From the Streets to the Savior with Omar and Ann Calvillo

Welcome to the Victorious Living Podcast. You are about to hear real stories of real people who have discovered the real hope of Jesus Christ. I am Christi Overton Johnson, the founder and publisher of Victorious Living Magazine. Since 2011 I have had the privilege of sharing the most amazing life stories. I never cease to be amazed at the life transforming power of Jesus Christ. Today in our podcast you are going to go deeper into these amazing God stories and hear from those who have overcome incredible odds and discover how they found a life of freedom. You can discover it too. I trust that you will enjoy today's conversation between our host and our special guest. Thank you for listening and be sure to share the hope you hear and the mission of Victorious Living. I am Randy Claypool with Victorious Living Ministries. I have the honor and privilege to have Omar and Ann. Say your last name for me so that I make sure that we are saying it correctly. It's Calvillo. In Spanish, Calvillo, but my teachers used to say Calvillo. But really it's Calvillo. See, that's why it was better because you have the proper accent. I was sharing with you earlier just when we were talking a little bit before the podcast. I used to work for NASCAR. I was in the auto racing industry for about 26 years. I was doing a radio broadcast one time. I don't know if you've ever heard of Richard Petty. But being south from North Carolina, he had that accent. So I got him to do a commercial for me and he pronounced my name Randy Claypool. He really had that. So Claypools say it, Claypool, Claypool, but I kind of say Claypool now. So that's why I felt it was better. So help me say that. Car? Cal. Cal? V-I-L. Cal-V-I-L. Cal-V-I-L. Yeah. Oh, there you go. Can I do it?

I like that. So the L's are kind of silent then. Yeah. So the double L makes like a yo sound. Yo, yo. Yeah, yeah. That's awesome. That really is awesome. So you each have an article in the magazine and coming out here in January 2026. And not to put a date on this, of course, but it's kind of cool that both of you are in there. And the founder of the ministry, I asked her, I said, Christy, these two, they have a chemistry with each other and it would be so cool to be able to interview them together and just be able to watch how you interact. And I just feel like, you know, somebody being alone in prison and watching this might find some encouragement in that. So both of you, you live up north, as we might say, because I'm down south. I used to live in the Chicago area. Okay. Yeah. By where? Well, Northwest Indiana. I did some Bible training out there at a college and was there. And I'm originally from Pennsylvania, but I got to tell you, the windy city weather is like way different. You know, we had hills or small mountains to kind of protect us a little bit, you know, but Chicago is certainly an interesting place. When I was in college, I did some Bible, you know, we'd go out like with your bus ministry, Bible club ministry. So I was out and around the streets and I got to experience a little bit of that life as a teenager. And I heard, I heard about gangs, but I personally never really experienced it. What is that like to grow up in that environment when it's all around you? Yeah. As for me, like growing up, it was like in the community I grew up, it's a Pilsen. So it's like the lower west side of Chicago. Back then it was getting predominantly more Hispanic, Mexican. So basically you go outside and that's all that I would see. The good thing for me, where I lived in my house, it was all a family. I have my family in the first floor, family on the second, family in the basement. So there was family all around me. But at the same time, they would tell us not to go too far or to stay away from this corner or this area. So yeah, especially Pilsen back in the eighties, nineties, and even to the two thousands, it was really bad. It was, I would say it was gang infested.

Every couple of blocks, maybe three, four blocks that you went, there was like a different gang. So it was, it was pretty rough. What was it like? for you, Anne, because you were living somewhere else and then moved there? Yeah. So actually, we lived in Pilsen. My dad took us out of Pilsen when I was just a kid. I was maybe three or four years old. But yeah, we lived originally in Pilsen. Then he moved us out a little further south. And so the neighborhoods changed. He moved us to what you would consider a more safer neighborhood. And I didn't get exposed again to the gangs till I would say my teenage years in high school. And again, what I was looking for was family, friends, fun. And so that's how I got reacquainted with the gangs. I moved back to the neighborhood when my dad lost the house. So him and my mom separated. And a few years later, we couldn't pay the mortgage anymore. And so then we moved back to the neighborhood because it was affordable. And basically, I was working. I was taking care of my mom. And I was a single mom. And so that just seemed to be the place to be. And that's where I eventually met Omar. So I got to ask you, Omar, and then you

