A 3AM Wake-Up Call Changed Reginald’s Life: A Heartfelt Story of Rejection to Redemption

Today's episode is about you hearing that quiet voice, even when the world is loud, reminding you of your true purpose, of your calling.

So if you could use the story to inspire you, to motivate you, to remind you that my friend, it's not over till it's over, then that is today's interview with Reginald D.

So if you're in a season of waiting, of wondering, of wondering if it's all worth it, wondering what lies next for you, well, today's conversation is gonna remind you that one thing is for certain nothing from your past disqualifies your future.

So, my friend, let's go ahead and dive into my conversation with Reginald D, because I promise you, today's conversation is gonna move you.

My name is Kevin Lowe.

I am your host, and today is episode 406 of Great Grace and Inspiration.

Yeah, I got great grace and inspiration.

What is going on, and welcome back to Grit Grace and Inspiration.

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and today I have the pleasure of being in the studio with a guy who, man, am I excited to get to introduce you to, none other than the real Reginald D.

Reginald, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Kevin.

Thank you so much for having me, man.

SPEAKER_01: Oh man, well, well, Reginald, dude, I have been so excited for this ever since we met, ever since you had me on your own podcast.

I've been excited, though, to get to explore your own story and where I would love for us to start at, and I don't know exactly where it's gonna take us, but I know I believe it was back a ways back in maybe like 2005.

You had a series of dreams.

Would you mind sharing with me a little bit about that story to kick us off?

Absolutely, Kevin.

SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.

So, yeah, back in 2005, it was a point in my life I was kind of quiet, I guess, kind of trying to find my own way in life.

And I was kind of to myself.

All I wanted to do is, you know, go to work, you know, come home, go to church, serve in church and stuff like that.

Wasn't making a whole bunch of noise and anything like that.

And I just wanted to seek God and see what you know his purpose was for my life.

And, you know, I had to get quiet, I felt, to do that.

So I started having these dreams at night, and it came to me three nights straight.

And it woke me up at three o'clock in the morning.

And the dream was I heard myself speaking, but I saw a church, a white church, and then a whole bunch of people outside of the church in this field.

And I dreamed that um three nights straight.

And it woke me up at three o'clock in the morning each night.

Man, I woke up in sweats.

It was crazy.

So I knew after the third night that God had uh called me and was calling me, and I got up on my knees that after that third night and told God, you know, I will I will go.

I will go carry your word because I knew that's what he wanted me to do.

SPEAKER_01: Wow.

So at that point, you were already a pastor?

SPEAKER_00: No, at that point I was just uh going to church.

I wasn't a pastor or anything like that.

So after I went and talked to my grandfather, told him about my dreams, and then my cousin, he was actually a pastor in the church, my grandfather started.

And we all talked about it, and then I told him that God is calling me to ministry.

So um they um actually licensed me to be a minister.

SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, fascinating, fascinating.

Well, well, speaking about family, let's back up in your your story a little bit and give me a kind of an idea.

Where exactly did you even grow up at?

And I mean, I guess the the big kind of picture here, you know, tying it back together is is I'm kind of curious what led you kind of on this path of you know wanting to get into ministry.

SPEAKER_00: Well, the thing about it, I I grew up in Greenville, South Carolina.

I grew up in a very religious family.

You know, we had pastors and preachers all throughout our family.

My grandfather pastored his own churches and built his own churches.

My uncles were pastors, and and so we we were a very religious, you know, family, man.

That's all we did a lot of time was church, and that's all we was pretty much, that was our foundation.

But I didn't really, you know, I I I'll tell you one part of my life, I didn't want to be in ministry at all.

You know, as I got into my younger years in life, I've um wanted to explore life.

I I didn't want to do the church thing.

I wanted to, you know, do what you do when you're 21, 22 years old and you know, trying to go out and have fun.

You know, I want that part of life.

I wasn't really pursuing church like that.

And I think one point I had to uh quit going altogether because I just I just didn't want to do it no more.

I I grew up in it.

I think I was kind of burnt out in it.

But somehow God always, you know, he always steered me in the right direction, even when I steered myself in the wrong direction.

So that's how I ended up coming to grips with what my purpose was and who I am.

And that's how I ended up, you know, he started showing me those dreams and things like that.

