Debbie And John's Background Stories That Led To The Divine Intervention To Reunite Them

DEBBIE'S SIDE OF THEIR STORY 

In 1969, while a freshman in high school, I became attracted to a quirky sophomore boy in the back of my mass media class. I admired his wit, unabashed attitude, and easygoing personality.  I entertained thoughts of us connecting and becoming romantic. But that was short-lived.

I was standing in front of our class one day when he passed by. I was a tall girl of 5' 10". I saw that he was much shorter. Even though I really liked him, sadly for me that is a deterrent. Likewise, I felt he wouldn't want to get involved with a tall girl. With that, I lost interest in him. We had no classes the next semester and I forgot about him.

On my first day of Drama-I class as a sophomore, I was repelled by a junior boy in the class. He appeared to have an attitude of being elevated and unapproachable. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that he would one day be important to me.  

I didn't recognize him as that quirky boy from mass media the year before. As a junior his face, hairstyle, glasses, and style of clothes had changed. I found no attraction to him during that class. But it was mutual. He had absolutely no interest in me either!  

A friend informed me that she envied me for being in Drama-I with "Ozzie" and wished she was the one who had the chance to get close to him. I didn't know who he was, but I had heard kids gossiping in the halls about a boy nicknamed “Ozzie," or "Ozz" for short. Teachers and students admired him as a school celebrity because he had been playing guitar and singing in profitable bands since he was fifteen. He was currently the singer in a band called Rosewater, which had a promising future. For that, I had respect for this “Ozzie” and the other members of the band. Unlike most boys in school, they were actively pursuing their goals, as was I.  

I had operated a variety of profitable sales businesses since I was eight. At the age of eleven, I recognized the monetary potential of a home economics sewing project being made by my sister. I knew I could easily sell this item. I convinced my mom and sister to mass produce this for me in assorted styles so customers would find it too hard to decide on just one and buy two or more. I sold them door-to-door and turned this into a thriving business for us. To God's credit for all of my abilities, I was also a singer, songwriter, photographer, poet, locally showcased artist, and on my way to becoming an actress, eventually adding being a published freelance writer in my late teens. Among many projects and goals, I had written my first song and was working on a second.  

Since we could be valuable to one another, I decided to find out which boy in the class was “Ozzie”. He was in a band, and I wrote songs. My skills in sales and marketing would also be perfect for promoting his band. We obviously shared an interest in acting too.    

Students had to apply for Mass Media and Drama classes, and they were not easy to obtain. But we did, and even managed to be placed in the same classes. I didn't know at the time that it was not happenstance. We were destined to get to know each other through our school years to remember one another when the time was right. 

I wasn’t too surprised to discover, maybe due to him having celebrity status, that the smug-looking boy was “Ozzie.” But due to my extreme shyness and lack of nerve, I couldn't bring myself to approach him. The reason I had applied for Drama was to push past being introverted and shy and to add acting to my list of talents. I credit my focus on impressing “Ozzie” to get his attention with fueling my dedication to giving the best performances I could muster.

I laugh now, but I was overly nervous each time I had to act, due to the layout of the room which placed "Ozzie’s” desk in front of me, just a few feet away. In giving it my all, alas, poor Yorick, I failed to impress him or even grab his attention enough to consider talking to me. But my acting was so perfect that our teacher asked me to join his traveling summer troupe as a lead actress! So, there was that.

The next year, I was a junior and “Ozzie” was a senior when we were together again in Drama II. This time, I couldn’t help but be further drawn to his talent, and that heightened my desire to ask him to work with me on music. Yet I remained too shy to start a conversation, and he still had no interest in me.  

Finally, during one class he did acknowledge my performance and spoke out. Except it wasn’t directly to me.

I had the role of the mother in The Bad Seed. I was in the extremely tense scene where she confronts Rhoda. The girl playing Rhoda was visibly frightened by my intensity. Additionally, she hadn’t bothered to learn her part and had to constantly break the scene to ask for her line.  

“Ozzie” called out to the teacher during one of her interruptions. He was agitated and felt that someone who didn't learn their part was being unfair to students who came to class to act. Pointing to me, he told the teacher, he commended me for giving it my all. He also credited me for being able to stay in my tense character throughout the breaks. He felt it would have been a great scene if the girl wasn't constantly holding it up. The teacher agreed, called off the scene, and instructed the girl to learn her lines next time.  

I took to heart that he at least acknowledged me and liked my acting. Maybe it was a start?  

It was October, and “Ozzie” informed the class that his band was having a concert that night. I had no plans to go. Why should I? Other than progressing to calling out compliments to each other in class after giving a good performance, he showed no interest in starting a conversation with me.

When class ended, I wasn’t aware that “Ozzie” was standing in the hall asking students as they exited if they were coming to his concert.  

When I heard “Ozzie” call out my name as I was entering the hall, I was taken by surprise. He was asking me if I was going to attend his concert. Excited that he was finally talking to me, I heard myself claim, without hesitation, that I would be there.

I watched him give me a huge smile to show he was happy with my answer.  

For a moment, I paused. I was waiting to see if he had more to say. But he looked past me at others exiting behind me to ask if they were coming to his concert. I realized he wasn’t trying to start a conversation. He was seeking concertgoers!    

As I was walking past “Ozzie” to leave, I saw that he was another boy who was shorter than me! I had no idea he was that same boy, and shorter would still be a deterrent for any relationship.

