"Our whole life is an open book to God"

                       We have nothing to hide                  

"Don't be bewidered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you." 1 Peter 4:12  

God wants us to understand that we will all go through adversities in our lives.

How we react to what happens to us in our lives is important to God. Do we give up and crawl in to a hole and never come out. Or will we rise above the ashes and fires of our adversities and glorify God that He will triumph over any obstacle in our life and lead us to total victory each and every time!

How can we truly glorify God and say that He will triumph over any obstacle in our lives if we try to hide from others what happens to us? 

How can we know if God is real and that He is going to bless us again and again through our circumstances like He has promised us unless we have adversity in our lives for Him to triumph over where He can lead us to total victory again and again?

God did not say that He will help me triumph over my adversities some of the time; He said all the time.

So I will lead by example, Over 30 years ago I was completely vindicated of being falsely accused and it was dismissed before it even got started. The full story is in my book coming out 2008. I have to admit, I was not equipped to handle the situation when a person came to me and said that they were going to commit suicide. The bottom line is I did not know that this person had a obsession with me, and that she used the ruse of wanting to commit suicide hoping that she could seduce me. I tried to send her back home but she said that she was being molested by her parent’s friends who were there at this time, and if I called the police or tried to send her away that she would kill herself.

For the first time in my life, I could not turn to my parents since they were over a thousand miles away visiting our relatives. My parents raised me right; my conduct was honorable, moral and respectable to this obsessed person.

But I was naive of our legal system to say the least. Even though I had never been with this person alone before, she had written in her diary the most twisted fantasies about me.

When morning came, she left like she promised without hurting herself.

Her mother found her diary filled with dozens of other guys besides me. She took it to the police, who took it to the district attorney, who later proved that none of the fantasies were true about them, either. I just happened to be the last one with her at the time who she wrote about.

I mentioned earlier that I was naive of our judicial system. I thought if your conduct was honorable and respectable that you have nothing to worry about. But I was wrong. This obsessed person, who clearly needed help, told the truth on written transcript that it was she who tried to seduce me by saying she was going to kill herself. And that I not only refused her advances, but I rejected her the entire time she was in my presence until she left in the morning.

I was even told that this district attorney found no evidence even after having her take a DNA test.

This district attorney’s heart was as dark as they come, and he will answer to God for what he did next.

He tried to convince this obsessed person that what she wrote in her diary had to be true, even though I have never been alone with her at any time before she said she was going to commit suicide.

Before the Judge threw this case out, I had to sit and hear this district attorney tell this obsessed person that we had to have sex when she came over because that was her motive all along.

As long as I live, I will never forget what she said next as she denied this to the district attorney, which is on court transcript.

"No, but that's what you keep saying we did!"

Afterwards the Judge dismissed this case during the preliminary hearing and found no evidence against me.

Against my legal counsel's advice, I approached the district attorney and I asked him one question.

Knowing I was innocent, I asked him, "Why did this case have to go this far?"

 He simply said that he found it hard to believe that a man could refuse such a beautiful girl for eight hours who was obsessed in having sex with them.

His response surprised me that he thought it was such a big deal to say no to sex. It made me wonder what choice he would have made in the same situation. Only God knows the answer to this.

If this district attorney would have read any further testimony by other people, he would have discovered that I had only met this obsessed person one other time within a group. My friend was giving this person and her girlfriend a ride home because they approached us for a ride. It was below freezing that day and the car's heater did not work. I literally had to take off the frost that was forming inside the car's windshield using his window scraper so that he could see as we went down the road.

As I was dropped off at my place, everybody wanted to come in for a minute to warm up. Durning this time, both of the girls had other things on their mind; they wanted to have sex with us. My friend tried to talk me into it and I said “no.” He said that was fine by him but that he was going to make it with one of the girls.

He would not take “no” for an answer, I had to physically take my hand and push him back, and this time he knew I meant business when I said “no” again, so he backed off. Everybody wanted to, except me. At that moment, both of the girls told me that this was the first time that anybody had ever said no to them. As corny as this sounds to today’s youth, I told them that they should wait until they find someone who truly cares about them. I told them that if they ever need to talk to someone to keep their head on straight, that I would be there for them.

I realized that I not only had one but two chances to prove my conduct was honorable before God. The others that wanted to have sex but me had already repeated this under oath. The obsessed person's girlfriends parents were so embarassed by their daughter's conduct that I was told that they moved out of town.

So it was puzzling to me why the district attorney thought it would be hard to say “no” once.

I was thankful that the district attorney had answered the question that was literally burning a hole in me to ask him. We were about to shake hands, when my attorney forcefully pushed my hand away and said "Don't shake his hand; he just tried to hang your butt." (He actually used much stronger words)

I don't have to tell anyone that I had already asked God to represent me and to deliver me from this injustice. All the glory goes to God. I thank God for the honorable and blessed legal counsel that was provided for me since I could not afford a attorney.

There was a happy ending to this story.

The mother of this obsessed person invited me over for a home cooked meal which I accepted, and she and her family went with me to church afterwards.

Even though I go into much greater detail in my book, it’s important for me to share with others who are going through their own overwhelming adversity in their life right now.

It's important to put your total trust in God that He will deliver you from all your troubles.

Remember, God did not say to be thankful for all things; He said to give thanks in all things.

God does not expect me to thank Him for being falsely accused.

But He does expect me to find something from this experience to thank Him for.

I thank God for allowing me to pass the test of my conduct being honorable during this time.

I thank God for representing and vindicating me when I cried out to Him for help.

I thank God for delivering me by dismissing this miscarriage of justice nightmare before it even got started.

I thank God for not being bitter in my heart when the mother of this obsessed person invited me over for dinner.

I thank God that after my parents came back, my Father gave me a hug for the first time in years and told me that he was sorry that he was not there when I went through this because they were 1000 miles away.

As you see, we can find many things to be thankful to God for even when we go through a terrible ordeal as being falsely accused.

The one that I give God the most thanks for is for having the faith to believe He will never leave me or forsake me, even when my parents are a thousand miles away.

"I will never leave you or forsake you." Hebrews 13:5 

 God Believes in You

Reverend Michael Cartwright

"Oh, how great is your goodness to those who publicly declare that you will rescue them. For you have stored up great blessings for those who trust and reverence you."  Psalms 31:19