And that's how I knew that it was real.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Now, when we speak about family and stuff, when when you think of being a kid growing up, was there any like in particular figures in your life who were really like instrumental in those formative childhood years?

SPEAKER_00: Well, I I'll tell you what, I grew up in a single-parent home.

You know, my mom's a single parent.

She had uh me and my sister actually out of wedlock.

Everybody else, her siblings, it was 11 of them, and everybody else got married and had kids.

You know, I guess it did.

Somebody got pregnant and then it's we got married.

I don't know how it went down, but at the end of the day, my mom was, you know, I was born out of wedlock.

And it was it was kind of different coming from a religious family because they had this old school mentality when it comes to religion and things like that.

And if you're born out of wedlock, you weren't going to mount to anything.

And I was told that by some of my mom's siblings, basically said that about me when I was like at nine years old.

And that was one of the biggest things that really, really hurt me.

And it's one of the biggest challenges in my life.

I think, man, I'm 53 years old.

I think that was the biggest thing I had to really mentally overcome.

You got to look at it this way.

We already poor, man.

We you know, we don't have any money.

We already struggling.

If you want any support, you would want it from your family, you know.

And um, it just seems like I wasn't getting it from them.

Who's instrumental in my life was my grandfather.

I used to um go down to his house and in the summertime when I was out of school and stay with him, and him and my grandmother.

And um, you know, he built a convenience store with a meat market interact next door to the house, and then the church was up next door to the convenience store.

And I used to watch them run business, run the business.

I used to go there and help out and things like that.

And that's how I really learned how to do business, actually.

And he was very instrumental in my life by showing me, first of all, love, then he showed me leadership, and then he showed me how to actually be a man.

And I and he would not let anyone uh make me feel like I was less than because I was born out of wedlock.

I remember one incident we were at on their house at a family barbecue.

My cousins and their moms and you know, my mom's siblings, they packed up in the car.

I was like, hey, we're gonna run to the mall, but we'll we'll be right back.

So all the kids was powered up in the car.

So I just I just headed to the car, thinking it was all right for me to jump in since we were coming right back anyway.

And one of my um aunts looked at me and said, Where do you think you're going?

And I was like, I'm going with you all.

And she was like, No, you're not.

And they left me out of the yard, man, by myself, just standing there, you know.

And my grandfather got furious about it.

He kind of gave him a piece of his mind of what he felt.

And then my mom was pretty much saying, you know, telling my grandfather, she was like, Dad, don't even worry about it.

Don't worry about it.

And I remember him pulling up this money out of his pocket, that's water money.

And he gave it to my mom and said, Hey, take this boy to the mall and get him anything you want.

So now I'm at the mall passing my cousins that I should have been with, going there, with bags of stuff in my hand.

It was crazy, man.

And I'm still saying, even though I'm getting all the stuff I want, or you know, my grandfather gave my mom the money, you know, I'm still saying, man, it shouldn't be like this.

You know, it shouldn't be like this.

So it really put me in a different headspace growing up.

And I had to really thank my grandfather for mentoring me and keeping me level-headed.

Because I think when things like that happen to young people, period, kids, that's your foundation.

And it can do, it can do something to you.

You can end up derailing your life because you got all this animosity.

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: Now, I have to ask, just because I've never heard of it before.

Back then, when you were growing up, this whole thing about viewing children born out of wedlock is how does something last?

Was this typical in that area where you grew up at?

Like I've just I've never heard of that before.

SPEAKER_00: I would say it's it just depends.

I I say it's regular.

Okay.

You know, especially with a lot of southern religion congregations and things like that.

It's kind of the teaching is tougher, I think.

And I think a lot of it has been misinterpreted and things like that, where I know it is.

And that's how they used to just view it.

Back when I came from, some people just say, hey, you're born out of wet law, you're not gonna not go on the mountain or anything.

Now, I did not know that until it was told to me.

When it was told to me, I thought I was the first one that ever heard something like that.

And then as I, you know, we know when something hits you and something damages you or hurts you, you can feel that pain around you.

So then I started hearing things from different people or not even my own family, talking about not, you know, being born out of wedlock and not being worthy and things like that.

SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, understandable.

Wow, wow.

Well, there's another story from your childhood, and I'm gonna assume it was probably a little bit later on than the story you just shared with us.