Since I had told “Ozzie” I would come to his concert, I had to keep my word. My childhood friend and neighbor, Donna, was happy to learn that I was going with her after all.  

Donna and I were seated and waiting for the concert to start, when Steve, our neighbor, came over. Steve wasn’t a fan of “Ozzie” and had always been repulsed by me. I was a plain Jane, no makeup, tomboy, in contrast to his flamboyantly feminine personality.    

Steve, in disgust, said to Donna and me, “Look around. Every girl came dressed up, hoping to fulfill a fantasy of seducing one of the band members, as if that's some kind of trophy." He then set me up for a slam by asking which band member would appeal to me. I answered “Ozzie” because he was the only band member I knew. I soon regretted having answered. Steve scoffed, “When “Ozzie” could have any pretty girl here, why would he ever consider a dull, boyish girl like you?”  

I considered the source and brushed off his comment. However, what he said did give me something to mull over during the concert.  

Steve was right on one point. I was surprised it hadn’t crossed my mind before. Band members do attract girls who throw themselves at them. As I contemplated this, I had disturbing visions of “Ozzie” as an adult, walking away at the end of his gigs with any woman who wanted him. Even though my only interest in him was for collaboration, this deflated any romantic feelings I might have in the future.   

As the concert started, I decided to dismiss the thoughts swirling in my head, putting them and “Ozzie” out of my mind. I spent most of the night looking past him to watch my favorite musician in any band, the drummer. He was quite good too!  

In November, a few weeks after the concert, my life was thoroughly shattered. In September my maternal grandfather had died horribly from lung cancer. The next month, my maternal grandmother, his wife, had died from throat cancer. Then on November 18, 1971, my father was brutally murdered.

I was mentally dazed at his funeral, and I was told later that I repeatedly asked who was being buried this time.

I never blamed God for their deaths, as too many people do when losing a loved one. I also immediately forgave the teen boy who murdered my father. I wished him no harm and Prayed he would one day find God. 

After the funerals of my grandparents, just weeks before my father’s murder, I was compelled to write a Prophetic poem about death. My father understood the importance of the poem and wanted me to work on turning it into a song. 

Due to my father’s wish, I now had a pressing and valuable reason to force myself to approach “Ozzie.” I needed to ask him if he would work with me to create the music for my poem, and to let him know I had written two songs he might be interested in. Also, I knew that neither of us would become known if we stayed in Ohio, and I saw myself settling in Florida, starting over, and becoming an author in my later years. So, I was planning to ask "Ozzie" if he would like to travel with me after our graduations and go wherever gigs paid well and we could gain notoriety from him performing my original songs.     

Unfortunately, I never got the chance to speak to “Ozzie.” My father’s brutal murder, the gruesome details, and the ongoing manhunt for the two teens involved, were all over the TV news and plastered across the newspapers in Ohio and West Virginia where it happened. The trauma and media chaos proved just as hard on me as the students at school. They didn't know how to cope with it, or handle being around me. Feeling it was better for everyone, I dropped out of school.  

I didn't get to finish Drama II, and I never saw “Ozzie” again back then. It was never meant to be now, but in the future when the timing would be right for us to work together.

By dropping out of school at sixteen, my personal life became unstructured and often reckless and self-destructive. I found it difficult to regroup and carry on after losing the guidance of the three most important and influential members of my family.  I soon lost a fourth person as well.

I had become involved with a boy I believed I loved. But as a generational Prophetess, I was given a Prophetic sign to let me know that we were not destined. I realized his car was going to be the reason. I told Donna and together we urged this boy to get rid of his dangerously small VW bug.

He laughed and dismissed my Prophecy. I never got to see him again. He was beheaded in his VW after being struck straight on by a drunk driver.  

Before I continue, I should insert something about myself so the events in my life can be understood, including my Prophecy to this boy. I was born a generational Prophetess. The gift of Prophecy and some Spiritual abilities have always gone to one person in each generation of my lineage. I was that person of my generation. I grew up with it being as natural to me as breathing that God, Christ, and Archangels spoke directly to me, or through my Guardian Angel, who is my protector and guide. When I am given a Prophecy, it is certain to pass. 

I had always kept my gift from my public life. But God has instructed me to reveal how He works behind the scenes by writing my life story. I understand now that this was what I was born to do. The book is tentatively titled, GOD’S KINGDOM UNVEILED THROUGH THE LIFE OF A PROPHETESS: A Deep Dive Reveal of the Way God Works in a Person’s Life. 

Some may not believe what follows, and others may relate due to the workings of God in their own life. But no one can dispute how closely "Ozzie" and my paths aligned, or the events that led us to being reunited when the timing was right. It's readers' choice to believe it was God intervening, or maybe just sheer luck and a very long series of amazingly incredible, perfectly timed coincidences.  

I finally felt bad for all the times my Guardian Angel had to save my life due to my careless and irresponsible behavior since leaving school. It was time to get control of myself again. Since I had always respected “Ozzie,” who had now graduated and moved on, I designated him as my role model. From then on, I used his determination with his goals to help me stay focused on my own.  

I returned to school as a junior again. I had already become a published freelance writer at sixteen, and then again when I returned to school at seventeen. I had also paid a music company to write the music for my father’s poem and record it. I was offered a contract for the song but turned it down. It became clear it wasn’t a song, but a private Prophecy to my father. He knew my gift and that’s why he was drawn to the poem and heeded its message.    