can kind of help me get it out of Anne because you're not supposed to ask a woman how old she is. So what age brackets were you in back in the day? When we met, I had just turned 21 years old. And I was about to turn 22 years old, yeah. And she's much, much younger, right? Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure, definitely. I mean, you could call it robbing the cradle, you know what I'm saying? I like you, Randy. Oh, that's good. I was just trying to set that up, right? Obviously, many that are watching this will have read the articles. So I don't necessarily want to go back and just talk about that. But I pulled a few things out. So you both of you were in and around the gangs. It was considered pretty normal, I guess, then because it was a neighborhood thing, right? You're just surrounded by it. It wasn't like you had to go looking for it. It was there and available. Anne, you made the comment that you were looking for fun. So what about the gangs at your age at that time made it look fun? So that sense of family, that sense of belonging, I think coming from a broken home, I needed that. I needed to feel accepted. I needed to feel like I fit in.

And really, the thing with the gangs is it was like in that neighborhood, it was unavoidable. So it was unavoidable. And so you had to decide basically who you were down for, what gang you were going to be down for. And really, I myself was not in the gang, but I was surrounded by them. And I felt like, for me, they were safe. It's crazy to say, but they felt safe. This dysfunction felt safe to me because that's what I knew. And it felt fun because we would do things together. You could be hanging out around with maybe five or six people just on the porch, talking, drinking, doing whatever. And that was fun. That was fun. So similar for you, Omar, then? As far as how I got into the gangs. How she described it, I mean, is that similar? Or do you have a little different perspective? A perspective of the gang? I would say, no. Yeah, I mean, growing up, I would always admire the gang members. I would dress like them even when I was younger. And it was almost like they were the role models in the hood. And it's funny because I was talking to somebody that was on the podcast, and we were talking about when somebody, like we never see nobody in the neighborhood wearing a suit and tie. And we were joking around that the only time

you see people wearing suits, when you knew they had court. That's like the joke. The only time you see somebody with a suit on is they're going to court. But yeah, I would say, like, growing up, what drove me into the gangs, I don't know, we'll probably get into a little bit later, but what happened to my cousin when he passed away, that really is what brought my younger brother, myself, and some other cousins to join the gang. So that's Gil, right? And prior to that happening, you talk about, I mean, Cause both of you sort of, you know, I guess really your upbringings were a little different or your family environment was different, right? Yeah. Yes. And, you know, you, you, Omar talk about how, you know, you had family all around and, and things weren't so good at home, uh, as you were growing up. Yeah. Um, for me, there were, there were good moments, but I would say it was dysfunctional, you know, um, I did feel loved by my parents. Um, uh, I, I had a reverence of them, you know, I was taught that to, to respect and reverence, um, your parents. Um, but I think what I seen was a lot of fighting, um, in my home. I saw a lot of fighting. I was scared. I was scared as a little kid. Um, being around the, you know, the, the fighting, the hitting, um, there's just, you know, it, it w it was tough. And I think as a child, um, it became normal to me as I, as I got older,

like, okay, this is just normal. You know, um, a lot of people would say looking outside in, um, they, they would say this is such a quiet, good family. Um, and you know, I have to say my, my, my, my dad, when he, when he was involved, he was truly involved, but he worked four to five jobs, so he was hardly home. And then my mom, she was present. Um, but she wasn't available and that's because she was going through her own things with my dad. Um, and so there, there was a lot of domestic, um, you know, just a lot of domestic issues there. And I would say, you know, I do recall some, some good memories when my dad would take us out vacationing, when we'd go to, um, to church every now and then on Sundays, um, but it's, it's, it's amazing how we remember the, the bad more than the good, you know, and I feel like the, the bad impacted me so much as a little girl, um, it, I was, you know, just affected by the trauma, um, and, and by the abuse that I seen and that I experienced, you know, um, so I think for me growing up, um, it was just, it was just a hard, a hard time. Um, and it, it built a lot of insecurities in me as a young woman, as, as a little girl. Um, and I, I did feel though that, you know, again, I did feel loved. Um, I just felt that I wasn't, I, I, I didn't feel safe in my own home. Yeah. But Omar, you, things were pretty good if I understood correctly until some financial pressures came along. Now I'm talking about your upbringing. Oh, no, I wouldn't say for like, for, for financially, like in my home, I would say it was drinking like growing up and like in a Mexican culture, like basically in my family, like if you wanted to be the man, it was like, who could hold down their liquor, you know, who was the last man on the table, you know, who, who, you know, who could, uh, basically, and we would have family