But a lot of us as teenagers, we get we get jobs.

A lot of times, first jobs is at a drive-thru.

But you have a really powerful story that I believe helps to really illustrate the kind of person that you have always been.

Is would you tell the story of how you got a job at the Burger King and why that even came about?

SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, Kevin.

That absolutely.

So, like I said, I grew up in a single-parent house, just me and my little sister.

One day my mom came home from work and she cooked dinner and she fixed our plates and put the plates on the table, and we came to eat.

And I noticed there's only like two pieces of chicken there.

And I was like, you know, I was gonna forfeit mine if that's what that's what I had to do.

And I asked my mom, I said, Mom, you're not gonna eat.

She said, No, I just cooked enough for you and your sister.

She said, uh, I'm not hungry.

I ate a, I had a bit lunch today, which I knew it was a lie.

We just didn't have enough food.

And I'm sitting here struggling with this thing because, you know, here I am, I have two women.

You know, my sister was younger than me, but she's still a young lady, in the house, and we struggling to eat, man.

That's that was kind of crazy to me.

And I I I remember, you know, saying to myself, and I was laying in my bed and I was like, man, that's not fair, you know.

It's not fair.

And I contemplated doing all kinds of stuff, man.

I said, man, maybe I need to get out here in the streets like you see people do, and you maybe need to sell drugs.

I don't know what to do, man, but we can't live like this.

You know, that's just the way I was feeling about it.

But and I'm glad I didn't go down that road because, you know, God gives us common sense and he gives us the ability to create what we need for our lives without doing it the wrong way.

So we ended up going to Burger King one day, and we really didn't get Burger King, you know, probably every four or five months.

That's like our treat, like on a Friday night, when my mom would get a little extra cash from something.

So we go to Burger King and we standing in line, and I saw the manager was talking to my mom, and I kind of picked up and he had the hots for my mom, right?

So I I went, I looked at him, I said, hey man, I said, I need a job.

And my mom spoke up and she said, No, you can't, you can't work, you're in school, you ain't you're not but 13 years old.

I said, Ma, I said, I need the job.

He said, she said, you're not old enough to work.

And the manager spoke up and said, Yeah, he can if you sign a waiver.

And I was like, Okay, all right.

And then so I pulled my mom out of line.

I said, Mom, I said, listen.

I said, the other day, other night I seen you came home hungry.

We didn't have enough food, and you went to bed hungry.

You're working three jobs, playing for seven choirs in the church and going to college, and we and you still went to bed hungry.

I said, I'm not gonna let that happen.

I said, If you say, I need you to sign this waiver so that won't happen again.

She signed it with the agreement that I kept the school grades up and things like that, and um, which I did, man, and then after that, I was the the fry king, man.

I was the guy on the french fries all the time.

That was me.

So uh, but yeah, man, and then you know, when I got paid, that shit came to the house.

You know, it didn't go in my pocket, came straight to the house.

My mom put food on the table and do whatever she had to do with it.

Wow.

SPEAKER_01: I love that story so much for for so many different reasons, but I think the biggest reason is it just shows even as a 13-year-old boy, the kind of heart and the kind of love that you had even at such a young age.

I think it's just uh a powerful story that even as adults we can all learn from that one little story in amongst your whole life story.

I think is just is so powerful.

And and uh thank you so much for sharing it.

Absolutely, absolutely.

Yeah.

So continuing on, when you're in school and we always kind of reach that pivotal age of of graduating and stuff, what direction at that point were you were you headed in life?

SPEAKER_00: Well, when I was in school, it was kind of weird because when I was 13 years old, then I get I go over into high school and things didn't really change that much.

I mean, mom did work hard, she did get home ownership in my ninth grade year, but you know, she bought the house and then had to get a new car because the car was messed up and things like that.

So, you know, things still still, you know, it was better, but you know, I still had to help out because she she still had the responsibilities.

And one thing I, you know, I didn't want to happen in high school because I went through a state in the school where I was bullied for being poor.

I felt.

A kid came up to me and and and just out of the blue, man, it just spit on me, spit in my face, called me poor, and then scuffed up these shoes because we was outside and it was kind of muddy.

He took the bottom of his shoe and stepped on these sneakers.