Attempting to go back to school wasn't working so I dropped out again to work full-time on my diverse career.  

Having loved being a performing singer since childhood, I accepted the position to replace the departing lead singer in a promising cover band. But God would not allow it. He showed me that joining that band would lead me into the music industry and the downward spiral that would follow. I was obstinate and assured Him I was strong-willed and would never allow what I was shown to become reality, even asking God to trust and let me prove myself. But what will be, will be. No restraint I believed I could muster would have changed the future. Since I would not be reasoned with, God, in that moment, stripped me of my singing voice. Argument solved.  

I have never resented God for taking back my beloved Divinely given ability to sing. He truly knows what is best. Being the 1970s, only God would know the present and future of the music industry, and I am grateful today that He took my voice. 

The promising career “Ozzie” had in the band Rosewater was also taken from him. The band had already opened for two major acts, Phil Keaggy's Glass Harp and Wild Butter, and would have eventually made it into the music industry. But with no clear reason the band dissolved. Going forward, “Ozzie's” career path in music was confined to various cover bands while developing his talent to write original songs on the side. 

We were decades away from Indie music careers being easily possible. It would not be until then that "Ozzie” and I would be divinely reunited to work together. 

I finally left Ohio. I got married and in 1979 we moved to Texas. 

I continued to keep “Ozzie” as my role model, using his determination to persevere in music to stay motivated on my own goals.  Whenever I called Donna, I would ask if he was still performing, and the answer was always that indeed he was. He would later be with a band that recorded a CD of originals. It featured a few of his songs, and one of the tracks he collaborated on was used in the Pure Flix movie Sarah's Choice.   

My first marriage was for the wrong reasons, and for that, it failed. Not that I didn't try to make it work. Christ also tried by having a three-day visitation with my husband. It was such a shock to be confronted by Christ that my husband transitioned into the man Christ instructed him to be if he wanted to stay with me. But it didn't last. He reverted and became an even worse husband. I was permitted to take our daughter and leave him. 

I married again and came to believe that my second husband was a sociopath, or at least a narcissist. He was a real charmer who was highly materialistic, manipulative, controlling, and a compulsive liar. I started to notice that he didn't seem to truly know what love was, how to feel it, or properly show it. Over the years, I just gravitated to what little good side he had to curtail his abuse. 

After twenty years in the Air Force, he would have retired as a mere Staff Sergeant if he had not been given a “gratuitous” Tech Sergeant grade at the end. Since he had no real achievements in life, he was overly jealous of anyone successful, and that included me, our children, and even his first wife.

Raised in NYC in Catholic school he believed in Prophets but refused to acknowledge me as one. He disregarded the number of times my Guardian Angel gave me Prophetic warnings to prevent our undeniable harm or death, brushing off these life-saving situations as mere coincidences. My Guardian Angel would also tell me when he was lying so I could confront him. As a compulsive liar, he hated being caught more than anything. He would shrug off my Guardian Angel being the informant and angrily accuse me of snooping around to catch him.

When I had to tell him my Guardian Angel warned me, but did not specify why, that we must cancel our annual trip to visit friends and family in Ohio and NYC, he was infuriated. He refused to believe "something" was going to happen. But our boys knew well that whenever I was warned that something was going to happen, it would, and they refused to go. 

He first declared he would go alone! But later, mulling it over, he decided not to go either. This was the week of 9/11 and we always visited the towers when in NYC. Thankfully, his aunt, who was in one of the buildings at the time, is alive today because she ignored everyone's instructions to remain in the building and fled. 

In 2004, I was told about a Spiritual sign to watch for. When it happened, it would signify that I was allowed to file for divorce and break free from his controlling, belittling, abusive, and dismissive behavior.

When he started to become unhinged and more abusive, I saw the sign. It was no longer safe for me, my daughter, or our boys to have him in our lives.  

“Ozzie” and I had no idea our lives were moving in sync. Whatever was happening in my life was happening in his, and within the same time frame. Our life chapters aligned through our first marriage, the arrival of our first child, and our second marriage later in life where we each had two boys born in close proximity to one another. Our separations and divorces from our toxic marriages also occurred around the same time.    

Divorcing my second husband was horrific. It was a six-year legal battle, with the judges siding with him. The torment we were forced to endure destroyed my life and the lives of the children. My daughter and our sons, who became adults in that time, moved away and no longer want anything to do with him, or with me. 

God was not happy with me either for allowing this husband to change who I was. I had denounced a life of materialism as a teen, but my second husband was driven by the need to appear to have money and status. To keep the peace for the sake of the children, I had allowed him to control me and change me into someone who engaged in his lifestyle. Over time, his abuse caused me to lose my creativity and drive to flourish in business. Worse, I had let him use his disdain and criticism of my calling as a Prophetess to keep me distant from my Spirituality.  

In punishment, God made sure I lost the family home and literally everything I owned that was in it. After thirty-five years of raising children, I was alone in the world and eventually living out of a little Geo car.  

God, as a Father, only punishes the ones He loves. (Hebrews 12:5-8). Tough love does have a way of straightening out a person!  

