The Man That Meets The Moment

Season Two Kickoff And Guest Intro

SPEAKER_04 0:05

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Unlearnt Podcast. This is your girl Jaquita, and we are here for the second act. This is the place where we reflect on where we've been so we can redefine our now and rewrite our next. Listen, we've been gone for a minute, but we back, and I am so excited to kick off season two. I have, friends, I don't even think y'all are ready. I don't think y'all are prepared for the amount of reflection, for the amount of encouragement you are about to receive, because I have brought on the podcast today to kick off season two, a master encourager who is going to help us navigate through learning the seasons of God, learning how to get out of stuck places, learning how to use your story for God's glory. Let me tell you something. He does all of that. Okay, he does all of that. I want to, I want to informally because he's my brother, he's my friend, he is an amazing, amazing example of God's love and grace. Um, and and and and and not just being a brother in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense of upholding, being your sister and brother's keeper. Guys, he gave me a formal introduction. I'm gonna read that too, but I had to make sure that I shouted him out because he has just been such a steady presence in my life and ministry. And so I really just appreciate him. And so, guys, I want to introduce you guys to minister. Minister Zacchaeus Moss. I'm gonna read his introduction, then I'm gonna let y'all hear from him, okay? Zacchaeus Moss is a licensed minister and author who helps individuals and families grow through faith, prayer, and biblical teaching. A native of Jackson, Alabama, and 1998 graduate of Alabama State University. We'll talk about that. He lives in Lawrenceville, Georgia, with his lovely wife, Miss Lena Moss, whom he married in 2008. I was there, it was wonderful. Through his ministry and writing, he encourages others to walk boldly in their God-given purpose and experience the power of God's word. He is the author of several faith-based books, including Prayers for Education, and Prayer is my superpower book, and a coloring book with a girl's edition soon to be released. We got books on the way, y'all. Law, this is my friend, this is my brother, this is my partner in ministry, this is Minister Zacchaeus Moss. Say what's up to the people.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

I'm so excited to be in this space and place. Second act. Oh, my, my, my, my, my. My God, I don't know how I'm gonna live up to those uh words, but uh it is indeed an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this uh great uh space. Uh certainly um every opportunity I get to encourage someone, I use that opportunity because someone took the time to encourage me uh in those difficult storms and seasons. And what you see today is simply because if somebody spoke something positively in my life.

SPEAKER_04 3:18

Y'all listen, when I say the

Compliments Vs Affirmation That Pushes

SPEAKER_04 3:20

man is a master encourager, okay, there will be moments, and it always comes in a moment when I'm in a moment of self-doubt or when I'm wondering if something I did was good enough. I will get a text message from my brother and he will say something because encouragement is not just about, is not complimenting, right? There's a difference between complimenting someone and affirming them, right? In a way that encouragement means that I'm pushing you forward in something. And many times his affirmation has been the hand in my back that has helped me to continue to propel forward. And so that is an art form and that is a gift. And I'm wondering, as we're talking, because you know, the name of the podcast is the second act, right? But I'm wondering about the first act, and I'm wondering if were you always that encouraging person, or is this something that you learned or something that you've kind of built from life circumstances?

SPEAKER_01 4:22

I think the beauty of life is you become based on what you experience. So for me, my chase was for affirmation. My search was for affirmation. Uh, my father did not live in my household, and I lived and I chased after to hear those words, you did well, son. So I played sports and I excelled in sports. But when I looked into the crowd, I didn't see my father uh in the crowd to say, uh, you scored a great touchdown or you did good. Uh so I'm looking in the crowd and looking in the bleachers for that affirmation that did not come. Uh so it's one of those things that as I look back at that feeling that I felt, when I sense it or when I'm open to what God uh says to me inwardly, I encourage others because that is the encouragement that I sought after. It is the affirmation that God pours uh into me in a way that when I sense it, I pour into others. Um it's it's it is a gift because it's not something that you know that I can take credit for, but it is so natural because I wanted that for somebody to say, you did good, you did well. So when when I uh speak life into somebody else and I I see the reaction, it just reminds me of what I missed, but I don't want to get hung up on the story of what I missed, uh, but that's what brought me to the poor. Every chance I get to pour because I think about uh that moment that I need to encourage that I need the needed the affirmation. Uh so I pour every chance I get the opportunity to pour.

SPEAKER_04 6:21

But see, I love that because what I heard you say was that when you were younger, that you used to look in the crowd for your father, and now you have become the person that when you speak to people, you point out their father, their heavenly father in the crowd, right? Like you say, hey, I I know somebody else might have said something different to you. I know you might have received the affirmation that you need, but I'm gonna point out where your father, where your creator, where your king, where your God is at, in in the crowd of your thoughts, right? In the crowd of your experiences. And I think I always love it because, you know, I think a lot of times when we look back on our stories, we can look back and we can see pain. We can look back and we can see trauma. And, you know, I think trauma has become a trigger word now. Everybody's like, I had traumatic experiences, and you're right, we did. I'm not trying, I'm not trying to diminish that at all. Because, you know, sometimes you hear people's stories, you'd be like, You really went through that? My God today. You know, but I think when we really look at, you know, and and we're gonna get into it, but Romans 8.28 came to mind, and I'm gonna put a pen right there for you. I'm gonna put a pen right there for you. But but when we really look at the way that our lives play out in God, there's pinpoints where the Lord said, I'm gonna pin that, and I promise you, I'm gonna bring resolution to that moment. I'm gonna bring resolution to that pain. Um, so I'm wondering,

Single-Parent Foundation And Faith Formation

SPEAKER_04 7:55

because I grew up with a single mom too. Um, did you grow up single mom or did mom remarry?