My mom paid, I think she paid like 10 bucks for these things, man.

It wasn't even like we wear now.

It's the cheapest of the cheapest, and he scuffed these shoes up, which I'm like, dude, you know, my mom worked so hard for that.

So needless to say, that outcome didn't come out too good, but uh, but uh not the wheel.

It is what it is, man.

You know, I I I wasn't upset about the the situation that he spit in my face.

You know, I was upset more that he scuffed up these shoes and my mom working so hard to provide for us, you know.

But then, you know, when I got to to high school, I got to high school and I was uh I had a way of I worked it so good, you know, that I was working three jobs in high school and going to high school.

Wow.

And I was doing that because I was like, hey, you know, you get into high school, people are gonna be looking at you poorly, they're gonna be looking in all kinds of ways and things like that.

Then I had my sister coming on right behind me, coming to high school.

And I didn't want her to come looking less than, and you know how kids get, you know, and the older you get, the worse it gets.

So I was able to buy the name brand shoes.

I was able to buy the stuff that, you know, that mom couldn't get us, you know, and I was still having paying bills, you know, um, in the house.

So I I just took it as if, you know, it was my that was my assignment.

And a lot of people, I've been asked this question, just like, man, how did you feel as a kid growing up, knowing you had to do all that stuff?

What about your childhood?

And I'm like, oh, what about being a child?

I said, I was still a child, but I was just, it was just my moment, and it's just what I had to do.

This was the hand I was dealt at the end of the day.

So, and I I accept it, and I tell anybody, you know, sometimes situations are situations, man, and you you got to accept it and understand that you're in it in order to overcome it.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

Now, growing up, just kind of rounding out this bit of like childhood, growing up, did you guys live close to all of your relatives?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.

We lived um fairly close in the same, the same city.

SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay, awesome, awesome.

So now, as family and stuff, we were talking about when you're a child and it it kind of being this outcast.

Did that ever change as you got older?

SPEAKER_00: Yes, it did.

I I I'll be honest with you, yeah, it changed.

It it did change.

It's it's changed a lot, I think.

I think it's because the the accomplishments that they've seen through me.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

SPEAKER_00: You know, respect is there, absolutely, it's there.

Yes, you know, but I've I've I've I I mean, but I packed up, man.

I've worked, I lived and I relocated five different times in 10 years, you know, chasing opportunities and things like that.

So it hadn't been easy, but uh, but it paid off.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, amazing.

So I guess in in this story that you you have, what was kind of maybe some series of events or that turning point that ultimately kind of got you on this direction that you've been on in life?

SPEAKER_00: I think it's a number of things.

I I think it's from the childhood and all the experiences that I went through in childhood because you gotta understand now, I talked about being uh born out of wedlock.

So I had to go through that whole thing in my life without my dad in my life, which I knew my dad existed.

My dad was uh a police officer in the in the city, but uh wasn't a part of my life.

It was my grandfather who really you know changed me.

But I had to really, you know, do something about that because I carried that animosity a lot, you know.

My dad not being there, because the crazy part about it, him and my mom reunited when I was like 30 years old, and I'm 53 now, and they got married, so they've been married over 20 something years.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

And it it was one of those things after they got married, I'll be honest with you, I still couldn't kind of let this thing go that you know he wasn't in my life, you know, after a while, but you know, but then I I ended up thinking about a few things and thinking about you know certain things and and and and and usually I just I mean, God just steps in and and you got to let things go, man, at the end of the day.

You know, you you got to let things go.

And then you gotta understand things happen for a reason.

And I remember uh a message that was preached at churches on Father's Day, actually.

And the pastor got up and he said, Do not be upset if your father is not in your life.

He said, There's a reason God didn't allow him to be in your life.

He said, That's why the person that that's that's in your life is in your life right now and that's mentoring you.

So that stood out.

He said, because he didn't say this, he said, because the reason God probably didn't allow your dad in your life when you were young, because he would have done more damage than good.

Oh wow.

So that showed me that's the reason my grandfather had to have me in his life, and that's how I grew into who I am because of him.

You know, then my dad comes later on, but by the time he gets there 30 years old, I'm already built.

You know what I'm saying?

Yep.

Wow, wow.

SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.

Now, I guess so where does it go from there?