At times, my punishment felt as if I was being knocked face-down in the dirt, with my back stepped on until I would agree to let go of who I had become. But at that point, it was all I knew. Regaining myself after twenty years of being someone who was not me seemed as difficult as stopping an addiction. To make it even more difficult, I was told to return to the Godly and reverent child I was as a teen!

One night, I grew weary of my situation and started crying down to my soul. I was recalling every regret in my life, and there were so many. If God was so disappointed in me, as I was with myself, why not just erase me from existence? But I knew that wasn’t an option. Only God knew if, given enough time, I would eventually relent and accept that He had plans for me and work that I was still meant to accomplish.  

I slowly began to notice just how comforting it was to be free of responsibilities and stress. It felt good again to rely on God and not need to have or own much to survive. That acknowledgment was the healing I needed to restore who I once was. When I returned to where God needed me to be, He lifted me back up in esteem and with a purpose.

I then received a reward. During my punishment, the engine cracked in the comfortable used Caravan I had bought during the divorce, and I was forced to live in a little Geo car. Being in a constant sitting position caused concerning health issues. My Guardian Angel told me that God was talking to my sister’s heart to send me money. I was being allowed to buy another vehicle that would enable me to lie down to sleep. I accepted the reward, bought another Caravan, and put an air mattress in the back.

The new license plate I had been given for the first Caravan had been transferred to the Geo and now to the second Caravan. It read A60 OZZ. I loved that it was so easy to remember and that it also seemed, in a strange way, to speak to me in a Prophetic manner.   

I never got mad at God during the hard time He had me endure. It wasn't just punishment. It was also a necessity that I lost everything I owned, my children, and my responsibilities. It ensured my submission to uninterrupted one-on-one time with Him. 

When you are going through your hardest times or facing punishment, that is when God is with you. He is molding you and preparing you for a better life, or a return to a former state of happiness. 

I was indeed in a euphoric state of relief once I returned to the virtues, Spirituality, and the unwavering participation in God’s Calling that defined my teenage years. 

Being alone and traveling in my Caravan brought me peace. I had no desire for a home or possessions again, as in my vow as a teen. I was thoroughly enjoying my free and spontaneous life with God. 

I did have some idea as to what lie ahead. After my divorce I was told that another man, the right man this time, was going to come into my life. I just wasn't aware that God had given me a Prophecy nine years in advance as to the time it would happen and the name of the man. It was on my license plate!  A60  OZZ. 

It was October of 2012 when I was told that the man I was always meant to marry was in my past and I was to seek him. He needed me and was Faithfully Praying to find me. 

Obviously, this was why it was so important that I returned to my mindset as a teen. But I lived in Florida and all the boys I knew as a teen lived in Ohio.  

My first thought was of “Ozzie.” But if he had no interest in me back then, he surely wouldn't now. Besides, what would be the odds that he was single? Yet, I felt that he was. 

I drove to Ohio and stayed with Donna. She suggested that I use something called Facebook and showed me its potential for finding and connecting with the man I was meant to be with. We looked up several men from high school on her account, but they were all married. 

In October, at a motel stop on my way back to Florida, I decided to open a Facebook account. Donna was ecstatic that we could connect and stay in touch more often. I also reconnected with many old friends from my high school.   

Back in Florida on November 27, I finally decided to look up “Ozzie” out of curiosity. He was indeed single and listed himself as John “Ozzie” Oswald. Some classmates were still calling him “Ozzie” or “Ozz.” But since he listed himself as John, I began addressing him as John.  

I sent John a friend request, and he accepted. Intrigued, I decided to try sending him a message also. I typed just two words, "Still playin", followed by a smiley face to show how happy I was to see his posts with photos of him in different bands. 

I didn't receive a reply, so obviously nothing had changed. He still had no interest in me. Knowing him, as with asking me about his concert in high school, the likely reason he accepted my friend request was just to add me to his audience base. That turned out to be true!  

But then, in December, John posted an overly enthusiastic Birthday Greeting on my wall that was accented with a trail of exclamation points. It was at least an acknowledgment from him, which felt encouraging. But I was also confused. Did he send this greeting to everyone or was he trying to get my attention? There was still no answer to my message, so I blew it off and moved on. 

God began to give me Prophecies of the future of the world. Like clockwork, I would get a new Prophecy every day, in the same place, at around the same time. As with all Prophecies, I documented them. I asked God if He felt that I was tough enough to go through what I was being shown on my own. Or, was that why I needed to find the man from my past?  I got no reply.  

During my first year on Facebook, I reconnected with four men from my past. None of these reunions turned into relationships because I just knew they were not right for me. Donna scolded me and said I should stop searching and be like her, content without a man. But when God tells you to do something, you do it!

In March of 2014 the time was finally right for God to give John and me a divine intervention using Facebook. It was a divine Poke, as we now affectionately call it. John received a Poke that I didn't send, and I received one that he didn't send. That arranged Poke was to connect me with the man I was told to find. For John, it was the answer to his Prayers to be connected to the woman he was always meant to be with.  

When I saw John’s Poke my thought was to ignore it, and I did. But when I returned all the Pokes on my list that day his Poke mysteriously showed as having been returned to him. I thought it was no big deal as he would likely ignore it anyway.  

Several days later when I checked my Poke list, I saw that I had received a Poke return from John. I admit it. Seeing it kind of gave me a thrill. I decided that if he was going to show some interest in me then I had nothing to lose. I returned his Poke and the many Pokes that followed over the next few days.  