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Or I lived um uh with my grandparents and my mom. So it was a single um parent household. So I had the exposure of seeing a grandfather and a grandmother, uh, but my mom was a single uh parent that you know she worked and uh she provided and she gave me the foundation. That's the key thing I want to make sure that I I talk about, is that Uber, but although I was uh in a single parent home, um I had the necessary foundation. So I saw a father, uh, although he was my grandfather, but he wasn't my father. But I saw the foundation of what um the church meant, of what faith was about. So although there was a missing peace, I still had the kind of peace that only God can give. And that's the thing that I I love about the struggle, the strain, although on one hand there was a pain, but on the other hand, I still had the faith foundation. So, yes, I was a product of a single parent home, but I still had love, I still had encouragement, and that foundation certainly helped me in the future and the things I was that I would face.

SPEAKER_04 9:15

Okay, see, I love that. And y'all, I just remembered I forgot something out of his introduction. I forgot to tell y'all that my brother is the is a master wordsmith, okay? And if you go look at his Facebook page and look at some of the stuff he puts out, you're gonna be like, whose mind works like that? Like, who is able to take words and and work them like that so that they that words have double meanings like that? So when you said that, I was like, yeah, see, I should have written that down. My master wordsmith. Um, but I I I appreciate that because I think a lot of times when we're thinking about, you know, when we think about the phases of our lives and we think about that first act, when you are, when you are looking at a play, you know, I wasn't a theater kid, but I became a theater adult, right? I got really, really into theater. At one point I thought that was gonna be my trajectory. Like I was about to start taking acting classes in LA, and I was like, I'm about to be on the stage. And the Lord said, You are about to be on the stage, but not that one. And I was like, oh, snap. I ain't know there were different stages. Um, but I I just remember I've been in a couple of plays, and when you look at the characters who are in their first act, there's always tension, right? Because we have to tension creates a storyline that draws us in. And the reason we get drawn into the tension is because there's so many unspoken areas in our lives that we're seeking resolve in, that we're seeking for, you know, this place, this thing that happened, this thing that I experienced, we're seeking for that to have meaning and purpose and resolution. Um, and a lot of times when we're looking at the play on the stage, we see, we see, we see the setup, right? We see the man, this character is missing this, or there's a conflict between these two characters, right? But a lot of times the thing that saves you in your second act is not how you resolve the conflict, it's how you leaned into your foundation. And I think that that's so interesting that you brought up all of the things that, you know, we started talking about you, your father, and missing him, right? And what that and what that did for you as a young man. But then there's also this God always has a balance. There was a foundation there. There was a grandfather. I had a very similar story. You know, I grew up single mom, my dad was there in the in here, there. Um, but my grandfather was my rock, you know, and and he was the stable example of a father's love in my life. And I'm just always amazed at how God fills in those gaps, but there is still foundation there. Um, and I know as we're growing, as you're growing through different stages of your life, right? Sometimes foundation means a lot, but I'm wondering if what were what was Teen Zach like? I would love to know. Because, you know, we get grown man, Zach. And Zach is one of those

Teen Years With Mom’s Mental Illness

SPEAKER_04 12:35

men who always presents like as a as a as a grown man who's about his business, who, you know, is gonna protect, who's gonna serve, who's gonna provide, right? But I I'm wondering, um, in all of those life situations, what was that in-between teenage stage like?

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Well, you know, it's it's funny that you that we speak about the teenage years. For me, there that was a very difficult time for me because my mom dealt with uh mental illness when I was in high school. So she was in an institution, and I end up living a uh period of time in high school, you know, by myself, going to, you know, going to school, going to class. And so that was a challenge, but I was not ever one of the teenagers that was doing crazy stuff. I was not one to do the the weird stuff. I was not one to You weren't in them streets. I would I wasn't in the streets like no, not not not not at all. Um but again, not not saying I was uh perfect, but again, I I was not one uh to do those things because how my grandparents raised me, um, it was certain things that we just did not do, and I didn't get to the place of of doing any of those things. So um just imagine living in in quote unquote the projects, um, you know, a teenager by himself, drugs around, peer pressure around, but still staying true to what I was taught. That really was my story. Um I made a I made a decision that some things I just was not going to do. Now, prior to teen years now, I was a uh a child that got into stuff now. I was definitely rebellious, I was definitely a bad child. I was definitely uh one of those that, you know, not bad, okay. I was definitely the very kind of like, you know, disobedient, that kind of thing. So that's the thing as a as a kid that his way of showing the missing element of his father, this is how he showed it, not knowing why he was doing that. So uh that right there is two different ways to show. So, you know, kind of showing missing his dad, rebellion, and then as a teenager, dealing with mental illness uh with my mother and living by myself, but still making decisions to not do certain things. And uh, funny story, I had a teacher in high school uh that found out that I was living by myself. And I uh she's like, uh, you're living by yourself. I said, uh, yeah, but I'm but I'm taking care of. She's I'm I'm gonna um report you. I said, well, if somebody hadn't had told you, you would have known that I was living by myself. And she said, Yeah, you're right.

