Roy Nelson grew
up in poverty in a small town in Texas. He was one of four children.
His father was sadistically violent with his family and was known
in his town as a drunk. On account of many evictions, Roy’s
family moved often. At one time, for three years, his entire family,
including his grandmother, lived in a two room tin house. On a daily
basis at school and at home Roy experienced and lived with the constant
threat of physical violence. And he was no stranger to emotional and
sexual abuse. Where the idea of God and church might have brought
him comfort, his experience of “hell, fire and brimstone”
religion brought only further terror and alienation. Roy worked to
make money from a very young age, and at the age of 14 he left home
and school permanently to pursue a job opportunity in another town.
At the age of 17, Roy joined the Army. He served in Korea, Germany,
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. At the age of 20, Roy married a woman who
had a daughter; a year later she gave birth to a son. Nine months
later she gave birth to twin boys! All three mischievous boys shared
the same grade throughout their school years, providing unimaginable
headaches and stress for Roy and his wife! At the age of 22, Roy was
responsible for providing for a wife and four children. He left the
Army after 7 years and embarked on a career in sales and marketing.
Throughout his life, Roy battled
with his weight. He was overweight as a child, and by the age of
22 he weighed 230 lbs. His success in sales was matched by progressive
weight gain, heavy drinking and smoking, and generally “riotous”
living. He was spinning out of control. By the age of 28 he was
suffering from panic attacks and phobias and sought help through
psychiatry, psychology and medical hypnoanalysis. By the age of
32, he reached 275 lbs, and while still experiencing success on
the outside, was an emotional wreck on the inside.
Late one night, when all his “painkillers” had failed
to keep the guilt, remorse, fear and despair at bay, he crawled
out of his bed and, on his knees, cried out for help from a God
he thought he didn’t believe in. The first miracle was that
he was able to get back into bed and fall asleep peacefully. But
more than that happened…when he awoke the next day, he felt
peaceful. And he began to lose weight. And he no longer drank alcohol.
His whole life took a different tack. He began to seek more of the
peace he found that night, and over of a period of about 9 months
he shed 100 lbs. Seeking answers to the inner pain he had suffered
his whole life, Roy talked to others who had struggled with addictions,
as well as spiritual and medical figures who strived to understand
the workings of the subconscious mind. As he put the pieces of the
puzzle together, he continued to recover. Roy was not content to
stop only the major addictions and continue on with the lesser ones.
He had a burning desire to BE TOTALLY FREE. And that desire drove
him to break free from the bondage of all addictions and even from
the addictive personality itself. But Roy always gives the credit
to God.
After “cracking the code” of
his own problems, Roy turned to help others do the same. He knew
that in order to continue on with his own success, it was vital
that he help others to succeed in the same way. And it has been
his life’s mission to do this ever since. While he experienced
success in business, that pursuit was always secondary to his helping
others. Today he devotes his full time to helping others. There
is nothing more important in his life. NOTHING. And he refuses to
charge money for the time and effort he spends doing so. He believes
that because God and others have so generously been there for him,
he must give of himself freely. Therefore his help comes from love,
not from any profit motive. Roy knows that love heals. His two favorite
quotes are: “People don’t care how much you know until
they know how much you care.” And “There was a man,
they thought him mad, the more he gave, the more he had!”
That aptly sums up the heart and service of Roy Nelson.
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