March 23, 2014, I was sitting at my laptop, having breakfast. I saw that I had received a Facebook message from John! I was stunned. Had our Poking caused him to start a conversation with me after all these years? I weighed whether I should care. Yes. Yes, I enthusiastically did.

Eager to read his message, I wondered what his excuse was going to be for not acknowledging my message of “Still playin” until now.

His answer was, "Sure am! (OOPS! Did I overlook this 1.5 years ago?!?!) 23 pokes, wow!"  

I burst out laughing. His message just struck me as hysterical. I found his use of 1.5 to be quirky for how long he had overlooked my message. I decided to have some fun with this and tease him. I felt he deserved my sarcastic reply which read, "LMBO!! Slow in replies are we?"  

He answered, "Not usually but....sorry"  

I informed him, "You will have to play catch up. I have some "pokers" that war with me and we are in the thousands on pokes. LOL." I couldn't help but finish the message with more teasing and wrote, "Good to know you are still playing. I finally saw that you were on your wall. You know, cause waiting for you to answer a message......lol."  

Several minutes went by, and it appeared this was all of our conversing there was going to be. Well, I laughed, I will always have this much. I jokingly typed, "Hmmm. Well I guess we'll talk again in 1.5 years?" 

He replied, "Nah, too long!" He explained that he was getting ready for a fest and why his replies were slow.

From the time we started messaging we became enamored with one another. Our messaging turned into daily marathons. We then switched to phone conversations that continued even after we had gone to bed. We wanted to listen to each other’s voices until we fell asleep.  

I learned that John was not smug at all. His personality was very warm and caring. He wasn’t even aware that many at school saw him as a celebrity. When I told him about the incident with Steve, he wasn’t surprised, considering the source as well. He told me that Steve was wrong anyway. He only liked plain, down-to-earth girls.  

In proof, I discovered the reason he never took notice of me in school. Ironically, he was preoccupied with a plain Jane girl named...Debbie. He couldn't pursue her because this Debbie never took an interest in him. I teased him that his heart was letting him know that he wanted to be with Debbie, he just had the wrong one!  

But the timing wasn't right for us back then. From our communications, we realized that God knew what was best. Considering our personalities and temperaments as teens, combined with God not allowing either of us to enter the music industry, it would have likely led us to frustration, conflict, and ultimately separation had we become involved back then. We also conceded that we needed to go through what we did in our lives and marriages. It gave us the time needed to learn, grow, and vent our frustrations to appreciate finally being with the right person.  

Once we reunited, Jesus appeared before John and he agreed to turn himself, and his life, fully over to Him. He was ready and willing to work with me for God and for Godly purposes, on a career in music and more.  

We collaborated on our first song over the phone titled, "Good Kinda Crazy," which described the way we had become so insanely attached to one another.  

Things were going so well for us that it attracted the dark side in anger. Being gifted, whenever I am right with God it is not uncommon for me to get attacked by dark forces in an attempt to tear me from my path. Doubt was being seeded in my mind to cause me to question a future with John. 

One night, I was overwhelmed with negative thoughts and I started to cry. Even though I never complained, I had been hurt too much and was growing tired of disappointments. My Guardian Angel heard me and assured me that my connection with John had been Ordained. The only thing that could stop our union would be if I did something to ruin it, as I’m prone to do. I was told to stop crying. Everything was going to work out.   

The next morning when I woke, I was told very sternly, by a voice I knew well, to get up and go look at my license plate. I pondered the command because having that plate for nine years I knew exactly what was written on it.  

During the divorce, I lost the marital conversion van. When I went to the DMV for a license plate for the Caravan I bought, the woman looked through the plates and handed me one that read A60  OZZ. She felt this plate was meant for me. I hugged it in utter joy! Buying that vehicle was my first step in freedom from my ex and this plate, with its seemingly encrypted message, felt as though it was Prophesying a great future for me.  

I did as I was told and went to the back of my Caravan and looked at my plate. I even read what was written out loud, "A60 OZZ," and shrugged.  

I learned that God had let me know nine years ago that I would be reunited with John when I was given a full Spiritual visual of His message on the plate. A 60 year old Ozzie.

I quickly did the math to determine John’s age. Yes, yes, he was 60! God had indeed planned this. John and I were going to be together!  

In the weeks that followed, I made a couple of videos for John to confess my feelings for him. I also informed him of my life with God and let him know that I was gifted. I went on to explain my license plate and showed it to him in a video. Being a man who was also devoted to God, learning that I was gifted didn't scare him off. He didn't doubt the license plate as coincidence either. He was thrilled because this also proved to him that his Prayers were heard and answered.   

 His reaction was a welcomed confirmation to me that he was the right man. He did not dismiss me, or call me crazy, when telling him my Prophecies about the future. He was very open to me being gifted, and in a short time he found himself thankful to my Guardian Angel for helping him.  

My Guardian Angel had told me one night not to expect my usual call from John after getting home from a gig. John had confessed to me about having had DUIs. But I was told that this time he was being wrongly arrested for one. 

When John was able to call me the next morning, he found that I wasn’t mad. I already knew what had happened. I relayed what my Guardian Angel told me to tell him. The reason he passed the breath test but couldn’t pass his vision test was due to his medical condition that was unknown to him. He was to see his doctor and be diagnosed and take that proof to the court. 