SPEAKER_04 15:32

So I said, you know, that's in other words Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, because it's all it's all just starting to make sense to me. It's all just starting to come together. Because when you said living by yourself, I don't think I fully gathered. When you say living by yourself, you mean you alone independently.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Right. Yeah, that there was a stretch of time, uh months or a period of time where my mom was in the institution and I was living in the apartment that was set up for her. Okay. I was going to going to school and you know, she would call on the phone and uh, you know, school nights, and uh I would uh you know talk to her a few times and and then sometimes I said I you know I got I have to accept the call because I can tell her I gotta go to sleep. Because it was just one of those things that in her uh mental illness, she was dealing with her issue, and I was trying to keep my own sanity and still have a the normalcy of going to school. So I pretty much uh was like, I can't accept the collect call. And when she came out of the facility, I know you see.

SPEAKER_03 16:44

She was black mamas don't care where I was.

SPEAKER_01 16:47

If I call, you answer. Yeah, she remembers, she's like, and he had the nerve to not uh accept my call. But you know, I said, you know, I had to do it for my own sanity to not answer the call. So uh it was a difficult and trying time. So yeah, there was a period of time that I lived by myself, but I still had had the support, you know, you know, if I needed some support. But again, there was that was certainly some time, and and when they came around to do the inspection of the apartment, I would have the apartment the inspection and and uh make sure the the living room looked a certain way, so being looked in, they'd see certain things. So I was still, you know, kind of I learned to to uh clean a certain way for presentation, and unfortunately that same uh habit

Living Alone And Learning Boundaries

SPEAKER_01 17:35

still existed.

SPEAKER_04 17:38

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. And I'm not trying to stay stuck here, but I'm I'm I'm I'm really I'm really how so when you were living by yourself, were you feeding yourself? Yes, getting your own schedule, maintaining like all the different parts of your life, were you doing that independently?

SPEAKER_01 18:03

Uh yes, with the support of an aunt. Like I said, she didn't um live, you know, maybe a couple miles away. So she was there to help in any finances that my mom had, I had access to it.

SPEAKER_04 18:14

So I could pretty much So you you were managing household expenses, like with your mom's money, right? But you were managing household expenses you were with the help of your aunt, but your aunt did not stay with you. That is correct, absolutely. So, so aunt, my aunt provided some guidance, provided some, hey, do this, do that, but it was up to you to implement and carry out the plan. Sure, sure, sure. And see, I talked, but it's so interesting because I just told y'all, I was like, ever since I've known Zach, he is always presented as a grown man who can handle stuff, who can provide, who can protect, who can, but that that's so interesting that that experience built a foundation, and not only a foundation where I can I can take care of things and keep things covered, right? While also maintaining a level of integrity, right? Like not just I maintain the household, I'm also learning how to maintain myself in the midst of a really difficult circumstance. And even, sorry, I just want to, you know, praise you and give you a little bit more encouragement, and even the relational IQ to know that this is how I'm going to, this is how in this moment I need to manage my mom and relationship and balance what she's going through versus really understanding what I'm going through and knowing that in order to make it through this moment, I have to set boundaries. I got to carry out the plan. I have to have a clear focus and a clear vision of what it's gonna take for me to get to the finish line, right? I think that's absolutely phenomenal. Um, I don't know that I know many people who have a story like that.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

It's a it's a trust me, it it was a looking back, you see, like wow, but in the midst of it, it's like like

College Goals And Refusing Statistics

SPEAKER_01 20:15

they say, you do what you have to do. And that's what I I did, what I had to do in order to survive and to um to thrive. I knew what my goals were. Um it's a funny story. I remember being in the middle of uh my grandfather's field, cleaning the field. Um, and I said today, I said, this is the kind of work that I'm not gonna be doing. So I'm going to college. That's what I made that decision. It was spring break and you know, clean this field. I'm like, this is not something I'm gonna do. So I said in my mind um that I was going to college. So in other words, I had certain goals in mind that I wanted to accomplish. So whatever whatever it took to get those things done, I set it in my mind to do. And I I accomplished those things. And that's you know, sheer determination. And yes, it was difficult. Yes, there are things that I faced nonetheless, but determined hey, this is what I gotta do. I've got to do this. And I remember this thing about not being a statistic, not being a statistic. Um, you know, of course, either way, you're a statistic, good or bad, but oftentimes we look at the stats, but I wanted to make sure single parents at home in the projects, dealing with mental illness, but I wanted to show that you can face that particular obstacle and still find success or reach the goal that you have in mind. And that was what my intention was, even when I chose the College that I chose. Alabama State University at that time was known as a party school. My God, today. So here you have me, one that does not, but I'm going to the party school to prove that you can go to this uh school with the reputation of being a party school and still graduate. And that's what that's that was my mindset. And of course, I finished in 1998. So to kind of give you an idea of how I I set my sights on something, and I may face barriers, I may face things, but I still push paths to get to the destination.

SPEAKER_04 22:42

My God, today, I'm wondering what did young Zach feel the moment his mom came back?

