Dear Customers and Friends, If anything needs doing, our team at Syfan Logistics knows we can count on Steve Reed, our trailer technician, to get it done. A Gainesville, Ga. native, Steve has been an invaluable part of our company family since 2005. But the road he took here was anything but easy.
In the early 90s, Steve struggled with substance abuse. One Sunday out of the blue, he was surprised by a friend suggesting they attend a local church service.
Steve sat in the very back. He didn’t think he belonged in that kind of place, and he had trouble focusing on the sermon until something strange happened.
He heard his name.
The pastor was telling the story of Saint Stephen, who was stoned to death and is considered the first martyr of Christianity. In the sermon that day, the pastor described Stephen as wearing a red shirt.
Hearing his name and the word “stoned”, Steve felt as though the pastor was speaking directly to him in that crowd of churchgoers. Like the saint, he was also wearing a red shirt. Now, Steve was sitting up straight and listening closely.
For the rest of the service, Steve took in every single word. He was so moved by the end that he went forward to proclaim his newfound faith and began his journey to sobriety that very day.
Unfortunately, his life didn’t magically become better overnight. His girlfriend at the time wasn’t interested in giving up her own lifestyle to join him in his faith journey. She eventually left him, and Steve had to raise their two young children, a one-year-old and a three-year-old, by himself.
Steve struggled. Despite God’s presence in his life, it was hard to break free from years of anger and pain that had built up inside of him.
One night, his anguish became so overwhelming that he planned to take his own life. Just before going through with it, Steve fell to his knees and cried out, pleading for God to help him. That was all it took for the hurt to vanish from his shoulders. Steve knew there wasn’t anything else to do except stand up, brush himself off, and keep living as God intended.
A few years later, Steve met his wonderful wife, Tammy, who helped him raise his two children and eventually a blended family of their own.The two have been together for 26 years.
Life was better, but not perfect. Steve admits he still struggled with his faith and didn’t go to church as frequently. Some old behaviors returned, and he began to worry that it was too late to find redemption. But that all changed with another sign from God.
Steve had a dream he was back in church with the same pastor who had spoken to him that day in 1993. He confessed anxieties that he wasn’t enough, that he was condemned and going to hell. The pastor in his dream simply told him to come back to church, and God would take care of the rest.
That dream came to Steve only a few months ago. He has been attending services regularly ever since.
Steve’s testimony illustrates to us that faith isn’t always the straightest line. Like sheep, we may wander. But Christ our shepherd will always welcome us back into the flock.
Blessed to be a Blessing,
Greg Syfan
President, Syfan Logistics
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5