Faith and Forgiveness: One Man's Prison Testimony ~ Parker Whitsett

Parker Whitsett shares his powerful testimony of finding faith while facing the consequences of addiction and incarceration. 

Despite growing up in a Christian household, he strayed from his beliefs, leading to a life of substance abuse and imprisonment. 

While in jail, Parker rediscovered Jesus, and the forgiveness found in scripture.

 Support from family and friends played a crucial role in his spiritual transformation, reminding him of the power of prayer and the warmth of Christian fellowship. 

Now out of prison, Parker reflects on his journey, acknowledging that his time behind bars was a divine blessing that saved him from a perilous path.

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Transcript

Jan: I knew well before that that that was not a good lifestyle for me. So,

you know, there's unfortunately nowhere to put the blame other than myself.

While I was in county jail waiting to see,

you know, what would happen with my life, whether I would go to prison or not,

I really, really kind of broke down and realized that I needed Jesus in my life.

Parker: Welcome everyone to episode 75 of Just Talking About Jesus.

Last week we heard from Carl and Shirley Yates sharing about the prison ministry they've been involved with for many, many years and the rewards God has brought through it.

This week is part two of that topic.

Today we hear from Parker Whitsett, who just got out of prison where he spent the last eight years.

He shares about what God has done with him around forgiveness, mainly forgiving himself and knowing that as a child of God, he is truly and extraordinarily loved.

Jan: Welcome everyone to this episode of Just Talking About Jesus. I have Parker Whitsett with me today. Welcome, Parker.

Jan: Hi Jen, how are you?

Jan: So glad to have you and hear your story. Tell me a little bit about how what your growing up faith was like. What's your testimony?

Jan: Well,

I grew up in a Christian household and you know, I think my whole life I believed that God existed, that Jesus died for my sins, and, you know, everything you're expected to believe.

But then there was a point where in my teens I kind of started justifying certain actions, small actions, and that kind of very quickly led down a kind of a dark path, I guess.

And you know, I found myself drinking quite a bit and that started to get me into trouble at a pretty young age.

And you know, at one point I stopped drinking because I had to.

And then I started again. And when I started again,

I started hanging out with a much different crowd than I was before and was introduced to all sorts of drugs and other stuff like that.

And my life very quickly spiraled after that. I wasn't getting along with my parents and moved out pretty much as soon as I could.

And yeah, I had a very close friend pass away while drinking and you would have thought that that would be maybe a wake up call,

but instead I sort of, I guess, buried my emotions with just more substances and I just went pretty deep down that road.

Basically,

anytime something bad would happen that would maybe say I should slow down, I would double down and push a little bit harder until finally I found myself at what I then thought was rock bottom I had done.

I guess a way to put it is, you know, harder drugs than what I was previously doing. And I Realized where I was getting myself into and thought that that was it for me.

So I called up my mom and told her I wanted to get sober and change my life around. And for a time, I did.

And then things started to actually go really well for me. I.

Everything was falling into place very quickly,

and unfortunately, I think at that point, I kind of let a little bit of pride in.

I started to maybe think that I was in control of things and had a handle on things. And I had some Christian friends that drank, but they drank responsibly, like, you know, nothing that most people would consider a problem.

Just, you know, a beer here, a beer there.

And so I figured, you know, if they're doing it, why shouldn't I? You know, I'm doing well enough with everything else. So I kind of slipped back into drinking. And,

you know, while they would have one beer here or there, I would kind of sneak off and have a few more. And next thing I know, I was back to buying drugs.

And it just,

you know,

went downhill even quicker this time than.

Than the last.

And I didn't really see it happening,

and.

But I. I guess I must have known that it was because I was hiding it from the people that would have called me out on it. So,

yeah, I found myself going to, you know, parties and stuff with other.

Other friends that weren't the responsible people.

And presently that,

you know, I would put myself in such a haze that, you know,

I,

even before I had, you know, lost a lot of friends and just done really stupid things while drinking.

And finally I blacked out and ended up getting myself into a substantial amount of trouble and ended up doing quite a bit of time in prison. Basically.

I'm 28 now, and a majority of my adult life has been spent behind bars.

And, you know, I'd love to say, oh, it's just because of the drugs and alcohol and the things that happened,

maybe wouldn't have happened if I wasn't intoxicated.

They definitely wouldn't have. But I knew well before that that that was not a good lifestyle for me. So,

you know, there's unfortunately nowhere to put the blame other than myself.

While I was in county jail waiting to see,

you know, what would happen with my life, whether I would go to prison or not,

I really, really kind of broke down and realized that I needed Jesus in my life.