gatherings and that's what they would talk about, you know, uncle so-and-so, you know, he's the one that can hang. So in my house, it was a little bit, a lot of drinking, some, some domestic violence. Um, one thing I could, uh, but, but I can't share about my father. He was hardworking, uh, taught me and my older, my older brothers, uh, hard work, uh, which I believe I still carry to this day. So I can't say it was all bad. Uh, but it wasn't there, I guess the, the bad that I did see, like, uh, affected me and I didn't really know back then when I was like a young kid, but as I got older teenager, you know, into my twenties, I carry some things into like my, my, uh, relationships. Were, were you in a relationship, a significant relationship prior to Ann? Uh, I wouldn't say significant. I will say back when I was like maybe 16, 17, uh, before I got incarcerated, I had a girlfriend, uh, but, but back then, like, you know, you, you, you go through things and, uh, so, so basically, um, to, to put it plainly, like I was hurt in that relationship, which led me, uh, uh, to get a tattoo on my back that says, uh, trust, no B. I don't want to say that word, but, uh, that became my mentality. Yeah. So basically that, you know, after that, I'm like, man, I'm, I'm, I'm never going to give my heart to, to a woman. You know what I'm saying? And I'm not that easily. Uh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna think twice before I say that a certain girl is my girlfriend or my woman, however you want to call it. Uh, so I would say that relationship, it was like. like teenage puppy love, you know, back then you think it's love and you grow up and you realize, you know, maybe it was just an infatuation.

Yeah. Has and done anything with that tattoo over the years to change it? I don't like that tattoo. I figured you'd be back there with permanent markers or something. You know, can I tell you a funny story about that? Please do. So back then it was a it was a teenager. And, you know, we're getting drunk, we're getting high. So my buddy was doing tattoos. Right. So where am I at my cousin's house? And I told him, man, the tattoo I want. So for some reason, he wanted me laid down on the couch so he could do it. But he had to start backwards. So instead of starting with the trust and going all the way down, he had to start the other way. So by the time he finished, basically it looked like frost F.R.O.S.T. Instead of trust, my family would make big fun of me. You know, so it didn't turn out too good. I wanted to ask you, because you used Omar a term, but both of you can comment on it as you feel free. Coping mechanisms, because that's psychologically, I think of that, too, because that's always a question I like to ask. I think you if I understood it correct, it's like you had coping mechanisms, but they no longer worked. You know, so how did that transition? Because, you know, we all need coping mechanisms. So how did how did the ones you were doing not work? Change to the ones you you have now? I would say, I think in the in the way I shared, like the coping man mechanism. Yeah. Yeah. It was basically I realized it when I got incarcerated. I don't know if you want me to go to that part of the story.

Sure. Yeah, that's where I realized it. So what I realized is that the way I would do it is to daydream in a sense. So I share the story where I would be like on the bench. I would have my radio like on the yard and I'll be listening to music and I will imagine myself somewhere else. And also when I was in East Moline Correctional Center, they had a auto shop where they would teach you a mechanic work, how to work on cars. So basically, I was telling my wife, I will go down there to class, but I will just sit in the car and daydream that I was cruising, you know, that I was with my friends, that I was, you know, back in the neighborhood. So the way I will cope is to the to escape the reality of where I was at. So physically, I was I was there, you know, behind bars. But mentally, I was somewhere else. And that that was my way that that that I guess I used that to deal with the reality like I didn't want to accept the reality that I was behind bars. I didn't want to accept the reality that I miss my loved ones, that I miss my family members. So I would just escape in that way, if that makes sense. Would you in any way, shape or form? I don't know. Would you recommend that? I mean, if you give advice now, so would you what would you advise an incarcerated person, man or woman, to do for a coping mechanism? Would you suggest that they see, you know, have moments where they see themselves someplace else? To be honest, I wouldn't. I wouldn't in that sense.