Where does becoming a pastor become getting into just, you know, really getting back into the church?

We talked earlier about, you know, there was a season of your life where you kind of got burned out a little bit and you stepped away from the church.

How do you realize?

About that, to get back doing what you're doing, you know, involved with the church, all of that.

SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it's a series of things that happen, you know, because when I was licensed to be a minister, a lot of people came to me and were saying, Hey, you're going to be a pastor one day.

Right?

And I think they're looking at it, and I knew they was looking at it, is looking at my family and all these pastors I got.

And I think they think this is one thing that's on our lives that every last one of us supposed to be a pastor, right?

Yes.

And they act like, you know, pastoring is the ultimate call when it comes to God, but it's really not.

It's what you call to do, is the ultimate call to God, whatever he called you to do.

It could be anything.

So I began to um minister and started, you know, started ministering at different locations, got different speaking engagements.

And I went to one church and I spoke there.

Then I got a call the next day from the board.

And they was like, We're looking for a pastor.

Would you think about being our pastor?

And I was like, Yeah, I said, I would.

So the guy said, Well, let me call you back.

And then he said, Let me work some stuff out.

So he did whatever he needed to do.

Then he called me back and he's like, Yeah, they on board with you being the pastor, but they got one question.

And I was like, What's that?

He said, Oh, you married?

I said, No, I'm not married.

He said, Well, you can't be our pastor.

Yeah, so that's another religious mindset kind of stuff of, you know, one of those things.

And uh it happened to me again at another church.

They asked me to be their pastor and they found out I wasn't married.

They said, No, you can't, you can't be our pastor.

Now, at this point, I'm like, okay, God, you know, I'm being obedient to what you want me to do.

But what was playing back in my mind at nine years old, saying you weren't gonna be a mouth or nothing, you, you know, basically you ain't good enough.

You know, and that's what I'm thinking.

You know, am I just not good enough?

You know, because whatever.

Maybe this born out of wet law thing is really some kind of curse on me.

You know, I don't know.

You know, I don't know why doors being shut in my face when I'm trying to walk into what he has for me.

So I'm gonna tell you how amazing God is.

He's gonna end up showing you one day.

When you start down yourself, he'll he'll show you.

So I got another call to go speak at this church after I was fed up.

And I went to speak.

And that night, when I went home, about 10 o'clock that night, that pastor called me.

And I don't even, you know, this is my first time ever at this church.

That pastor called and he said that his congregation received me so well that he was willing to step down and give me his church.

Wow.

So that was confirmation right there.

God was like, yo, see, I'm telling you, you you better than good.

You know, you're good enough for this thing.

I I didn't accept it because I was just like, nah, I'm just burnt out with it and things like that.

But God was just trying to show me that when I thought that I wasn't good enough, he was like, yo, see, I told you, you are you good enough.

The man wanted to give you his whole church.

So he said he probably need to talk to the congregation about it.

Yeah.

Wow.

So yeah, that was one of the things.

So what I did, I just started assisting my home church, and I was over the outreach ministry in my home church, and we did a lot of outreach work, man.

It was it was amazing to me how effective we were in the community.

And we just started going, you know, downtown into the streets and started talking to people, ministering to people.

We weren't pushing God and religion on people.

We were just hanging out, you know.

We just, we just these church guys, man, we just hanging out.

We eating hot dogs, we eat hamburgers with everybody.

We we don't want nothing.

You know what I'm saying?

We just want to hang out.

So we started doing that, and I ended up a couple guys came to church with me one Sunday.

I picked them up in an old 89 Buett Park Avenue.

There's like two of them.

I was like, I don't even know if this thing's gonna make it to church or not.

We're gonna try.

But uh, but uh we ended up uh kept hitting the streets, man, and I think within a month we had this uh, I think it was this 16-passenger van, church van that we had.

We ended up packing that thing out, you know, within a month's time and bringing people to church and then, you know, hanging out with them at the church and going out to eat and things like that.

And then I think within two to three months, we had this old church bus that somebody donated to the church.

Nobody never drove this bus for no reason whatsoever.

It's been sitting back there in the woods for like years.

And we was like, man, we got like we was making more than one trip in this band picking people up.

I was like, man, we're gonna be, you know, we're gonna run out of time, even get church to be over by the time we get calling people back and forth.