I looked back at the short amount of time that I was following him and saw how great things were,

saw how I was around better people, people that loved me, cared about me,

and, you know, A lot of those people actually came and visited me while I was in jail, which would just kind of like reminded me like, hey, these are. These are good people.

And, you know, this is the type of people that you're around when Jesus is in your life, when Jesus is at the center, you know.

And that's when I realized I needed to get my life on track. So I started reading the Bible a lot.

I was in jail for seven months,

and I read the entire Bible all the way through, I think one and a half times while I was there.

And, you know, you had enough time to do so, and so might as well.

Jan: When you were reading through the Bible, what kind of things really stuck out to you?

Jan: I.

It really. I mean,

it really depended.

But,

you know, a lot of this stuff, just about God's forgiveness and stuff,

is really any passage that had to do with that is where I found the most comfort, I guess, because it just reminded me that, like, even though,

you know,

I am the lowest of lows, God loves me just as much as he loves,

you know,

the guy behind the pulpit or,

you know, the missionary in Africa.

Jan: And so did you feel like he got,

you know, by.

I'm trying to think how to. How to phrase this. Was it better to read directly from the Bible and get that message as opposed to somebody telling you that?

Jan: I. I would say yes.

I mean,

a good teaching is always nice and it might allow you to look at things a different way.

And I've had plenty of, you know,

heard, heard quite a few different teachers over my lifetime, and usually every single one has at least something to say worth hearing.

But when you read for yourself,

it's like the Holy Spirit kind of directs you towards the things that you need to focus on. Because it's just.

I don't. I don't know. I'm not. I'm not great with, with words and describing things, but it just. Yeah, but you kind of have this guidance of where you need to be and,

you know, there's even been a couple times where I do the whole,

well, let's see where I end up and split the Bible in half and read a passage and. Yeah,

you're going to find something that you. That you wanted to read. And so,

yeah.

Jan: Was there someone while you were in prison, was there somebody that was instrumental in your faith?

Jan: Well,

there were definitely,

I guess, two sides to that.

I started going to a service while I was in there, and it was First Baptist service, and some of their views were a little bit maybe different than mine, but the Core of it is it was just an extremely joyful place.

It was a bilingual service. And, you know, the.

It was just kind of brought a lot of people together that in a place that's usually very divided.

You know, one thing about prison is, like, there's a lot of racial segregation.

And so,

you know, this is one place where,

you know, you could sit side by side with someone of a, you know, completely different group than you and just praise Jesus. And that was fun experience.

So that was,

you know, good for, like, just encouragement and, you know, keeping my joy up. But is what really helped is just that the people I had out here, I have, you know, my family, which is nice to have, they stuck by me very, very closely the whole time.

But that wasn't, like, all that surprising, I guess.

But I did have a.

A friend that literally kept money on the phone so that I could call him every single week and stayed in touch with me. And that was very encouraging just to have someone that didn't necessarily have any real ties to me other than wanting to be a good friend.

And it just reminded me that even when I'm in a place where everything can seem distant, God still blesses me in all these little ways, you know, with,

you know, I got along with people very well, and there,

which a lot of people that are in my same situation maybe don't.

But,

you know,

people.

People from all sorts of different groups seem to seem to like me. And,

well, I'm not a very likable person all the time, so that had to be maybe God doing that for me.

Jan: None of us are.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: And so when I was in there, it's like,

not necessarily a place where you're going to experience a whole lot of, like,

tangible blessings from God. You know, you're not going to,

you know,

wake up and find that your bills were miraculously paid because you don't really have any. You have no responsibility whatsoever. Which is,

in its own way, kind of sounds nice, but it's not,

um.

Jan: Because you don't have any agency, you know, but, yeah, you don't. You don't get to make a lot of decisions and have control, basically.

Jan: No,

that's. That's actually one of the tough things about being in prison is it's not like the stuff that you. You see in TV and stuff with, like,

fights. And I mean, that. That happens, but it's just losing all autonomy and distance from your family and friends. So the fact that I was able to stay in pretty good contact with my family and friends was just you know,

God's providence throughout the whole thing. And I can, I can say during the six years that I was in there,

I was more at peace and happy than probably the,

oh, four and a half, five years,

maybe even six before, where I was starting to drift away from God and make my own terrible decisions.

Jan: So what do you think is the biggest thing God's taught you through this?

Jan: Well, that I cannot do anything on my own. I am.

Jan: That looks like we all need to learn.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: I.

And it's actually honestly something I still,

you know, a struggle for me still is,

is God has,

you know, blessed me with, you know, I'm,

I, I do okay at things, but, you know, every once in a while I, I kind of get in my head and think that I'm good at stuff of my.

