VL - Issue 18 - November 2015

A WORK
IN PROGRESS by
Kenny Munds
My sacrifice, O God, is
a broken spirit; a broken
and contrite heart, you,
God, will not despise.
Psalm 51:17 NIV
A good horse trainer will tell you that
it’s not necessary to fully break a horse. You
need only to break it enough to be able to
train it. For me to be able to learn the ways
of God, I had to become broken enough for
Him to mold me and train me. I wasn’t wild
like a mustang: I was stubborn like a mule.
I started off on the right track. As a
child, Mom often took me to church where
I learned the great stories of the Bible.
I especially loved the stories of David.
Not only was he a great king, but he was
also a musician—and music had always
fascinated me.
My father was an alcoholic and didn’t
possess the abilities to be a role-model dad.
He was miserable and angry most of the
time, and when he drank, he could be mean.
I loved him, but didn’t like him when he was
drunk. At the same time, he worked hard to
raise us six kids. And I know he loved us.
So I was pretty much a mama’s boy.
Besides taking me to church, she tried
to keep me away from Dad’s drinking as
much as she could…which gave me lots of
freedom to stay away from home.
By the time I was ten, I could play
several songs on the guitar, and I loved to
sing. Singing just came natural. It became
my refuge of sorts. When lonely or upset,
I would pick up my guitar. It was my
emotional outlet. I got lost in my music,
and I got a lot of attention, especially in
church. I loved the spotlight and thrived in
it. Later, music would become my mode of
survival and eventually…the gateway to
my addictions.
After graduating from high school in
1966, I left home to attend college in
California. I wanted to be an evangelist like
those preachers who brought tent revivals
16 www.kojministries.org