He did as he was told, and his DUI case was thrown out. But my Guardian Angel had further instructions for him. If he wanted his relationship with me to continue then he must agree to never drink and drive again. If he did, his relationship with me would be taken away. He agreed, and our relationship became even stronger through his promise. 

John made the decision to be the one to move, and he came to Florida so we could get married. The rest, as they say, is history.

Looking back, we see that our beginnings in Ohio also aligned. In our youth, we both had received Divine interventions that allowed us to have contact and feedback from the Spiritual, fellow born Ohioans whom we most admired. John was a huge fan of Phil Keaggy. While in the band Rosewater, John was given the Blessing to open for Keaggy's band, Glass Harp, and learned that Keaggy thought Rosewater had potential. For me, I Spiritually admired Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. My third published freelance article, which appeared in Grit Magazine, touched Dr. Peale's heart, and he asked my permission to read my article to his radio audience.  

Although John's path was being protected and kept confined to cover bands, it still allowed him to stay active and hone his skills. In contrast, I was Blessed to accomplish everything that I set out in life to achieve. I continued to construct businesses, write what was Divinely given to me to write, perfect my talents, and was the creator, owner, and editor of two Spiritual-based magazines. Having fulfilled my life's goals, it was now John's turn to shine. The timing had synchronized for God to reunite us. Because it is finally possible to succeed outside of the music industry, God’s new purpose for my life is to use my skills to work with John in music and business so that he can step unrestrained into his calling.    

God ensures, even supernaturally at times, that we have everything we need, or even want if within reason. The money, and often incredible purchasing deals, are made available for us. To start us out He provided our ability to buy a starter home with cash. We were then able to buy all new musical instruments, along with recording and photography equipment with cash. Eventually we outgrew our first home and needed more room for all the studio gear we acquired. God not only saw that the money was there, His perfect plans never cease to amaze me. Every time a realtor showed us a home that we felt had potential, I was told it was not the one. One morning, as I was poring over the new listings, I saw a home at an unbelievable giveaway price. It was fully remodeled and like new. I instantly knew, this is the one we were meant to have. I immediately called before anyone else saw this amazing listing and said we will buy it! I was told to ask if the seller would take much less, and the seller agreed! For everything John and I have been through, we are now rightfully together, working with God, and reaping the benefits.

I created and formed our Indie project Breaking Barriers Reality Show in 2016 to showcase each of our talents. We have been working hard on music, photography, and taking classes to learn everything we need to know. Today, we have two websites, an art gallery, a YouTube channel, social media presence, and thirty songs in the Library of Congress. We have over fifty more songs in the works and I have a book soon to be published and another being written. There is much more to come. We are, and will forever remain, independently Indie. Stay Tuned!

JOHN'S SIDE OF THEIR STORY 

"Mr. John C Oswald" (in my Rod Serling voice, which is one of the many voices that I do) is how I usually identify myself on my voice mail greetings. I'm also known as Oz or Ozzie, a nickname that my dad and older brother were called. As a little kid I had hoped that my friends would call me Ozzie too. This was the case and I was more than happy to carry on with that family nickname.  

My parents got divorced when I was one year old. So, I do not remember my dad living in the home. I did get to spend every Sunday with him, and often went fishing, until he moved to Arizona with his second wife when I was five. Around that same time my older sister got married and moved out. It seems odd now, but I don't remember getting much consoling about those major changes. I wonder if that was to toughen me up? Of course, how tough do you need to be at 5 ... 

For the most part, I grew up with a mother who worked several sales jobs. She was a wonderful seamstress and made a lot of great garments. She married two more times and divorced them. The first man being my kid sister's dad. By the time I was eleven there were no more father figures in the home, which was a welcome improvement over the stepdads. But I can at least say that I owe my love of piano from my first stepdad. 

My religious upbringing, I guess, was a little unique. As a little kid I was sent to Sunday school down the road. I also went to their vacation Bible School and learned about Jesus on the cross, sin, heaven and hell. It all rang true. I don't care if I was a little kid or not. When it comes to Faith you just "know". Yes, it's a strange phenomenon. There are people that don't understand that and want "proof". But needing proof means a lack of faith. My family, in the same house, was divided on that. My mom, younger half sister and I were the believers, and it seems that my older brother and sister were not. My mom was from Kentucky and used a lot of Country swearing. One day she was really swearing away. I was afraid she was going to go to hell for it.  So, I got in the Bible and found the Ten Commandments. I wrote down the chapter and verses and then wrote her a note saying Mom, if you know what's good for you, read this : ____." I thought maybe she'd be mad, but she was touched and so delighted that I cared about her soul. She passed in August 2010. Writing this reminds me how much I miss her. 

When I was age 13, instead of sending us to church, my mom returned to the Church of Christ and took my younger half sister and me. I was active in the church, taking part in passing out the wine (okay, it was grape juice at this church), and the cracker type things. 

Now, there are people from different eras of my life that will be surprised to read about my religious background because yes, I have gone astray here and there. I have not always been the most reverent person, certainly not the role model I should've/could've been. 

Music has always been the great love of mine. I remember "Hound Dog" from 1956 when I was 3 years old. I loved the sound of Frank Sinatra's voice. When my older brother brought home a stereo I learned the joys of hearing, Ooo--- the bass and drums on the left speaker, the piano in the right speaker. Fascinating! I heard jazz songs like "Sleepwalk" by Santo and Johnny. "Scotch and Soda" by the Kingston trio really captured my imagination. I pictured myself with a guitar singing it to a girl on a park bench. 

