusted in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone as your Lord and savior?
So at this time, we are going to baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: My favorite.
[00:19:32] Speaker A: Yeah, go ahead.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: All right.
[00:19:38] Speaker D: All right.
[00:20:03] Speaker A: Yeah. Chad. Chad. Is there anything else you want to say, man? We did it. We did it.