On my own and, and that's. That's really not it. So that's something I can reign a little bit.

Yeah, I, I constantly have to.

I guess my, My prayers these days are always like, like thankful prayers thanking God for basically everything good in my life because that's,

that's all that there is, is. Is the good things that God's given me.

So.

Jan: Well, and he says in everything, give thanks. So in some manner, you know, probably being in prison was something to be grateful for because he could form you.

You know, I mean, it put you in a singular spot where you were not. It would be tempted to drink or doing.

Being around certain people or,

you know.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: Yeah. I can. I can definitely say, as crazy as it sounds, that going to prison was a blessing for me because even,

even if I hadn't, you know,

committed any crimes or anything of the sort,

there's a good chance I would have just,

you know,

ended up overdosed or dead on a. Dead in a ditch from, you know, making a poor decision to drive while intoxicated.

And I, I got saved from that.

I definitely think that that's probably the direction my life was headed.

Jan: So it also gives.

Gives credence to. To people's prayers. You know,

you had a mama praying hard for you.

Daddy too, I'm sure, but just.

And my husband and I as well, you know, we prayed a lot for you too. It was all during this. So I do believe that God answers those prayers.

Jan: You know,

I definitely on several occasions mentioned to my mom and my grandma too. She had her. And I think several of her friends prayed for me. And I'd always just let them know that, hey, it's noticed because I'm in a pretty terrible place.

I'm in a pretty good mood,

so.

Jan: Yeah, you shouldn't be. I shouldn't be happy here.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: So what was getting out of prison like for you? What?

Jan: Well, kind of nerve wracking.

I very quickly realized that if I didn't have the support that I have,

it would have been a very difficult experience for me. And so I'm eternally thankful that I have a supportive family. And I guess my heart really goes out to those that maybe don't when they get out, because the hoops you gotta jump through and everything to get your life back on track are very challenging.

But that said,

all seriousness aside, there's a lot of little things that were kind of weird for me. The whole time I was in there, I heard people say that going to a grocery store would be a challenge.

And I thought that was the most stupid thing ever.

How could going to a grocery store be a challenge? But,

you know, for the past six years, I've been ordering food off a little list this big,

and that's my choices.

So then I get there and it's like, that's how many choices I have for what kind of rice I want. It's like, oh, man, how do I.

How do I make the right decision here? So, you know, for.

Yeah, it's. And there's just little things that would be kind of overwhelming at first.

The first time I drove at night afterwards terrified me for whatever reason. It just. I hadn't done it in so long that it seemed overwhelming. I don't know.

But,

yeah, it.

You get used to it pretty quick, though.

Jan: So do you have somebody that's. That you're an accountability partner with?

Jan: What exactly do you mean?

Jan: I mean, just to like, check in and say, how are you doing? And kind of keeping you on track or being able to be honest with. To just say,

no, I'm kind of maybe thinking about slipping or, you know, whatever. Just something that keeps you on. Somebody that keeps you on track.

Jan: I mean.

So upon getting out of prison, I still have three years of post prison,

which is like supervision. So, I mean, I, at the very least,

very least have that. And that's like,

pretty precisely what that is.

Jan: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jan: But like, as far as, like, outside of that,

I mean, pretty much everything I've done has been very close, like with my family and stuff. So,

you know, if I was starting to slip, they'd be right there for it. And.

Jan: And maybe this time you listen.

Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah.

Jan: What do you see God doing with you now? What. What kind of vision do you have for Your life and. And where do you see him using you?

Jan: Well,

I applied for a job that I wouldn't have thought to apply for on my own.

Family friend suggested it, and I was blessed to get accepted in that job. So,

you know,

again, that's nothing of my own doing. And so I feel like God maybe wants me there for now.

I have had a couple friends that are from my past that I still keep in contact with,

and I've encouraged them maybe to go to church or,

you know,

make different decisions in their life just based on,

you know, hey,

this is what happened with me.

I'm not saying it's what's going to happen with you, but this is what's happening with me now.

And that definitely could happen with you, you know, because my life isn't perfect right now, but it's,

you know, it's working out for me at least.

Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah.

Jan: What would perfect look like to you?

Jan: Oh, I think probably heaven.

Jan: Right, right. Anything less than that is not going to be.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: You know, perfect would be never having a bad thought or.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: You know, actually being blameless. And that's just not.

Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah.

Jan: Out on the cards, not in our human,

human self.

How did you find reactions to you from maybe even your siblings or other friends coming out? Were they welcoming or were they kind of like, oh.

Jan: I think at least most people are pretty polite.

