"Before & After"
Who are Eddie & Mary Day? Here's a short version of years of misery and loneliness. But this one has a happy ending!
In the early 1980's, Eddie Day was playing the Night Club
circuit in a Country Rock Band. The band had accomplished a lot in the short
time they had been together, opening shows for stars like, "Hank Williams Jr.,
Johnny Paycheck, Jeanie Pruitt, Johnny Rodriguez, Freddie Weller, Freddie Hart,
Leroy Van Dyke, The Capitols " and many many more great entertainers. Later on,
in other bands, Eddie was opening shows for the likes of," Marty Stuart &
Ronnie McDowell." They had performed and recorded their own demo in
Nashville and had just released their own single entitled 'After a Night." It
looked like things were really taking off for the band. But Eddie says he was
living in a dream world.
"When you walk out on that stage in front of
thousands of people and sign autographs, have your picture taken and all that
goes with it, there is a great feeling in that. Everybody knows you and wants to
be around the band. It was just one big party for many years. But, I remember
this feeling that would come over me. After all the lights went out and
everybody had passed out or gone home. There was a deep loneliness that all the
drugs and the popularity and wild lifestyle couldn't fill. It took me many years
to finally realize what was missing in my life."
Then one night while
playing a small club not far from his hometown, Eddie says something happened
that started changing everything in his life completely around. " I met Mary.
She really caught my eye. Back then I had met a lot of women in the clubs but
she was different. I know now that it was all in God's plan. There is no doubt
in my mind he sent her to help me get my life together." But Mary says she
needed help with her life as well.
"At that time in my life, I had been
through so many personal problems, I had found the best way to deal with them
was to sleep as much as possible. I had become addicted to valium. I would take
enough to knock me out ,then ,when they would wear off, I'd eat, take a shower
and take more pills so I wouldn't have time to think.
The night I met Eddie,
my sister had persuaded me to get out of the house. I never went anywhere
and she was very worried about me. I also was a musician, only I had sang in
church all of my life and I was running as hard as I could to get away from the
longing down in my heart to go back. I had always wanted someone to play and
sing Christian music with me. I guess I had just given up on life."
Eddie says Mary talked about her Christian life a lot. "Many nights she would have to
drive me home from the clubs and she would talk of the peace and how much she
missed going to church. It would get to me sometimes but she taught me more about
the bible and the Christian life than she will ever know."
Even though Eddie
and Mary would fall deeply in love in the months to come and even marry, the
band still owned a big part of Eddies heart.
"The band, the Club scene,
the whole lifestyle had a grip on me. For awhile, Mary shared me and put up with
all the late nights away from home and the wild parties, but it finally took its
toll on our relationship." One night after a heated argument, Mary decided she
had found a way out. Frustrated with life and another failing relationship, she
took a lethal dose of nerve pills. Eddie remembers that night all to well. " I
watched her turn up a bottle of Ativans and swallow over 60 in just a few
seconds. She was so desperate to just end all the problems, it was like a
nightmare. When I got the bottle out of her hand, it was empty! We were a long
way from the hospital and I knew I had to hurry. After calming down enough to
get her in the car, it wouldn't start. There was no one around to help us, so,
after what seemed like an eternity, I managed to get another old car started.
On the way to the hospital, there was a huge fire and all the roads were
blocked. When I finally got a fireman to walk me through, Mary was starting to
nod out. I had no idea where the hospital was in that town. When we finally got
there the pills were dissolved in her bloodstream and she was barley conscious.
Now, looking back on that night, I know the Lord had his hand on her. I
watched the doctors franticly pump her stomach as she slipped in and out. I'll
never forget the tone in the doctors voice and his hand on my shoulder when I
asked if she would be okay. He said, "Those pills have already dissolved son,
we'll just have to wait and see." Eddie said that night he made a serious
plea to God.
"Sitting in the ICU at the foot of Mary's bed, I looked at
the pale tired frame of the woman who only a few months before was so beautiful
and full of life and I knew I had to make a decision. I wasn't real good at
praying, but I told God if he would let her live, I would give my life to him in
exchange. That was the only thing I knew to say, but I meant it with all my
heart! The next day I knew what had to be done. With the doctors yelling at me ,
I carried Mary out of the hospital and took her to church. Slowly, day by day,
God started putting our lives back together." Not long after that night, Mary
surrendered completely to the Lord. Eddie soon followed. He says some changes
started taking place. "There is only one way to be complete, To "sell out" to God
and give him total control." And sell out Eddie did! He called the band members
and told them he was sorry, but he couldn't play in clubs anymore. We asked
Eddie how he came to that decision.
"The night I was asking God to save
me, I truly felt his love all over me but I also felt like something still
wasn't right. Then, I distinctly heard a voice very clear in my mind say, "You
have to play this weekend, are you still going?" I had never heard anything like
that in my life! It only took a second for me to know God wanted me to,
"Turn
away," from that old lifestyle and give him 100%. To make a choice between the
God I had served all my life and him. I found out later that's what the word
repent means. To have a change of mind and direction. I totally surrendered
everything that night. Even the thing I was willing to give my very life for, my
music! He is so good at fixing our messes."
Several years later, God
gave Eddie something he had always wanted. "I had several songs I had written
recorded by different groups. Then out of no where, a record company in
Nashville called and wanted to release a song I had written entitled "Gods
Country". After the contracts were signed and the song was distributed all
over the U.S. and over seas, we were surprised that it had crossed over to
secular Country charts! It climbed to # 75 on the Cashbox
charts, and # 10 on the Independent charts. We began receiving mail from all over
the world about this song. I gave him my very best when I gave Him my music completely. He just fine tuned a few things over the years and gave
it back to me.
It has been over 25 years since Marys prayers were
answered. Eddie and Mary are now an evangelistic team, playing in schools,
auditoriums, bike rally's, churches and on street corners telling people there is still hope!
Eddie is also an ordained Minister. " Eddie & Mary are also PAstors of their
Coffee House/Church called "The Bridge" in their home town of Princeton Wv
every Sunday at 2:00pm & Thursday night at 7:00 pm. You can watch them
live or view many pre-recorded services.
(Go to broadcast on home page here)
A lot of people get saved and forget where they came from. It's like being poor all your life, then, coming into a lot of money. Some people will stick their nose up at you! Mary and I remember that life and we want to tell everybody out there what we've found. We love people! We feel very comfortable around the ones that many don't want to fool with! That is still where our hearts are today!
Eddie says he and Mary are living proof that God is a merciful and loving Father. Two people who had given up all hope on themselves and each other, who trusted and believed in a God who will never leave you or forsake you. A God who will give a "New Beginning" to anyone who will ask!
To hear clips of Eddie's messages..click here