OK, obviously, now that I'm a believer, I would I would tell them to draw close to Christ, because that's basically a lie. You know, like the way I look at it, that coping, the way I was coping is just I was lying, lying to myself, you know, and escaping that reality. So so maybe it could help them, I guess, in a sense, while they're in there, you know, to escape the reality. But I would basically tell them to draw close to God because there's something that I have now that I never had before. And that's a peace, a peace inside my soul, a peace inside my mind. I have God's light that expelled the darkness that I had before. So maybe, I guess, in a sense, anything to to help them, you know, maybe not get depressed, not to get sad. Maybe one thing I learned in there is basically how to harden myself. And maybe that's one way that I hardened myself so that I wouldn't feel by escaping. But but I believe that made my heart grow cold. But I believe a lot of people feel that they need to do that in order to survive behind bars. But honestly, I would tell them to draw close to God. And Jesus Christ could give them a peace that surpasses all understanding. And can I add to what I was I was I was. See, this is why I wanted you guys together, because you're you're sitting there going, you know, I'm like I was getting ready to say and talk. Go for it. Yeah. So I just wanted to add. So when when I met Omar, he was just recently released. Right. You were, I think, on house arrest. No, no, I wasn't. I basically paroled out. Paroled. OK. When I met him, I was a recipient.

of that calloused heart. He, you know, it was funny because we're in the street. He's like, hey girl, can I holler at you? And I was like, I was like, okay, like, I was like, okay, I guess, you know, we just started talking. But one of the things that I was drawn to by Omar, he was very charming, made me laugh. But the more I got to know him, you know, we were friends before, before anything, the more I got to know him, I got to experience that, that coldness. And he, I don't know, I just, for me, I was like, this guy's pretty cold. You know, he's, he's not, he's not very affectionate. Like, you know, someone who's trying to woo a girl. He was just really cold. And, and I was attracted to that. It's again, crazy dysfunction. I was attracted to that. But there came a time, you know, once, once I said, let's just put it this way. Once Jesus became my first love, I began to see like, this is, this is cold. This is not, this is not how women should be treated. You know, and, and I started to see like, there's something off here, because I was used to being treated like that, that way by men. And so when, when, when Omar and I started dating, he was very, very cold. He was just kind of like, I don't, I don't want to say cold in a like a disrespectful way, but it was hard for him to connect. It was hard for us to connect beyond friends on an intimate level. And I could see what prison had done to him. It had, it definitely hardened him. And, and that was his way of surviving, right? That was his way of surviving in there. And even coming out because he didn't know me, he didn't trust me. So like his tattoo said, right? So he didn't trust me. He didn't know me. And we were just getting to, to know each other. And you know, one time I asked him like, why are you so cold? And he was like, cause I don't know you like that. He's I don't, he's like, as far, one thing that he said to me, he's like, I don't, I don't see myself marrying a woman with a child. And he, he was just very straightforward with me. And I was like, inside, on the outside, on the exterior, I was like, okay, that's fine. But on the inside, I was like, that hurt. That hurt. Cause she, she had a, when I met her, she had a one-year-old son, uh, Angel. I was just going to ask how old he was. Yeah. One year old. Yes. I mean, so, and yeah, I just want to like, uh, confirm what she said that that was my, my, my mentality. Uh, like I told her like straight out, I'm not going to marry a woman or be long-term with a woman that has a kid. And I think it all goes back. If I could share this, um, like back then I was