Hey, all that was before those guys from Liverpool with funny haircuts and bangs (which I thought looked like Moe from The Three Stooges) made their big splash on The Ed Sullivan show.  I was 10 at the time. I found a guitar that belonged to my mom in a closet. I took it out and began imitating John Lennon in our bathroom mirror (attempted to anyway). I started swinging the guitar around and I accidentally banged the neck of it on the wall thus breaking off a tuning machine. Since I was perfecting my craft, I had to keep at it. The next time I took it out I accidentally broke off another piece. Eventually this guitar was destroyed. I have a hunch this might be the reason it took me three Christmases asking for a guitar to get one. Okay, I'm sure of it.  

At 13 years old in 1966 I got my first acoustic guitar. I played in a few bands, some of which I had a hand in forming. Initially I played pretty awful as lead guitarist. Then gradually, by the summer of 1969 I got better after learning some Eric Clapton solos which are so melodic that you can sing them in your head. Then by an understanding of the blues scale that I gained from hearing Johnny Winter. After that I was a competent player for my experience thus far. In my first professional band at 16, the drummer, a friend of mine, was the main lead singer. Then I took over and discovered the ham in me as singer.

It was in early in 1970 that we formed the group called Rosewater and I took over as lead singer from the drummer. There was a concert we put on at the Lynn Theater in Akron that was monumental to me in experiencing the power of touching people with music. It touched PEOPLE. There were no categories of hip or not hip, cool or uncool, etc., it was about PEOPLE. If I took away anything from that night, that was the most important thing. There was this all-encompassing Spiritual high I was on. 

Before Rosewater broke up while we were still in High School, we had played at many school dances, venues, and had once opened for Phil Keaggy with Glass Harp and Wild Butter. 

In 1972, although I had plunked around previously on piano, I got serious and started piano lessons. This was mainly to add a little versatility to my performing. I always kept singing as the main focal point and used the playing of instruments as an icing on the cake type thing. I wanted it to be seen as, he sings... and then later in that set: What?! He plays guitar too?! Sometimes Harmonica?! I came to find that I got complimented on the guitar and the keyboard playing so I kept them up. Later, while in a country band some of the players enjoyed the way I played…what they termed, that thar French harp. 

In early 1974 I hooked up with some musicians who played this innovative genre of jazz/rock/funk fusion. It was a great experience which really changed my outlook on playing and gave me an understanding of arranging, counter rhythms, and about creativity. Two of the guys now have a killer jazz group, HAT (Horns and Things) that play the Akron/Cleveland area.

Around this time I started writing songs. Throughout my whole adult life, I kept playing and would always convince the band to include a current original or two of mine. At different times I was either a full-time or part-time musician. There would be an occasional occupation where I wouldn't be available to play every night, but I would still write. I have worked many jobs, from city worker, maintenance, and the Developmental Deficiency field. Married or single I have always been active with music. 

Throughout the years I have branched out into many styles. I have played '70s danceable rock and funk, country, '80s rock, blues and of course original compositions of each of those styles. I have also had tribute acts such as Bobby Darin, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, etc., which I still do today. 

It was time to put this diversity of experiences to good use. Now, thanks to my God given talent, His molding of my life with the variety of learning I was able to receive, and with His Divine Intervention with Debbie, I am one half of a team called Breaking Barriers Reality Show with my fine wife Debbie. 

This happened because Debbie and I were reunited 03/23/2014 by a Divine Intervention found in, yes, Facebook. I don't think Divine Intervention and Facebook are often mentioned in the same sentence; still, it was meant to be.

I was curious about 23 "pokes" from a person who had occasionally caught my attention in the past few months. This was someone it seemed I should know (from a festival I played ?), a person I maybe threw out a comment to once or twice on Facebook, a woman who hmmm--- seemed pretty cool from reading some banter with her and an old schoolmate or two (did I know her from school?). Nevertheless, I had previously concluded that I should have some dialog with this Debbie. Having this reason to contact her and investigate the mysterious 23 "pokes" served as a nudge I apparently needed to send a message.  

At the time I didn't understand how this poking thing worked. I thought she gave me 23 pokes in a row. I went to Messenger to comment to her about it. I start to write and see a message from Debbie from late 2012. Oh no! A year and a half before?! I remembered that message and thought I had replied. She had asked if I was still playing. That was late 2012 when I was still swearing, I didn't need to be in touch with the whole world on some fancy schmancy phone with which you could do email, Facebook, and your laundry (well, ok THAT would be worth it). My curmudgeon attitude was, "Stinkin' 21st century with your blasted technology!" I thought maybe I was on the library’s computer and needed to leave, or got distracted and didn't reply. Seems a reasonable excuse anyway...  

In this message to Debbie, I referred to the 1.5-year delay in responding. Saying 1.5 struck her funny and myself too. From then on speaking of time frames with digits (silly stuff like .75 rather than 45 minutes, etc.) became an inside joke between us. (Oops, now you know!) When I told Debbie I thought I should know her she laughed and reminded me that we had a drama class together in 1970 and 1971. I realized ah-HA! I remember Debbie in that class! Her Facebook name including middle name Diane threw me off.