So we got this bus, man.

We pulled a bus out, you know, we got the keys to the bus.

And I was like, man, we gotta find somebody who can get this thing started.

So uh got a guy at a church that was with Canada.

We worked on that thing and worked on that thing, man, and he got it started.

So we got this big bus.

I don't even know the thing was insured about it.

I don't know, I don't know what they had on that bus.

But uh, we got the bus running, man, and then we ended up going downtown picking up people, and it was like 56 pastor bus, man.

We and we were just packing that bus out every Sunday for church, and then you know, we ended up ministering at this um transitional housing where people come out of prison or they come out of uh out of addiction centers or whatever like that and kind of live on their own in this motel that they're paying wazoo money to live there where they don't have a stove, they don't have an oven, anything like that.

You gotta fend for yourself the grills they got outside.

And I was like, man, we started basically poured into these guys like, hey man, you already on your own.

I don't know why you give these people all your money.

You might as well get your own apartment or something where you got access to everything you need, you know.

But make a long story short, a lot of these guys, I I can't tell you, Kevin, how many phone calls I got from some of these guys' wives that I never seen.

And it was like, I don't know what you did to my husband.

He is a changed man.

He came back home to his family, da da da da.

And it was it was amazing, man.

I said I got numerous calls from people's wives.

SPEAKER_01: Wow.

Wow, that is absolutely amazing.

Absolutely amazing.

Now, I want you to kind of school me a minute because I kept using the term, you know, pastoring, pastor.

Then we're talking about being minister, ministering.

What is the difference?

SPEAKER_00: So pastor basically has his own church.

Okay.

And a minister is just a minister that's in the church.

Okay that speaks and goes around, does all other stuff, just depends on what's what whatever he does.

But the pastor is the one who gets up every Sunday morning for the most part and and preaches and and basically he's a shepherd of the flock, the whole church.

SPEAKER_01: Got his own church.

Okay, okay, amazing.

Now, you talked about moving around quite a bit.

Was that for working at different churches?

SPEAKER_00: No, no, I was just working at this company that I was working for.

Okay.

I was just taking opportunities just to, you know, it was kind of amazing, but it really brought out the leadership in me to the point where it's, you know, I I that's why I learned the grunt of it and what it really was.

Because they were moving me to all these locations, and every location they asked me to go to was one that was a zoo.

I never got sent to the good places that it's running fine.

All the one that's a zoo.

I was like, oh man, man, I gotta go.

They were like, go turn this around, go turn this place around.

I'm like, Jesus Christ.

You know, and uh, but I was fortunate to do it, and it really, really showed me who I was and who I am, you know, as a person.

Because, you know, I've seen a lot of people with the same company.

They went sent them somewhere and they didn't make it, man.

A lot of them didn't make it, and they ended up losing their careers and things like that.

SPEAKER_01: Of course, of course.

Well, I want to get to the podcast, but before we can get to the podcast, which everybody's gonna see why I say that in when we get to it, how did you and your wife meet?

And what is the kind of uh the story in that relationship?

SPEAKER_00: Well, it's funny.

SPEAKER_01: I met my wife at a barbecue.

Where every good relationship begins.

SPEAKER_00: That's it.

That's it.

I met her, I met her at a um at a barbecue back then, I think around 2015.

And um I first when I first met her, I was like, oh man, you know, I was brought away, but I don't think she was digging me too much.

So you know, so I had to keep on you know, had to keep on pushing at her, pushing at her.

You know, we finally started dating, you know, and then she lived um in Virginia and things like that.

So we went back and forth seeing each other.

But uh when it's all said and done, we we get married in 2020.

Got married, and uh we just been, I don't know, man, it's it's been great, actually.

It's really it really has she's really um brought out the best in me because I think I was burnt out on being single, you know.

Yeah.

It's like you know, I can't even uh you know, trying to take care of yourself and take care of other people out here and you know in the world and things like that, and outside your door.

But it was um God sent her to me.

And we went to church one day, I think maybe 2022 or something like that.

We came home from church and basically I had told her about this dream I had, right?

That I was talking about those three dreams.

I don't think I ever even ever told her that part.

And I told her about it, and we came home from church one day, and she said, Hey, I need you to stand up against the wall.

I'm gonna take a picture of you.