suicidal without being suicidal. And I say that in the sense where I will put myself in danger, uh, almost like for somebody else to take me out. Uh, because I didn't, I didn't have a, a sense of purpose, a sense of, uh, of living, uh, I guess you would call that like a death wish. Yes. To put it simply. Yes. You know, interesting. So you guys had an attraction to each other. You expressed that in your articles and, and then things start getting a little, you're together, obviously to a point where you're thinking this is turning a little bit serious. Omar, you're pulling back a little bit and wants a little more commitment and I kind of got that right. So who taught, so, and you, you brought that up to him, you communicated with him how you were feeling. Yeah. So I kind of had this mindset. Um, I was in a very abusive relationship before Omar and that's, you know, where I had my, my son. Um, and so my son's father was, uh, very abusive. It was a very domestic violent situation. Um, and so I just, you know, from my dad leaving at the age of between 11 and 12 and, you know, just seeing my hero walk out the door, just seeing the, the only man that, you know, I, I felt loved from leave, leave our family. I, I felt defective. I felt like what's wrong with me. Um, as a little kid, you're not thinking, Oh, the, you know, they had marriage problems. It was like, dad, why are you, why are you leaving me? Um, and you know, when I, when I got into this relationship with my son's father, um, abuse was normal. His anger, his rage, that was normal for me. Um, the beatings, um, and it got to the point I was so full of shame. I didn't tell anyone. Um, I didn't tell my mom, I didn't. tell my sisters. And of course I didn't tell my dad. Um, so now, you know, um, getting connected with Omar, um, I was, you know, I, what I was experiencing, um, his, his coldness was pretty normal. It was, it was pretty normal to me. Um, and I'm sorry, what was the question? Oh, I don't know. You were doing good there. I think about it. It was the relationship. Yeah. Did you? Yeah. I remember what it was. I was just kidding. But it's like, did you communicate there or try to communicate how you were feeling to Omar about his coldness? Yeah. So, so that was normal. So I, I can, I can go back and reflect on our relationship. But in that time, my mindset, it was like, that was normal. That was normal for me. And so, and so, um, when one day, one day we, I was, I was drunk. Uh, we were in a, a car somewhere. And, um, and I was like, you know, I, I hate you so much. And he looks at me and I was like, I hate you. And I said, cause I love you. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it was

pretty nuts. And, um, and he says to me, he says, okay. And that was that he, he didn't, there was no, I love you back. There was none of that. And, and I felt like I'm okay with that. Um, I just needed to let him know, and I was drunk and so it was fine with me. Um, so yeah, that's how, that's how I, I shared with him that I did love him. How'd you feel about that Omar? Oh, you know what? Um, I would say back then, like, like I mentioned, I was hurt in my previous relationship, but as a teenager and I had the mentality where I'm not going to give my heart that easily to, to a woman. Uh, so I was guarded, I was cold. Uh, but at the same time, that was a front, you know, cause I, in the inside I had feelings towards her, uh, you know, um, uh, I loved her, but I wasn't going to say it, you know, it was almost like that. That was another way of coping to guard myself. I was going to be guarded. I wasn't going to go say, Oh, I love her. I wasn't going to tell my friends, Oh, that's my girlfriend. Well, what if it turns out that she's not, you know, or in a sense? Uh, so, so yeah, I would say back then, if I'm being honest, it was just an act. It was a front. It was just a way of protecting like my, my, my, my, my, myself or protecting my name of not being, um, you know, to take an advantage of, or, you know, you know, like it just brought pride. I would say from, from what I hear, it's a big deal to get a man to open up like that. Right. Right. And I mean, so that's good. Okay. So, um, the reason I kind of want to really touch on this, uh, more so than just the articles is to see you as a couple. So how many years are we talking from then till now? It's been 26. Oh, okay. I met her, uh, June 1st of 2000. So yeah, 25, I think it's going to be 26. Yeah. This June will be 26 years. Uh, so we were together, uh, four and a half years before, you know, we had the transformation before God came into the picture. See, I, that's incredible. I didn't know she was in that age range. So you, you know, remember we were not going there. No, that's really awesome. I mean, I, I honestly, when I asked that question, I didn't, you know, I didn't really do the math. I didn't know if you were going to say 10 years, 15, but 26 years, that's gotta be an encouragement to someone out there. That's going to listen to this. So gosh, I need to ask you, let me, let me look at my list over here. Um, one of, one of my words that I like a lot that you guys brought out was the word patterns, because you can know a lot about things, life situations, people