SPEAKER_01 22:52

You know, it it was it was difficult because she was not. In essence, the mom that I knew was carried away, and it was the mind her mind left her, and she was carried away, and she never came back in the way that I knew. Wow. Came back. The medication had her in a zombie state. Yes. Laid on the couch. And that's all that she wanted to do was lay in the couch. And here I am, like, mom, you gotta do something. You gotta. So the roles were reversed. So now here I am, you know, trying to, you know, get her to do things. And, you know, we're trying, I'm not, I'm not necessarily cooking, but making sure we get food and things, but she didn't have the energy because the medication that she was based upon. And and even to this day, sickness, it takes me to a place. I cannot stand somebody to be sick because of that experience of looking at my mom being tired and being sick, and this medication that has her in this zombie state that when she starts feeling good, then we think something is wrong with her because of the medication had her in a zombie state. But when she starts feeling good or started having energy, then we're thinking something wrong. So it's like a, you know, it was it was a uh a difficult thing. Wow. I was glad to see her nonetheless. Um it's just the state of how she came back, and like I said, she never quite um got to the state um of what um I would love to.

SPEAKER_04 24:51

Wow. I'm I'm wondering. Sorry, I this wasn't even on the docket for me to dig in there, but but but we here now, brother. We're here. Uh um I'm wondering how Zach who went to college, how did you feel about what you left at home?

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Well, I knew that it was a part of me getting to where I needed to get to. Me leaving home wasn't necessarily leaving home abandonment, but it was in pursuit of. And I know that my mom, being the educator that uh she was, um, she was an educator, uh, went to Stillman, uh, graduated, graduated from Stillman College. Um so she was also, yeah, like I said, again, an educator. So she always instilled into me about the importance of education. Uh also another funny story. When she was in the inst in the middle institution, um there was a cost for the ACT um in order to take it. And naturally, I didn't have the money or I needed a money order or something. And being the mom that she was, even in that state, uh, she some kind of way sent me exactly the amount of money I needed for the registration for the ACT. Wow. And I'm telling you, I I know that's supernatural. I know that it's love that's in her or was in her that that happened, can't explain it, but it was the last time to take the um ACT test before uh the school year started, and uh so I took the test and uh, you know, was able to get accepted in the Alabama State and and was able to uh to go forth and graduate. And and uh there's a even a the same father that I talked about, um I come to find out that that was the same university um that he graduated from. Shut up.

SPEAKER_04 27:08

I love that that God is is even though your father didn't show you the way, God showed you the footsteps that you were supposed to follow in, even though there, even though he didn't vocalize that to you, you still learned it. That is that is amazing to me. That is amazing. Okay, so I so what uh so what we've learned from Zach's story today, okay, is that he is a he is a man of determination, that he is a man that you know meets the moment, right? Uh, that you, that whatever that moment required of you, you you met the moment, but you you didn't stay stuck in the moment. I think that is absolutely mind-blowing because a lot of people, uh, and I'm sure that that that the experience is something that you carried with you, right? And it was something that as you grew, you had to continue to process, but you were still able to move, you you met the moment, then you moved to the next moment, right? Like you were still able to transition into your next. Um, and so I I'm seeing, I'm seeing now more clear than I ever have before, right? That that you were really a person that that really had a lot of vision, right? And if you guys ever go and just, and we're gonna give his his uh his socials, and I need y'all to blow them up, okay? I need y'all to follow my brother because obviously he has a lot to teach us. Um, but if you ever look at the things that you're putting out, right? Like you put out so you are just so chalk full of just information of wisdom, and you are a person that strives to create new ways, new pathways, new strategies of really relaying to people what God has given you in in the realm of knowledge, information, wisdom, understanding, right? Like you you have books. He, you know, I think I have on my bookshelf, I have prayers, my superpower one. I was supposed to give it to my nephew, he ain't got it yet, no, because I I wanted to read it first. But he he can't even read yet, he'll get it. But but I I think that I'm I'm so interested in knowing when you got to college. What was your major?

SPEAKER_01 29:34

Marketing. Before that, that's a funny story. It was majors are always a funny story. I want to hear it. My my my major was first accounting. You think of Zach Keys uh in the the tax collector. So I think I wanted to make the money, so I said, let's be an accounting major. Well, I made uh B's in the first two courses, and then I was introduced to uh cost accounting. Uh when I met cost today, um that made me change my major. Uh Dr. Crawford said, we sure hate to lose you, hate to see you go. Um, but I said, this is not for me. So I changed my major uh to marketing, and uh, you know, it was a it was a a funny thing uh with marketing. The dean of the College of Business, um uh he was marketing was his thing. That was his baby. That was his, he would would come into the classes and he would take over the class. You tell the professor, I got this, and he would teach the class. And, you know, I I um toward my senior year or year I'm gonna graduate, um, there's one class that all the um different majors had to take this one class called um business policies, where you have this big and uh so I'm preparing and getting everything done for that. But the marketing class that he um teaches, um, I wasn't putting the effort into it according to him. And I got today. So I had this job to be a manager of a co-manager of a store at uh at Kmart at the time. Had my own at co-manager of the school. Kmart, we ain't even got Kmart no more. Exactly. So all so all I had to do was graduate. And this would have been in 1997. I remember my I graduated in '98. Okay. All right, so uh so he said, Well, you're doing very well out here in business policies. I said, Yes, sir, I'm proud, feeling good about it, and to myself. He said, Well, you're not doing uh enough in my class, I'll see you next semester. He said, I'll see you next semester. And when I'm not there, you're gonna teach. Shut. Yes. And sure enough, guess where I was back in that class.

