My Story: This Isn't The Life I Pictured...But God is still working!

My Story: This Isn't The Life I Pictured...But God is still working!

Most of us grow up building a vision of what we think our life will become. We imagine the job, the spouse, the house, the family, and the future we want. As life unfolds, that vision changes. Sometimes we move toward it, and other times life takes us in a completely different direction.

I grew up around Kokomo, Indiana, raised in church and Christian schools. Like many people, though, I eventually wandered away from God. By the time I was 19, I didn't have much of a plan. I dropped out in 11th grade and attended trade school for automotive technology. One thing I always believed was that someday I would own a business.

By my early twenties, I thought I had my future figured out. I became a truck driver and dreamed of building a successful trucking company. At one point I owned four trucks. The problem wasn't the dream—it was that I had no understanding of how to properly run a business. I didn't understand cash flow, budgeting, or managing growth. Looking back, I can see that I was trying to build something without first learning the lessons needed to sustain it.

The business didn't last.

So I went back to trucking.

I spent years driving over-the-road and local routes. I loved traveling and seeing different parts of the country, but I always felt like there was something more I was supposed to be doing.

In 2016, my best friend and I started a cab company called Henco Cab, a combination of our last names. We actually became quite popular and built a good reputation. Once again, however, I learned that being good at the service side of a business doesn't automatically make you good at the financial side. There were other circumstances involved as well, but eventually the company closed and I returned to trucking.

At that point, I honestly thought I would probably be a truck driver forever.

Then life took another turn.

My marriage ended in 2017. In 2018, I met someone I thought would be my future. By 2021, I learned that relationship wasn't what I thought it was. The heartbreak that followed pushed me lower than I had ever been.

In February 2021, I hit rock bottom.

I was ready to end my life.

I didn't know exactly how I would do it, but I was ready. For the first time in a very long time, I prayed.

"God, save me, or I'm going to end my life."

God answered immediately.

He put an overwhelming desire in me to watch church online. One sermon turned into another, and another, and before I knew it, I no longer wanted to die. That was the month I truly came back to God.

The change wasn't instant.

God didn't magically fix every problem overnight. Instead, He began changing me.

Over the next couple of years, I started noticing things. My anxiety was improving. My temper was softening. My patience was growing. My relationship with God was becoming real instead of something I simply knew about.

One day around 2023, it hit me:

"Wow... I am becoming someone new."

The Bible says that when we come to Christ, we become a new creation. For the first time, I could actually see that happening in my life.

Around that same time, my company sent me to Florida for ninety days. During that trip, I grew much closer to God. I also began having a vision for a woodworking business. When I returned home, I used some of the money I earned to convert my garage into a woodshop.

That's where the spark for God's Grace Studios truly began.

At the same time, I had been posting encouraging messages on Facebook for years. Those messages slowly evolved into devotionals. I also found myself repeatedly hearing the same words in my heart:

God's Grace.

Over and over again.

Then one day YouTube recommended a video about Print-on-Demand products. I had never heard of it before, but something immediately clicked.

"I can do this."

I started creating faith-based designs and opening online stores. The sales didn't come quickly, but the vision was growing. Slowly I began to realize that God wasn't simply calling me to start a business.

He was calling me into ministry.

Then came June 2025.

My mother's health declined, and she needed help. Most people know this part of my story. The old version of me might have looked for reasons why I couldn't help.

Instead, without hesitation, I told her:

"Move in with me. I'll take care of you."

I left my trucking career and became her caregiver.

I had no idea how the bills would get paid.

I had no idea what the future would look like.

But I knew it was the right thing to do.

So I prayed:

"God, I know I made the right choice. What's next?"

The answer wasn't immediate, but God kept revealing pieces of the puzzle.

Woodworking grew.

The devotionals grew.

God's Grace Studios became more than an idea.

It became a mission.

Then in October 2025, while attending a revival hosted by my friend Matthew Eckart of Kingdom Pursuit Ministries, God spoke through him in a way I'll never forget.

He told me I was in a season of waiting.

That my time was coming.

That God would use me to impact people.

That people would be drawn to the words God gave me.

Then came a question I never expected:

"What is it that you truly want?"

Not the church answer.

Not the automatic answer.

What did I genuinely want?

After thinking about it, I answered honestly.

I wanted my business to grow—not so I could become rich, but so I could help others.

I wanted financial stability—not wealth, but enough that when the refrigerator breaks, I can replace it without panic.

I wanted the woman God has for me to enter my life and walk this journey alongside me.

Most importantly, I wanted to fulfill God's purpose for my life.

That phrase, "a season of waiting," has stayed with me ever since.

Because here we are in 2026, and in many ways, I'm still waiting.

Mom is still healing.

The business is still growing.

I'm still single.

Finances are still tight.

But through it all, God has given me something I never had before:

Peace.

More peace than I experienced in the previous forty-four years of my life.

My anxiety is dramatically better.

My temper is nearly gone.

My patience is stronger.

The fruits of the Spirit are growing.

And yes, finances...

I've learned a lot.

Looking back, I can see that many of my early business failures weren't because the ideas were bad. They were because I didn't understand money, planning, budgeting, or how to properly manage growth. God has used this season to teach me those lessons. Today I understand business, finances, and stewardship far better than I ever did when I owned trucks or operated a cab company. I'm still learning, but I can see how God was preparing me through every success and every failure.

So why am I sharing all of this?

First, so you can see that I'm just a regular man trying to follow God's plan.

Second, so you'll learn to be content where you are, even if it isn't where you expected to be.

Third, so you'll understand that God's timing often takes years, not days.

And fourth:

Trust God.

Trust Him when life is good.

Trust Him when life is hard.

Trust Him when you're waiting.

Because sometimes the waiting isn't punishment.

Sometimes it's preparation.

This isn't the life I pictured.

But looking back, I wouldn't trade God's plan for my own.

God bless you all.

— Luke

Founder, God's Grace Studios LLC