by patterns. So you had to change, you noticed there were bad patterns, right? And so you, that was a big step. If you can, if you can truly identify those patterns and so then, then you make better patterns, right? Yes. Yeah, definitely. That's so, yeah, that's good. Okay. Um, let me look at my list again over here. Oh, I know what I want. Go ahead, please share something on the patterns. Yeah. So going back to that, I just want to share. something Randy and I think it's important you know I know that there's gonna be people who have come from dysfunctional homes who like myself have thought to themselves you know what I'm never gonna do the whole marriage thing I'm never gonna commit it's too scary it's too risky and there's no one there's no one out there for me that I'm gonna feel safe enough with because of my past trauma because of my current trauma because of what I've been through in my life and nobody gets it nobody understands I just want to say to that person that you know that was my mindset I thought I'm not lovable that was a lie I believed my whole life like I'm not lovable dad left I'm not lovable mom's not nurturing she's not a nurturing mom I'm not lovable you know my son's dad I'm not lovable he beats me and then Omar was kind of colding towards me and I'm not lovable and that was just a lie and so I convinced myself you know what I'm fine if I never find someone that will be my soulmate I'm fine and this is this was again before Christ that was my mindset and I thought you know it's better to be alone than to be with people who are gonna mistreat you and not know how to love you and so I was okay with just settling for scraps of love wherever wherever I could get it you know and and that was the mindset that I had until Christ you know again Christ became my first love and that's when my life began to change that the transformation the way I saw Omar there was a realignment you know that breaking of the old man the old patterns right the dying to myself and now saying God I want what you have for me I I ditched that lie that I'm not lovable because you love me and Jesus proves it Jesus proves that he loves me and so my heart and my mindset began to change and it wasn't like I was going to classes or you know you know people would say oh you've changed yeah that's God that's Jesus that's the Holy Spirit at work in

a sinner a broken lost woman like me and so he began to change me it wasn't like a self-help it wasn't it's none of that I mean we can read good books and and good stuff from them but really it's Christ and his the work of the Holy Spirit inside of me that really began to change my heart and my mind and the way I saw marriage and the way you know I saw family he totally began to renew my mind in that area if if we could encapsulate and I want both of you to comment on this even though I believe it was something that Anne had said in her article but you talk about scars okay I think you've touched on some of those things that we can kind of say okay these were scars but how how is it that that God is able because you're giving him credit to use those scars to help other people can both of you comment on that yeah I guess so the way first I want to share the way that came up all the scars that was the name of her podcast her scars to the story so that that that's where that came from but our scars I would say for instance like being incarcerated like nobody wants to be incarcerated incarcerated is a bad thing right but for me like that that's a scar I spent three years be behind bars I turned 19 20 and 21 in there and obviously that that's something that scarred me but at the same time prison is something that protected me it kept me out of trouble before I went in there I was really bad not just an alcohol I was on all type of drugs I was doing a weed I was smoking weed I was snorting cocaine I was smoking PCP which is a over here in Chicago they call it wiki water and we were doing all type of acid I was I was out there really bad so so when I went into prison basically that cleaned me up because I think in there I only maybe smoked weed a couple times but obviously I got clean and and that in a sense saved me because during those years that I was in there there was a lot of death that was happening like it's particularly like around my area like I was in there and one weekend they say man this guy died that guy died this guy died and I'm like now I look back obviously at the moment I didn't but God could use the bad for our good, so don't look at your scars, those painful moments.

Maybe there's a purpose for that pain that God could use, you know? And for me, Randy, I think, you know, her scars tell a story. There's a story behind every scar, right? And a lot of times, you know, we tend to focus on, you know, what the wound, the wound that, you know, is now a scar. And when I thought about that, you know, I thought about how our scars are, we keep our scars to show others, this is how God can redeem. This is how God can redeem our lives, you know, by beginning to heal us from the inside. You know, there were a lot of wounds that I had, and still have, Randy, still to this day. You know, 20-something years later, since I met Omar, but almost, without saying my age, but 40 years of scars, you know, and still dealing with some of those wounds that will resurface, you know, because of family, because you spend a lifetime with family, you know? And so sometimes they can resurface, but in that, I have Christ. I don't look at my scars the way I used to look at them, you know, before I felt ashamed of them. And now it's like, no, these scars are a reminder that Jesus heals, and Jesus saves, and Jesus can turn my life around, and I can share that hope in him with others.

