A former Marine who suffered from a nearly fatal car accident and survived a suicide attempt recounts how he found God and his purpose.
Jeremiah Willis was just a typical Marine who wanted to serve his country. But after a near-fatal accident that took the life of his friend and badly damaged his body, the former Marine entered a dark phase in his life where he lost all his purpose. He recently revealed how he battled depression and survived a suicide attempt only to find God waiting for him on the other side.
Willis recounted his testimony of finding God with The 700 Club, explaining how after high school in 2007, he and his friends joined the Marine corps. At some point during a leave, his good friend came and picked him up to go out. However, on the road, they were "goofing around like kids will do," which resulted in a deadly car accident. Willis said his friend "died on impact," while he spent a month in a coma in the hospital.
Former Marine Loses Purpose After a Near-fatal Car Accident
The tragic car accident left Willis with a broken pelvis, collapsed lung, a broken jaw in three places and a broken nose, as well as fourth degree burns, Faithpot reported. The former Marine recounted how at that period in his life, he was often "irritated" by people who would come to tell him that "God has a plan for you." He explained, "With infantry marines there's not really a place for God so it was more of an irritation."
Willis was then subjected to physical therapy, for which he endured much pain. His doctors later decided to replace his hip, but not before testing his body for inflammation. They found that his body's inflammation was "three times what normally a person could endure." His health issues prevented him from going back to the Marine corps, which at the time was being sent to Afghanistan.
Willis admitted that he "felt kind of worthless" because he "wasn't able to help them." The former Marine recounted how he lost a friend to the Afghanistan war and a week later "had to go present the flag to his family." He remarked, "It just really ripped me apart."
Also Read: Former Atheist Hits Rock Bottom, Finds Jesus, And Embraces The Faith She Hated
Ex-Marine Hits Lowest Point in Life Only to Find God
Once Willis' Marine corps retirement papers arrived, it made him feel like he no longer had a purpose in life. He became depressed, admitting to spending time alone in his apartment and ignoring phone calls from people who cared about him and only getting out of bed to go to work. He said that at that period in his life, he felt "full-on rage" and would not "calm down." He said, "I remember thinking that I could not deal with this for the rest of my life."
The former Marine recounted sitting on his bed with a pistol in his hand, contemplating taking his own life. Willis said, "I put it up to my chin and pulled the trigger and it just stopped right when it hit my head. And it didn't knock me out, it just felt like I got hit in the face with a sledgehammer. I was dumbfounded. I was completely awestruck."
Willis said there was no miraculous "light" that came down on him, instead a realization that "Man, there's got to be a God." He added, "I could definitely feel a transformation in my heart that maybe even without the Marine Corps I'll have a purpose."
Willis' attempted suicide brought forth more health problems, including a week-long coma. Upon waking up, the former Marine admitted to contemplating on "a lot of bad choices" that left him "overridden with guilt." It was then he decided he needed to change his outlook. He said, "I knew God in Christ...but at that moment was kind of when I really just surrendered to God not holding on to anything else. I just started concentrating completely on God."
The former Marine added, "We live in such a fallen society that it's hard to heal people spiritually. You may treat the symptoms of it but your problem is your spirit is broken. There's no medicine for a broken spirit except for God."
Related Article: Study Discovers That Reading the Bible Through A Trauma-Informed Lens Lowers Depression, Anxiety, and Anger