SPEAKER_04 32:03

Yeah, for one class. So he kept you another year for one class. One class.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

One class, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 32:12

And made you teach the class? Did you ever have to teach it? I I don't remember ever having a chance to teach it now. I don't I don't remember that part of it now. But he just wanted, but I think even him saying that was you, you I know the potential of who you are. Sure. I know the potential of what you could do. You could teach this class.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

Yes, I agree. The fact the fact that he said that, you know, it was truth. You know, meaning, well, not about the teaching part, but more so about not putting as much effort. Because if you're a major major marketing, then I got this. You know, it's like this is what I've been doing, this is what I know, this is what I've been doing all this time. So there was truth in it. And and I remember when um you walk at graduation time, name on my name is Zacchaeus, you know, Anthony Moss is what you know the name is. So I hand this card over to you know to him to read, and he pauses and looks at me. Instead of saying my name, that's on this card, he says, Zach Moss and smiles. And then you know, he shaked my hand and not go off. So my parents, I mean I'm sorry, my uh family was like, why don't they call you Zach? No, we don't play that. We just have to know that's his way of showing respect. That was that was otherwise he would just say my name. So it's so it did have a good ending, but um, I didn't get that job at K bar because it was gone.

SPEAKER_04 33:46

My God, today. I'm wondering, okay, because you know, we

Intermission Moment And Mom’s Final Question

SPEAKER_04 33:50

can we can look back and and see all of the reasons why and be like, okay, God, I understand why I had to be 98 instead of 97. But how did young, I'm supposed to graduate in 97, Zach, process that?

SPEAKER_01 34:06

You know, it was a slap in the face from the standpoint of you strive to get to the get the degree and to get a job as a result of the degree. So I thought I had it in my head. It was right there in my grasp, but then someone had the ability to take it out. So it was out of my control. And and, you know, I it was a slap in the face, but I, you know, it didn't last long. I recovered and did what I had to do and got to the degree. So it wasn't, you know, it wasn't like I was down in the dumps for an extended period of time because what can you do?

SPEAKER_02 34:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

You just show back up, uh, take, I mean, show up for class and do what you have to do, and uh hope to get the degree, and that's what I did.

SPEAKER_04 34:56

So I that's I think that's pretty much how I the man that meets the moment every time. That's gonna be the name of the episode, by the way. The man that meets the moment. Okay, because that that that is exactly what you're showing me. Okay, so um, you know, I'm thinking through just again going back through like kind of the phases of going through the different acts of our lives, right? And there comes a point that is known as the intermission, right? And this is the point where it's you're being pulled away from the ideas of what you thought success might be, what you thought the vision and plan was gonna be, how you think how you thought things were gonna play out, right? There's areas in your life where you have questions, where you're looking for resolution. What would you define as the intermission of your journey?

SPEAKER_01 35:51

That's a great question. I believe for me, the intermission was when my mom um was sick at the end of her life, and she was uh in um intensive care, uh, the next level of intensive care, uh, critical care is what they call it. Okay, critical. And um me and my brother was in her room, and you know, she was just she was la she was laying there in a sleepless uh sleep state, and she awoke out of a sl out of her sleep, and she she said, um I was almost out of here. And you know, me and my brother were you know, kind of like shocked by the moment, and she looked at me and she said to me, Have you talked to your father? And I said no, but I will. Now I love to say immediately, I took time right on it. I love to say meeting the moment, as you say, but uh it was some time um before I um made the journey. It was she transitioned, and um after this after that happened, I found myself watching this show, the road to uh the mascot road experience, and I found myself crying out and I said, Lord, don't pass before I get things right. Wow.

Reconnecting With Dad Before It’s Too Late

SPEAKER_01 37:45

So what I did was uh I had my tithe money, I put it in my Bible, and I drove to a town called Malsus. That is a town in Alabama named after my um my family, Malsus, Alabama. Yeah, Lowndes County, um Alabama.

SPEAKER_04 38:04

Been there, keep talking.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

Yeah, so um I drove in, made uh the trip to go and see my father, so I pulled up to where he was, and uh he came um to meet me, and immediately he embraced me. And at the time I had a gold watch on my left arm, and he embraced me. I ripped the gold watch, gave it to him, and uh he said, You want to come in? Uh and I said, sure. Went in and we talked. Mind you, in the course of my life, we had never had an extended conversation, maybe a couple conversations in my entire life. Um so we sat, he talked, he shared about his life, he talked about his call to ministry. Yeah, he was a uh Shut up!

SPEAKER_04 39:02

Uh so I'm just sitting here, y'all, like enjoying it. I wish I had me some popcorn because I'm like, damn, what happened?

SPEAKER_01 39:08

He talked about his uh his initial sermon, his his initial sermon was uh Damascus Road. I just talked about a TV show that I was watching when I said don't let my father pass away. His initial sermon was based on um Acts 9, um the um Damascus Road uh experience. He talked about being in the military and just kind of shared. We talked and we talked. And after we ended our um conversation, he um faced me. He put his hands on my head and he said to me, I pray that my son finds a godly wife, and a result of that. So wait a minute, this before Lena Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, this is definitely before, yeah, this is definitely before Lena.