I don't have to be ashamed. You know, the Bible talks about that he took on our shame, and I truly believe that. I truly believe that he did. And so now, as we're renewing our minds, as we go to his word, and as we read his truth, we're replacing those lies that we've believed, right? Those fixed beliefs, those lies that we've believed with the truth that I am loved, that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, that I've been bought at a price, that I've been adopted into his family, that I've been chosen, that I'm accepted, you know? And so I now replace those lies with the truth of who God says that I am. Ah, that's just really awesome. So, all right, how many years, 26? All right, just kind of describe in a few words, what do you feel about each other right now, today? Where have you come to from everything you've been through? One thing, yeah? She said, go ahead, Arbor. You go first. I wanna hear what you gotta say first. I know I gotta say really good stuff, you know? Exactly, you better make it good. Go, man. To anybody who's watching this, just if you listen to her, just the godly wisdom, the sweetness, the tenderness that she has,

it's beautiful. I believe the reason I've made it so far, the reason that I am the man that I am, first and foremost, of course, is God. God the Father, the Son, Holy Spirit. Second is my wife. She's truly been a blessing. I honestly, I believe God speaks to me through her. And I could be hard-headed at times. Like, I tell her, I tell people, when she tells me something, usually the first day, I don't wanna hear it. But a day or two later, you know what? She was right. I gotta listen to her. So, husbands, love your wives. Care for them. And I believe they complete us, you know? And the Bible says that a man should leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So, honestly, what do I feel about my wife? She completes me. I don't see myself being the man that I am without this woman by my side. Ah, Anne, that was, I think he gets a pretty high score for that. What do you think? I told you he was charming. I told you.

That was pretty amazing right there now. So, okay, your turn. Yeah, so, I was just getting teary-eyed right now because God, you know, there's a scripture that says we love because he loved us first. And, you know, that hardened heart that Omar once had, you know, the love of God softened his heart. And since, you know, we've been married, he has showed me what it is to be loved. loved. You know that sense of that always questioning, am I lovable? Omar has showed me the love of God. He has showed me faithfulness. He has showed me being honest. No, we're not a perfect marriage. We have our issues, but we come together. We bring it out on the table. We talk about it, and that's how we allow God in that. You know, a lot of people see us and, oh, you know, they may perceive or they may say, you know, oh, that's such a good happy couple, but we go through some things. We've weathered some storms together, you know, and so it's not like it's been smooth sailing. Absolutely not, but I believe it's those storms that have forged our marriage, you know, on the foundation of faith. It's like, you know what, no matter what we go through, God is our foundation, and we're going to continue to grow and continue to fall in love with one another. I would say even practical things like date nights, putting things out on the calendar where we make time for each other because life gets busy. We have children. We have jobs. There's ministry work. It gets really busy, Randy, you know, but we have to be intentional, and there's that word intentional on making sure that we're pouring into one another, loving one another, caring for one another, respecting one another, and that takes work. That's commitment. That's saying yes, even when you're tired. That's saying it's sacrificial love, you know, and so yeah, it gets hard. It gets hard. It's not marriage is a work. Marriage is a choice every day to say yes to God and yes to my spouse. That's beautiful. Gosh, I've really enjoyed talking to you guys, and I'm glad you came together, and Omar, you did good because I don't see any notes. I had to have some notes on the side just to kind of think of some good questions to ask, but I didn't see

like where she was telling you, say this, say that. You didn't see when she was up pinching me under the table over here, you know? Hey, listen, you guys, it's just wonderful to spend this time with you, and I know there's a lot of lonely people you've experienced, and they're out there, and they're not with their husband or wife. They want to be, but they're in there, and I think that you've given them some food for thought today, some steps they can take while they're on the inside to try to make a difference in their marriage, and so I wish you all the best in your ministry. Thank you for serving the Lord. Thank you for spending this time with me, and just, you know, hey, God bless you in all things. I appreciate all of that. Thank you, Randy. We appreciate this time with you. Hey, it's been great. Thank you for watching our broadcast. Are you an incarcerated brother or sister who needs encouragement? Write to us at Victorious Living Correspondents, P.O. Box 2751 Greenville, NC 27836, or email us at hope at vlmag.org. To view Victorious Living magazine in its entirety, please have your chaplain contact us at 352-478-2098, or email us through our website at vlmag.org. We are happy to provide our Victorious Living magazine free of charge in bulk with or without staples. Thank you for watching.