Hey, this is Meredith Foster. So we're taking this week off to celebrate the holiday with our families,

but we thought, what better way to start a new year than going back to the beginning to our very

first episode of The Unfolding? When we began talking about the idea for this podcast to tell

real life God stories, the first story we wanted to share was Joe Buchanan's. It is one of our most

downloaded episodes simply because it is so powerful. I don't want to say anymore. I don't want to

spoil it. Just this. Happy New Year to you. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode of The

Unfolding. For now, enjoy this one from the archives. Page one of the unfolding is the story of Joe Buchanan.

I made a deal with this God that I didn't believe in. I said, God, if you're out there,

you better turn my life around by this date. Because if you don't, I'm calling it quits and you're

going to have to clean up the mess.

God's story has been unfolding.

Since the beginning of time.

He invites you to be a part of it.

Another page in the unfolding.

Hi, this is Meredith Foster.

What if you grew up believing you were unlovable?

What kind of person would you become?

Many people believe Joe Buchanan would end up in prison on drugs or dead.

It would take a supernatural act of love to change his path. Just a word of caution, Joe's story is a hard one, and it does include some PG-13 content. I was born in Kentucky back in the

1970s, and my mom was really young.

She was like 15 at the time.

Parents weren't married.

...