By Bobby Davis
Tracy Clayton’s story of how Jesus found and saved him touched our hearts. “For most of my youth and adulthood, my journey led me through a maze of dark, shadowy valleys and foggy mind-altering canyons in a lifestyle dominated by alcoholism and drugs,” he says. “But I am alive in Christ today, and I am a grateful and productive member of my church and community.”
A Troubled Beginning
Things weren’t easy for Tracy in the beginning. “I was born in southern California, and as part of a dysfunctional family, I moved so many times during my childhood that I was barely able to complete a year in any school until I was 14,” he says. “My dad dropped out of the picture when I was still a baby, so I lived with my mom and my older brother. Then Mom had three more children with another man, who also left.
“After all that, I moved back with my dad. He was a janitor for a school, and we’d help him clean classrooms every day. He also had us doing gardening work, mowing yards and all that. It seemed like we were constantly working when we were kids.”
But there were other problems, too. “In my early teens, we all got into marijuana. Soon I was drinking alcoholically and was also a heavy methamphetamine user. I remember feeling desperate, but I didn’t know where to look for help.
“Although we went to church occasionally, I couldn’t tell you what denomination it was. Dad would read the Bible to us on Sundays, and I remember praying to God and believing in Jesus. But none of us really knew who He was.”
In spite of this, Tracy says the Holy Spirit was trying to reach him. “One evening, as I walked along a lonely road in the desert where we lived, I asked God to forgive me for the sins I continued to commit. All of a sudden, I heard the Holy Spirit say, Stop sinning!
“Later in my life, I found myself asking God for a soul mate to share my life with, and the Holy Spirit answered, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you. So I know God heard me, and was trying to reach me through any means possible.”
Failures
As he began the tenth grade, Tracy asked his dad for permission to take a GED test and go into the military. “He said it was fine, and to his surprise, I got my GED and went into the National Guard. I stayed in there for twelve years, and worked on tanks at Ft. Erwin National Training Center. But we only got an average of three days off a month, and I lived 50 miles away; so I was always going and could never relax. Meth quickly became my drug of choice, and when my superiors finally asked me if I had a problem, I admitted it to them.
“At first, they tried to help me, but I kept messing up, so they got me out of their system, and I started doing handyman work.”
A failed marriage, a failed relationship, and three children later, Tracy ended up in a remote area of Northern California.
“I felt a great need to get clean,” he says, “and since this was a new place, I didn’t know where to get drugs. Desperate for work, I began washing dishes in a local café in return for one free meal a day. And that’s where I met Mary. She was the cook who was responsible for giving me that meal. She understood me and loved me, and eventually became my wife.”
Finding Truth
But something was still missing, and there was an insistent yearning for God deep inside. “When I’d get home from work, I would channel surf, looking for truth,” he says. “I know God was urging me to do that, and one day, I came across 3ABN on Dish Network. I didn’t know what 3ABN was, but I knew that what they said matched Scripture. They backed every single message with Bible texts, and after a while, I realized that this was absolute truth.
“I only watched the sermons,” he says, “but for the first time in my life, I saw Jesus more clearly and developed an understanding of how my life should reflect His character. Then, one day, I got a card in the mail asking if I wanted to know what the Mark of the Beast was. I checked the yes box, mailed it back, and in a few days an Adventist woman came to my house and offered to give me Bible studies.
“We studied together, and she helped me understand the Scriptures a lot better. All my questions were answered, and God’s Word came together like a fine weave of spiritual threads—perfectly interlocking with one another. I could finally see God’s love so clearly!”
Cleaning Up the Temple
Tracy says, “As I was watched 3ABN one day, a text came up on the screen that said our body was the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that we should take care of it, and keep it clean. What an awakening! I had never heard a preacher tell me that.
“I started with the meth, then I quit smoking those two packs of cigarettes a day, and finally, I quit drinking alcohol. For me it was one thing at a time, as the Lord took away my desire for those things. My habits changed, and before I knew it, the Lord had taken away all the desire.”
Keeping the Sabbath Holy
When he completed his Bible studies, the lady who studied with him invited him to visit her church. “I’d been going to church on Sundays, but when I asked my pastor why we didn’t keep the Sabbath, he told me it didn’t matter, as long as we kept one day holy. I gave him all the Scriptures in support of keeping the Sabbath, but he would not budge. Suddenly, I had a decision to make, and I walked out of that church for the last time. It was really clear to me: either we follow what God says, or we follow what man says.
“I visited the Sutter Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church, but sat in the back row, because I worked at the grocery store deli on Saturdays and was still in my uniform. (I also figured I could make a quick getaway, in case things got crazy!)
“It was a wonderful service, and when the pastor invited the congregation to come to the Garden of Prayer, I felt a great desire to join those who were kneeling at the front of the church. It was a beautiful experience I will never forget, and I felt so comfortable that I wanted to come back every Sabbath.”
Tracy asked his boss for Saturdays off, but was denied because it was the store’s busiest day. “Then the pastor helped me write a letter explaining my conviction to keep the Sabbath, and my boss finally agreed, but warned me that I would be cut back to part-time. That was okay, though, because I believed that if it was God’s will, then it would only be a blessing.”
And what a blessing it turned out to be! Tracy received new job training and landed a position in food service at the Sutter Amador Hospital—with wonderful pay and benefits, and all his Sabbaths off!
“As I look back, I believe God put me where He could shape my character and build my faith,” Tracy says. “It also gave me the opportunity to share what I learned on 3ABN with my friends and co-workers.”
Mary
When Tracy met his wife Mary at the café, she was already attending church. But when he began worshiping in the Seventh-day Adventist church, she wasn’t very interested. Tracy’s pastor urged him to get baptized, but he kept holding off, hoping Mary would be baptized with him.
“She eventually came to church with me,” he says, “and then she accepted and believed the truths she learned there. I’m happy to say that we were baptized together in 2005 and have been there ever since! We have a wonderful church family here that we’re happy to be a part of. We both have positions in our church, and we’re committed to see it grow.”
Pastor Daniel Yim is enthusiastic. “The Sutter Hill Adventist Church has been blessed by the dedication and love that Tracy and Mary bring to our church family,” he says. “They are both fully committed and dedicated to the message and work of our church, and they serve with their hearts and hands, letting those around them know how much Jesus is Savior and Lord. Not only are they a light to our church family, but also to the community they live and work in. They bring their neighbors to church and care for the well-being of those around them by taking them food baskets. Both Tracy and Mary are sincere Christians, reflecting the love of Christ in their daily lives, and it is an honor and privilege to serve with them here at Sutter Hill!”
Tracy concludes, “I know where I came from, who I was, and where God’s hand has led me. I hear His voice telling me, I will never forsake you, and I know He embraces me with His love and holds my hand as I walk in His guidance and grace. My wife and I feel His love like a river of blessings flowing over us, and our desire is to share this incredible love with others.
“Always turn to Jesus. If you don’t know Him, get to know Him! Your life will change, and you’ll be happy you did. We can’t see the end from the beginning, but once we get down the road, we see the changes—and they’re amazing!”
Sutter Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church