SPEAKER_04 40:06

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:06

Yes. So um we see that that resulted, and between uh that time there was a appreciation serves that he had my f for my father. Um, and uh he told me about it and I made sure I was there, and he recognized me. He said, um, you know, before everybody, he said, um this is my son. Um we stand up and have words, and I said they were having a celebration for my father, and I said I was gonna make sure I'd be there. And uh that was really the first time in my life.

SPEAKER_04 40:55

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. I just want to let y'all know before I do every uh interview, I have a pre-interview where we just have a little chit-chat. Okay, and Zach is just hitting me with all the juice. None of this came up in the butt is you know, some things are God ordained because I needed to be here hearing this fresh. Um, but I I think, wow, Zach. Wow. I when I asked you about what was your intermission point, and you know, you graduated in '98, you married Lena in 2008. So there is this 10-year space where the Lord was navigating some things for you and bringing resolution to some things that happened in your first act so that he could prepare you for your second act. And he used your parents to do it. Right? He used the mother that you had carried some of the burden for and some of the weight for, that, you know what I'm saying, that that you had watched go through all of these traumatic experiences. You had you had literally witnessed her story and her story come to a stopping place and figuring, how do I, how does my mom get unstuck from this moment in her life? And then the story that you never knew, right? The, the, you know, going to your father's alma mater, you know, walking in footsteps that you didn't even know had been laid for you, right? And then when the Lord is saying, I'm ready to take you to your next level, I'm ready for you to find your wife, I'm ready for you to find your levels of influence, he takes you backstage and he brings resolution to both of these things so that he can lay out a path. How long after this, after this did you meet Lena?

SPEAKER_01 42:53

Um, let's see. I don't know exactly how long. Been, let's see. It probably wasn't, I know it was less than about five years, maybe I would say. I kind of have the the full range of time. It wasn't it wasn't a long time afterwards, uh, to be honest. So this was like right in the middle. Yeah, but that'll probably be a fair assessment. Yeah, someone else. Yeah, probably good. Wow. Good span.

SPEAKER_04 43:21

But I I think that that's amazing how God, there, there literally was a midpoint. There literally was a midpoint of you, you, you set out to accomplish something. And I'm gonna take you to a land of abundance. And I'm not saying Lana is your abundance, although she is. Okay, she's your good thing. Okay, hey, Lana, girl. Um, right, but but I I just see that I just think that that's so providential that you could have graduated in 97, but it ended up being 98, and then you got married in 2008. That 10 years is just so significant. To me. And then right in the middle of that, right, the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 44:04

Yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah, now that now that I think about the time frame, um, 2003, my mom transitioned. So she would have said, Have you talked to your father in 2003? Okay, that's five years, yep. So 2004, you know, that connection because in 2005, less than a year after our conversation, he transitioned. Wow. In 2003, my mom transitioned. We would have had our conversation in 2004. In 2005, my father transitioned. Well, it was so necessary. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 44:44

It was so necessary that you had that meeting back with your father because that door could not remain. Um imagine how much damage would have been left there, how many things would have been unanswered, how many needs would have gone unmet. Oh, okay. Wait a minute. You got one of them lives, sir. You got one of those, you got one of those stories that that can shake a generation up. Speaking of generations, you know, I I love that you had this moment where in the middle of your story, when God is like, I need to take you backstage to handle some things. He does it with

Talking To Your Heavenly Father

SPEAKER_04 45:25

your parents. What did you come out of that experience knowing about yourself and ready to what what what things in the world did you did you discern about who you are and how you were and what you were called to?

SPEAKER_01 45:42

I think we go back to the question that my mom um asked. She asked, Have you talked to your father? And of course, our first instinct is just to think about my earthly father. She was saying to me is have you talked to your heavenly father? So everything that is that makes me who I am in the next stage of my life is knowing and talking. That is the bottom line. That is how I come into that, that is how I move forward. That is how I've been able to move into this particular stage of life because of that realization, because of that soul searching question. Uh, it was, as I as they say, Pandora's box for that hidden place of emptiness, that missing place of affirmation, that missing place of the father being absentee, that missing place of hearing well done, that was part of something that I had hidden. But God was the one that can only feel that space. He has been the one that in every space and every circumstance in every uh thing that I face or come in contact with or every obstacle, he has been the father that has been a present uh help in the time of that trouble. So that for me has been, you know, that's the answer for everything for me. Um you know, whatever queue I get to or whatever spot I get to, I'm looking for my father. But looking for the father uh to reassure, to encourage, to strengthen in difficult moments. I can I can turn to him because he is he's been faithful going back to uh when I was by myself, you know, being one that didn't like to be by myself, but still, who was there? My father was there.