And so at least the version of people that I've received has been very welcoming.

Whether that's their actual feeling,

I don't know. I have, like,

some obnoxious restrictions placed on me because of my supervision that I'm on.

And so that kind of gets in the way of certain interactions.

But yeah, my, my siblings. I mean, one of my best friends since I've been out has been my youngest brother, Elijah. He doesn't live nearby anymore, but we, you know, we're going disc golfing and yeah, we play online video games together all the time and stuff.

And that's nice because I just look back and even before I was making the worst of my decisions, I still was not a very good older brother to my siblings.

I was just very kind of off doing my own thing and not giving them the attention that they all deserved. So it's good to be back in their lives.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: And build a relationship.

I think that's also at least I see with my kids.

As kids, they kind of got stuck in a certain viewpoint of their siblings, and now as adults, they've had to rebuild a relationship in a different form because you're not the Same person as you were as a kid, you know.

Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.

Jan: Takes a little. Little work.

Jan: Yeah, for sure.

Speaker D: You know. Yeah.

Jan: It goes both directions, you know, just seeing,

thinking that somebody's that person that they were, because you didn't. You haven't seen them for that many years, you know, once a lot's happened to them, too.

Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.

Jan: That's definitely for sure thing.

They've all changed a lot, but it just seems like all for the better. So that's, you know,

they all are doing very well. And I'm very thankful to God that,

you know,

he's blessed my siblings the way he has.

Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.

Jan: That's neat.

Yeah,

that is.

It's a neat thing just seeing the layers that God does with us in our lives and what he's going to bring you to. Because this is. Just steer now. This is just like another little chapter.

Speaker D: Right.

Jan: There's going to be another chapter after this and another one after that that God's going to be leading you into doing, you know, maybe more even ministry type of things or other things.

But just in your life, when you have your whole mindset toward God that becomes who you are and you act that way, you speak that way, you know, and people are going to see his light in you.

Jan: Absolutely.

Jan: Which is complete contrast to where you were. So that's, I mean, that's pretty cool. Isn't.

Jan: Sure. Is it would be great to be able to encourage people.

Jan: Yeah,

super, super. Well, just, just your sharing here is going to be encouraging to people, I'm sure. You know, it's going to be.

What would you tell your younger self now that you're this far along?

Jan: The things your mom's saying sound crazy, but she's actually right.

Jan: Trust your mama.

Speaker D: Yeah, that.

Jan: And before that, trust God.

You know, the things that are in the Bible are there for a reason. They're not like, as like trying to control us and make our lives worse. You know,

you can even.

Yeah. Just everything in there is for our betterment.

Jan: So listen, there's an awful lot of people in the Bible who were in bad places and made some bad choices and whatever, and yet God still used them,

you know, and transformed their lives. That's the miracle of, you know, read through scriptures and seeing that nobody's too bad for God.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: And that's always encouraging to remember.

Jan: Okay, we're coming to a close. What would you like to leave our listeners, viewers with?

Jan: Well,

I'd like to thank you for having me and just say that,

you know,

listen to God and do what he says, and your life will be pretty great.

Okay, so I'll just say that,

you know, read your Bible and listen to what it says and pray,

and your life will be good.

It's.

Speaker D: Yeah, yeah.

Jan: Take it to heart.

Speaker D: Right?

Jan: Absolutely.

Speaker D: Yeah.

Jan: Parker, thanks. This has been such a blessing, and I just see good things for you.

Jan: Well, thank you, Jan. I appreciate you taking the time to have me, and I hope you have a wonderful morning.

Speaker D: Great.

Jan: Thank you so much.

Parker: Sometimes God has to whomp us on the head to get us to pay attention.

Jan: It seems that is what he did.

Parker: With Parker brought him to a place of repentance and seeking forgiveness. And our God, the one who loves us so very, very much,

helped Parker realize that it didn't matter what he had done.

God was able to forgive that.

In fact, he had already forgiven it 2,000 years ago.

Friend, if you are in a place where you feel that you can't be forgiven,

hold out your palm like a stop sign and tell Satan. He has no right to tell you that.

Tell him. You are a child of God, the God Almighty, and your God has forgiven you.

Stand tall. Stand firm in the word of God.

Do not believe the lie that you will always, always be in bondage.

I'll leave you with two scriptures. Matthew 25:36.

I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me.

I was in prison and you came to visit me.

And Isaiah 61:1.

The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim claim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Blessings, my friend.

Jan: I hope you enjoy this week and.

Parker: That you can see God in all the little things. And like Parker,

be grateful for all the things in your life,

the good and the bad.

We'll see you next time.