when rick salusk When he appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2002, he told a great story. A Dallas man who once weighed 538 pounds lost nearly 300 pounds in just two years.
What Saleuske didn't know at the time was that his story wasn't over yet. A full 20 years later, he ends up working with a writer. Cindy Woods About the book, which tells a story he believes is far more impactful than the story of weight loss.
“It’s like a folded quilt that you keep in your chest of drawers. When you take it out and start unfolding it, you see that it has a perfect pattern. And that’s how God works, too. ”
The book, published in January, is titled “Half the Man, Twice the Faith” and tells the story of Salewske's faith.
Looking back, Salusuke says it's clear that God had a hand in his life, leading up to the seemingly chance encounter in which Woods and I contacted him to hear Richard Saluske's full story.
give credit to God
But if you listen to Salewske's story, the story is not about him at all.
“I credit God for all of this. This is not a Rick Salusk story. That doesn't concern me. It's about how powerful God is and how He guides people in your path.” It's a question of whether they'll give it to us,” Salewske said.
As Saleuske recounts in the book, even after mustering the willpower and determination to lose the first 300 pounds, he still struggled with his weight. He developed a habit of waiting for the world to change around him and telling himself that it would get better. In short, Salewske said, he was lost.
It wasn't until he met Woods and began to understand God's role in his life that he discovered it again and ended up losing another 100 pounds.
“I realized that when Cindy and I started writing the book,” Saluske says. “I learned that I needed to work with God to do this. And once I started working with God and putting my faith in God, it was so easy.”
“Well, I wouldn't say it was easy, but it all made sense,” Saryusuke quickly added.
take your hands off the handle
Once he took his hands off the wheel to partner with God, A pattern began to emerge in Salewske's life. Often this involved people showing up at the right time. Mr. Salewske believes that the book itself stems from this pattern of God working in his life.
Woods says:
“Gary, who is a really close friend of Rick’s and is mentioned in the book, is an Uber driver and talks to customers a lot, and one day he went to pick up a representative from Christian Faith Publishing. We went and we started talking and he told her about Rick,” Woods said.
For more than 20 years, Salewske has wanted to tell his story in a book. However, previous inquiries into the publishing world led him to believe it was too expensive, until he chanced upon Gary.
Gary connected Saryusuke with a representative who told him what he needed to do to get his article published. Salusuke shared the information with a friend, who connected him to Woods.
“I quickly learned that this is not a weight loss book. That's certainly a fascinating part of the story and a good hook. But what this really means is that no matter what challenges you face, , how to work with God,” Woods said.
After Woods told Salusuke his thoughts, he said everything clicked into place. Scientifically, he knew how he lost 300 pounds. It was diet and exercise, and people often asked Salewske how she made that decision.
“That's when it occurred to me,” Salewske said. “God did this.”
He has an influential boss, Bill, cooper aerobics The founder is Dr. Kenneth Cooper. After coming to this conclusion, Salewske became determined to spread the word of God.
looking for him
How do you come to see God in your life in the first place? Woods says you have to look for him.
“It’s like a folded quilt that you keep in your drawer. When you take it out and start unfolding it, you find that it has a perfect pattern. And that’s how God works, too. . You have to really unpack and unpack those things to find out how he's working in your life,” Woods said.
Salefske hopes to use her story as a testimony to the wonders of God.
“I was 38 years old. I weighed 538 pounds. After 24 years, I was down to 200 pounds,” Salewske said.
He has been married for over 20 years and has three beautiful children. All the people in his life were Christians and they helped get him this far.
“How can you say that God does not exist?” Salewske asks. He says his story is proof that miracles happen.
The strength of the journey
Saryusuke and Woods hope that people who read this book will go away knowing that they can rely on God.
“No matter what you're going through, God will help you get through it,” Salewske says.
However, Woods cautions against assuming everything will work out as expected. Grief, disease and hardship continue to plague the world. All of that doesn't go away just because we partner with God.
Rather, Woods said, “It's when you surrender those situations and emotions to God and allow Him to give you the comfort and strength to walk through any valley that makes all the difference in your journey.” .
In response, Mr. Salewske responded with a cheerful “Amen.''
That certainly rings true for Salewske, who still has to strive to maintain a disciplined daily nutrition and exercise routine.
At the same time, Salewske is grateful for how far he has come. He is blessed with a healthy lifestyle, which he shares with his extended family and friends, and shares stories with everyone he meets. When you hear their stories directly, you can't help but smile and feel moved. There is so much hope.
“Half the Man, Twice the Faith” is available for purchase online.