SPEAKER_04 48:19

Zach, if we were in person, I would throw something at you. That was so good. That was so good. I I'm absolutely in awe of your story. I think I knew, I think, I think I knew there was a story, right? But but again, I've I've always just been so impressed with who you've become that I've never stopped to inquire about how did he get there. Wow. You know, like, and I I think, and that is the whole purpose of this podcast, of the second act, is because a lot of times we get so impressed with the people that we see who we feel have made it in a sense, or the people whose gifts are always on display, or whose tree we're able to sample from. Like, oh man, I just love the fruit from this tree. This fruit is good. This fruit is this is fruit, but but we were not there when the tree was put in the ground as a sapling, and it had to establish roots, and it had to find the water underground, and it had to think, it had to find the sun, and it had to, we were not there for the process of how it got to be this thing that I can now partake of, right? And I think that, you know, you are a person that strives to produce fruit for others and to live your life in a way that is constantly pouring out, but I don't know that we always ask the questions of our brothers and sisters, well, how did you get, who filled you up? Right? I love drinking from this well. This well is amazing. Who dug this well? How did this well get here? Right? Like what, what, what happened, what life experiences made you such a fruitful place that other people could lean into this? And so I'm just absolutely amazed at your foundation and how God, we say we were gonna put a pen in it, Romans 8, 28, how God used what would have, well, literally from the from the teenage years. What do you mean I'm living by myself? First of all, what you mean? Right? It could have broken many other people. It could have embittered people to the point where they would not have been able to move past it. You know, your mom asked you, have you talked to your father? And it took you a year. There's some other people who have who are being asked that in the spirit, right? And who have been having that question resounding in their ear for decades. For years and years and years. There is that moment of, have you talked to your father? Your heavenly father and your physical father? Have you talked to the person that caused you the most pain? Have you talked to the person that has left that dent in you? Have you resolved that? Yes. Have you taken that moment, right, and made it into what I destined for it to be? Have you believed me when I said I can work it out for your good? Have you gone back and and and brought resolution to an area of your life? What your mom was saying was, I don't want that to continue to cause you any more pain. I want that area out as she was leaving. And I love that your mom, despite everything, the Lord always brought her back to take care of you in the ways that you most needed it. I love that you had a mom that still showed up. And I imagine that, I imagine what she fought through to get back to you in the moments that she knew these are God moments. Like God had God moments set up in your life where he was like, I don't care, I don't care what the enemy thought. She's coming back to give him what he needs in this moment. She's gonna press through the darkness to make sure that he has a burst of light right here. So that in when he looks back on his journey, he doesn't just see darkness, he sees the moments where his mom came to the light to give him something.

SPEAKER_01 52:49

You know, I think that the way you just um put that together is so powerful in looking back, is that it's almost like her fight was such a fight to make sure that I had to fight.

unknown 53:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 53:06

That she fought through what she was fighting through, what she passed on to me was the ability to fight. Because here's the other part of the story is that I present my story. I present this, but just as mental illness knocked at her door, mental illness knocked at my door and came in a few times. But the same strength that she had, the same fight that she has and or had, I possess to be able to, with the help of God, to be able to fight through and deal with the stresses of life. Not that I'm so good, not that I have it all together, and that's the thing, but it's who I'm connected to. It is the God that's within me that helps me. Uh, it is in him that I move, in him that I live, and have my very being, because as quiet as is kept, the very job that I have, the stress of the job that I have, condition diagnosis, I should not be in the position. But because of God, because of who I serve, because of my father, I am able to 21 years into this company, yeah, in this position, so to speak, different positions, but same company, same responsibility, same stress, but God. And that is the in my DNA. It is what's been passed on to me, and it is faith, is what she gave me. My father also, what's in him is faith, prayer, he and preaching. These things were passed on, regardless of how you look at it. What's in me came from him, came from her, and them coming together has produced what you see here today.

SPEAKER_03 55:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 55:13

So me and my father, we were able to come back together and uh have a relationship, and he was at peace. And the what I needed, he gave me.

SPEAKER_02 55:26

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 55:29

Uh I first of all, I'm speechless at this whole at this whole conversation. When I tell you, in your mind, I try not to set expectations because I know God is gonna move how He wants to move, and that He He's going to produce the episode that He wants. But I am absolutely amazed at how God has orchestrated

Mission To Find Others Like You

SPEAKER_04 55:55

your story. Um I wanna I wanna make sure people know what you've done with everything, what has been the product of your testimony. So, what what how have you learned to discern who and where you're called to, what you're called to do.

SPEAKER_01 56:21

If I had to ask you for a mission statement, what would you say that was give a short mission statement is go and find myself in spaces and places. And when I say find myself, that means a young boy whose father may be absent, and to speak life to them, to shine the light on the gift that's inside of them, to affirm him in who he is, to make sure that the gift that he has is nurtured and cultivated, that he becomes all that he was called and created to be, despite obstacles, despite uh things that he may face. So I am called and challenged to seek out those that look like Zacchaeus that was young. Zacchaeus at whatever age up until now out to seek those that look like Zacchaeus. Doesn't necessarily have to be a gender per se, but in particular, uh there's I'm skewed toward young young males in the sense that I can see, I can identify, I know the value of a father's word. So I will encourage a young boy to say, you can do it, uh, you can be the best that you can be. Just stay focused. Don't look to the left, don't look to the right. So that's my mission statement is certainly uh to seek out those um that look like me in the sense that experiences where life has been tough for them, where those have cast them aside, but I want to speak life to them and say that you can be what God has created you to be.

SPEAKER_04 58:07

That's amazing. Say it, say it how you said it in the beginning, that your mission statement is to do what? To seek and to seek and find those like me. To find you. Yes. And to I I love that. And I think that when we all when we all boil our mission statement down to its core, right? And talking about this is what life has given me, this is what I persevered through, this is what God did for me. God took me in the intermission, he resolved things for me, and he sent me back out into, back out onto the stage and said, You're not gonna be a victim, but you're gonna lead other people to victory, right? And and the people that God sends you to are the people that you can identify yourself in and help them to overcome those challenges.

