Hey, it's Meredith. I just got back from a glorious week of driving up the west coast of Michigan,

taking in views of lighthouses and sand dunes and waters of Lake Michigan. Oh, it was good for my soul.

I hope you have an opportunity to do some soul refreshing things like that this summer too.

Sometimes when you head to a new place, when you get out

of your normal routine, God brings along encounters, sometimes with total strangers that end up

making a surprising impact on your life. So this week, we're going to share a story from our

archives that's about how those kinds of encounters can change your life.

We're going to be back next week with a brand new story, but for now, enjoy this one from

the archives. Page 164 of the unfolding is the story of John Reddick.

My faith in God was strong. I knew God could do it. I wasn't sure that he would do it for me. I was cynical in that era. I had gone through some hard things in life. I had gone through a point where I was ready to give up on not life itself, but what I thought my dreams would be. 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. John Reddick is a worship leader and songwriter who writes songs of

healing, healing hearts, broken relationships, racial and generational divides. There was a time when the

hurts and hard parts of life left him questioning. Not that God was real, but was his plan,

specifically for John. Was it good? As he battled those thoughts, this extremely talented

singer and musician considered leaving music behind. You know, God speaks to us in many

ways, and sometimes it's through total strangers. This is a story of how two encounters changed John's

life and might be part of the reason that you hear John's songs like, God, turn it around and I

believe it on the radio today. Just a word of caution,

this episode does include a discussion of suicidal ideation. When did you go both feet into music?

You knew that that was what you were going to do. I mean, I know you've been in music all your life,

right? Right, right, right. But I, yeah, I wasn't, I mean, I had, when I was a kid, I would imagine, I mean.

...