This was a Sunday morning when this Facebook marathon chat started. Looking back, our dialog immediately had a remarkable intimacy about it. We talked about a million things. We talked about High School days, friends & family, things we'd experienced in the previous 40+ years. She told me I was her role model for her endeavors. This blew me away that I was an inspiration to her! Any artiste type would be ecstatic to hear that. Talking about her poetry, my performing in bands, her writing, my songwriting, things we had in common as parents: WOW!!! It was such a thrill to connect with this fellow creative mind. I told Debbie I regretted that we didn't have any conversations back in high school. About twelve hours later, signing off I'm thinking whew---, she's great. We could help each other out creatively. Will there be romance? Let's see...  

As time went on all these wonderful things came to mind that was opening me up to this. I remembered that a few months before we were divinely reunited by pokes that there was this mysterious “fortune teller” type post that somehow appeared on my Facebook wall from a site that didn’t exist. It read: Someone from the past would reemerge, someone I had made an impression on, and influenced in a positive way. She is the love of your life. It also said I would achieve success in my chosen field. That mysterious message led me to see that this someone was Debbie, her saying I was her role model.  

Maybe my prayers had literally been answered. At this point in my life what I wanted and Prayed for, after two failed marriages, was a nice girlfriend and to do great things with music.  

I consider myself a Spiritual person, rather than say, religious, reverent. But I must point out, I whole heartedly believe in Prayer, in Faith and very much in “seek and you shall find”. I have Prayed for answers. They have come to me. I have Prayed for better employment. I got it. These things came from asking in Faith while believing I’d receive and when giving thanks in advance, not after. I did this when Praying for the right mate finally.

As a musician/entertainer I have done some investing in my career. Money for instruments and equipment, time on practicing, songwriting, learning to promote my music, etc. We do many types of investing in our lives. It occurred to me that there should be something music wise I’ve done in the past (an “investment” of sorts) which I could benefit from. This led me to make a comparison between my career investments and personal investments. I thought, hmmmmm… shouldn’t there be someone in my past, say someone who I may have positively influenced? Someone who was grateful for my impact. Maybe that woman and I could fall in love, and she could be the real love of my life! Could that be who I prayed for? I thought about a couple of female friends from my past, wondering if we reunited would it spark something we didn’t realize before? The women I came up with I thought, nah.

My Prayers and the thoughts that were coming to me about who I should be looking for, and with what the mysterious prediction claimed, it made it obvious when I was divinely reunited with Debbie that this was meant to be. She was the one.

From that first day we chatted on Facebook we chatted every day thereafter. I discovered that Debbie is a great photographer and artist. I had posted this picture that my friend had taken of me with my new bass guitar. She saw some potential in the photo and WOW! She came up with 3 great artistic versions of it! It touched me that she was that moved by the photo that she would spend time on it and I was excitedly drawn to her even more.  

I learned that Debbie and I had a class together even before Drama. It was Mass Media. One day I was chosen to play DJ. A classmate named me Handsome Harvey Hornsworth because I wore these (eww---) horned rimmed glasses at the time. I played these album cuts from The Doors and Blood Sweat & Tears, non-teenybopper, FM stuff. The class was moaning and complaining about my selections. I remembered this cool female voice in the room saying, "Hey, I like it!" Of course, like a knucklehead, I didn't thank her for the support.  I had no idea, until now, that she was developing a crush on me during that class.

Debbie forwarded one of her YouTube nature videos of her in the woods with wildlife, which is now a favorite. I was captivated by her narrating with this wonderful voice. She radiated this quality of such a loving person. Ahemmm...I DID speak up this time & complimented her voice. I thought, "Well, there's a voice I wouldn't mind hearing more of!". OK, that's what I said to myself. However, on a deeper level I knew it was something much bigger. I was falling in love with this schoolmate that I hadn't noticed back in 1970.  

As I say, we were in contact absolutely every day on Facebook. But there was a weekend festival in mid-April that I played in the hills of West Virginia.  There was little and sparse phone reception, and I found that in having to struggle to connect on Facebook that when I couldn’t, I missed her... badly!  

When I returned home and we connected again all these factors came together: my being her role model, my praying for a mate, the mysteriously posted prediction of someone reentering my life, and (did I mention her voice?), her voice.  

That evening, we finally talked on the phone for the first time (ah---to have this beautiful voice to converse with). We decided let's give it a go as a couple. Even though we were 1,200 miles apart with me in Ohio and Debbie in Florida.  

She sent me a video she made which showed me this sign God had given her 9 years ago. She showed me that her license plate had my name (well, nickname OZZ) and my age at the time.  

Yup! This was it! Prayers answered! This was meant to be!!!  

So intense was the happiness and fulfillment I felt, I was compelled to do what I call, well, a backwards deal with God. Most people will Pray and promise to straighten up, do better, etc., if God would maybe, take away a disease, save a loved one’s life, that type of thing. Well, I did the opposite. In tears I was Praying, thanking God for this person I have been divinely brought together with to love. In return I would be more dedicated, more in touch with Him, and do His Will.  

The summer of 2014 we were in constant contact. If it wasn't on the phone talking or texting it was on Facebook. By August we're sleeping with the phone on. We reference this in our first collaborative song, "Good Kinda Crazy". It was evident we had to physically get together.  

October 2014, I relocated to Florida. 03/23/2015 (yes, the anniversary of our first, and all day, Facebook chat) we marry!