SPEAKER_01 58:59

Absolutely. It makes it so easy to be able to do that. When when you can relate to someone, um, I think Paul says, I became all things to all people that move. So that's that's the language that we speak. I can speak the language of hurt, I can speak the language of disappointment, I can speak the language of uncertainty, I can speak the language of being lost, I can speak the language of being uh uncertain about what I'm going to do, so to speak. But I also speak the language of coming out of all those conditions because I've come out of those conditions. I can speak the language of being a statistic because I've been a statistic, and I can speak those things and say to you, you too can do what I did because I can show you what I faced. I can show you what I've endured, I can show the, show you the trials that I've faced, but I have overcome with the help of God. So, relationship with God, that is key.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:01

Point blank. Point blank, period. All

Prayer For Youth, Parents, And Community

SPEAKER_04 1:00:05

right. We're gonna do two more things here, okay? Two more things we're gonna do is I am going to ask Minister Moss to say a prayer for the people, um, to say a prayer for young Zacchaeus, those young men that are out there, or those young people that are out there. I think that you have such a gift and an anointing for a present generation um that may not have been introduced to God in the way that you held on to him, to him through the years. And so I want to ask you to say a prayer. And then I'm I'm gonna make sure y'all know how to get in contact with my brother. I'm gonna make sure y'all know how to follow him. We will uh make sure there are links for you to buy the books, for you guys to go and uh and purchase the things. But I I feel it in my spirit that we we gonna we gonna we're gonna end with a little prayer.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:03

Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you first and foremost for you being our Father. We thank you, Father, for showing us what love is all about. We thank you, Father, for being unselfish in the fact that you gave your son that we may have an opportunity for everlasting life. So, God, we just pause simply to turn our attention to you. For this young generation, God, we bring them to you. We ask, God, that you will speak to them in the language that they may understand. Father, we know that they're facing different issues, peer pressure, drugs, and they're facing violence, they're facing uncertainty. But God, we know that you are certain. We know that, God, that you are faithful. We know, God, that you know just what this generation needs. So, God, we ask that you will speak clearly to every young person, that you will meet them right where they are, that God, that you will protect them, that God, that you will just draw them all closely to you, that you will speak to their parents, that they will know the language, they will know what to say, that they will be open to hear what their children are saying, that they will understand the unspoken words, that they will recognize signs of needing of a conversation, needing of a touch, needing of affirmation. Whatever the need may be, we ask, Father, that you would touch every parent to recognize and pour out what is needed. And God, we give you praise. We ask that you would touch every village, that every community to be what they are supposed to be, to be in position, to be in the place that is needed when there is a need. So, God, we give you praise, we give you honor for this generation. This generation is not lost. We will make sure that we don't leave them behind, but we will lead them to the place where they can be led to a place of blessings that you have in store for them. So thank you, Father, that I have not seen and ear have not heard, neither has it entered into the heart. The things that you have for these young people and all that hear this is in the name of Jesus. We do pray this. Amen and amen.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:33

Amen, amen. And I think your prayer was so on target. And I think that, you know, I know that you are a person whose life is poured out to whoever needs it. And I think that it is hitting not just the youth, but for that parent that feels like they are in a really tough season and they are having to do what your mom did and come out of a dark place to produce bursts of light for their children. I pray that this strengthened the parents. I pray that this strengthened those who work with youth. I pray that this strengthened uh our young adults who are searching for meaning and and for God in their necks. I just feel like your story has unleashed so much of God's power into life into the lives of his people. And I just uh I really thank you for allowing me to be just a conduit of that. Um, and so this has been my honor and my pleasure to host you today. This has been fantastic.

How To Connect, Subscribe, And Close

SPEAKER_04 1:04:40

Minister, I gotta call you minister for the rest of the episode. Minister, tell the people how they can connect with you on socials, where they can buy your products at, um, all the things.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:52

All right, first of all, thank you for uh this great opportunity and to be on this space. Um I can be reached uh connected uh Instagram, business Aggie. That's business aggie. Um also books can be found on Amazon, booksbyzlmars.com. So just um find a young person um that you want to get the book and place it in their hands. These books are certainly uh something that's a great foundation um to help them in their journey of faith and building a lifestyle.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:28

Absolutely. And I forgot a funny thing. Uh, when I tell you the saints get that Ross Moss mixed up so often, uh Zach and I actually serve at the same church. And that minister moss, minister Ross, it gets them every time. Um but I but I am telling you, this has been absolutely fantastic. Again, I appreciate you so much. Listen, friends, if you are not following us, what are you doing? You gonna miss out on stuff like this? You don't want the notifications, and you're gonna miss all this powerful testimony and life-changing freedom-building uh conversation. You need to check in with us. So please like, share, subscribe, hit us in the comments. We love talking with you guys. Guys, this has been way more than I could have ever asked God for as a season opener, minister, minister! I thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. And I just want to encourage you guys, listen, everybody, you do not have to stay stuck in intermission. You can raise the curtain to your second act. We'll see y'all next time. Peace.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:50

Thank you once again for listening to the Unlearned Podcast. We would love to hear your comments and your feedback about the episode. Feel free to follow us on Facebook and Instagram and to let us know what you think. We're looking forward to the next time when we are able to unlearn together to move forward towards freedom. See you then.