Roadmap to Becoming "the Man I Want to Be"
For years, Michael Brady was convinced he was a Christian. But the only thing missing from his life was Christ Jesus.
"I thought I was a full Christian, but I had never accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior," Michael said. "I was lost. I was trying to do everything on my own. I'd been divorced once and was struggling with another marriage, trying to do it all on my own. I didn't know there was a better way."
It was the tragic death of his stepson that opened his eyes. "That showed me up—close and personal how life can be over in a second," Michael said.
In June 2004, he gave his life to the Lord, and a few months later, he was baptized.
A year later, at the urging of his brother, Pat, he visited the Friday Morning Men's Bible Study at Prestonwood and realized that God offered much more to the believer than an hour or two in church.
"Since that first day, I think I can count on one hand the times I've missed the men's Bible study," he said. "I just don't miss it because it means so much to me to learn from Neal [Jeffrey] and Bill [Borinstein]. It's just an incredible blessing."
He discovered that God's Word was the roadmap he needed to become "the man I want to be"-the guide to building loving relationships with the Lord and the people around him.
Eventually, Michael ran into a woman he'd met a few years earlier. Since that first meeting, both had been divorced.
"I sent her a Christmas card this year—a photo of me and my two Yorkies—and she sent an e-mail back and thanked me and asked what I was doing for New Year's," he said. "From that, it blossomed into a wonderful relationship. And we both feel like we were led to this relationship by the Lord."
Over the past few years, Michael said, God has been doing a work in him-"teaching me to walk on my own first."
When Michael arrived at Prestonwood, he worked as a general contractor. He heard of a similar opportunity at the church and applied for it. The job went to another man, but a second opening soon came along.
"I really didn't want the job, but I prayed about it," he said. "Something told me I needed to take this job, so I took it on a leap of faith."
When Prestonwood North began meeting in Prosper, Michael saw another opportunity to use his talents and resources-most conspicuously, his very large Ford pickup truck.
He volunteered to help haul the makings of church from a storage yard to Prosper High School each Sunday, beginning before dawn and wrapping up in the early afternoon. A few months ago, he became team leader.
The experience, Michael said, has been "an incredible blessing."
He uses those same words to sum up the last four years, and especially the past two-and-a-half, since he came to Prestonwood.
"Anyone who knows me would tell you I'm a totally different person than I was," Michael said, quickly adding that he remains a work in progress.
"God's got a lot to do with me in whatever time I have left on this earth," Michael said. "But I have peace in knowing I have eternal life with Him.
"I can only imagine what the rest of my life will be like, and the thought of now having someone to share that life with is incredible."