And I was like, huh?

What's going on here, right?

You know, so she took this picture and she said, You're about to stop you start a podcast.

And I was like, What is a podcast?

I mean, I've heard of them, but I don't really know what these things are.

But I was like, okay, this is what we're doing, this is what we're doing, right?

Man, we started this podcast, Real Talk with Reginald D.

And once we we started it, man, God has really blessed it.

I mean, up to now, man, we got Apple Podcasts top 200 shows in 105 countries.

You know, and I'm like, every time, you know, episodes come, episodes come.

As I'm trying to get my momentum and trying to figure it out how to effectively do this, you know, she's managing the whole thing.

And man, we're looking, we in this country, we in this country, we in this country, we got all these, you know, five-star ratings here.

I mean, everything was just crazy the way it took off.

And then when I looked at all these countries, I was like, wait a minute.

It finally hit me after that dream in 2005 that God was showing me the church in that dream to let me know this is not where I want you to be.

And then he showed me those people in the field saying, I'm gonna allow you to reach the masses, a bunch of people.

And I said, That's where this podcast came out.

Just as those people in all these countries are those people in that field that God showed me outside of that church years ago.

You know, and you know, and God was just telling me, I'm showing you the church, so you won't run in there and be a pastor like everybody else.

It's not what I want for your life.

So, and that's how it came, man.

And it's been, and I know it's I know it's on point because it's been this thing is it's been a blessing.

Yeah, it's really been tremendous.

SPEAKER_01: So you have to wonder from the dream in 2005 to starting the podcast in in the in what 2020?

No, 22.

22, okay, so even even longer.

So you have to wonder, was God just waiting all that time for podcasting become a big thing or for the for him to get through your thick skull?

Like Reginald, I'm telling you, man, I'm trying to show you.

I think I think it's I think it's both of them.

Yeah.

Oh my goodness.

No, I love that so, so much.

Your your podcast, what has been the biggest kind of uh blessing for you?

Is it you know, getting to just be on the mic, be creative, is it getting to to meet people when you interview?

Like what is it that just keeps you so compelled and driving forward with your show?

SPEAKER_00: People like you, man, you know that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But yeah, I mean, meeting people such as yourself, you know, I mean, when we first interviewed, just before we get on podcasts together, you know, we had a blast.

But, you know, I think meeting people is one of them.

But I think when you go back and you look at some of the reviews and and things like that and you read it and you hear things like, you know, how what I said changed somebody's life and getting all that positive feedback on it, that's what keeps me going.

If I'm making a difference, then that's what's going to keep me pushing.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.

I agree.

What do you think your grandfather would say right now?

If you got to sit down with him, what do you what do you think he'd have to say about this new age way you found to touch the lives of people all over the world outside of the church?

SPEAKER_00: He probably would tell me that he's not proud of me yet.

So you got more work to do, boy.

So you can but uh now I if I hear if I can hear his voice now, he he he's gonna tell me he's proud of me, and he's gonna tell me to, you know, keep pushing and keep being who you are.

And his biggest thing is don't waver.

Do not waver, stay true to it.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, I love it.

I love it.

Well, well, Reginald, your podcast is called Real Talk with Reginald D.

For you, what does that mean when we talk about the real talk?

SPEAKER_00: Well, real talk is basically real talk.

And get and the crazy part about it, you know, when you when I talk, a lot of this stuff is just my life, man.

It's my experiences and what I had to go through.

You know, just like, you know, when it says, you know, I was told I won't amount to anything, you know, and I try to tell people you're never meant to be defined by someone else's doubt for you at the end of the day.

You know, there's words or seeds of fear, but you got the power to grow faith through.

I mean, you can grow through this whole thing when things like this happen.

So I just kind of speak into you know my life experiences and because it's been ups, it's been downs, it's been all the stuff, and it's been um, and it's been it's been it's been a ride.

So we're real talk ready today.

I try not to sugarcoat something, and I and I and I show enough not trying to put something in the atmosphere that's not achievable, you know.

I don't want to let anybody down, somebody feel like they're let down or not good enough in life and stuff like that.

It's just it's gonna take a little effort, that's all, and a little faith.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

I love it.

Well, well, Reginald, what is next for you?

What's on the horizon?

What are you working on?

And most importantly, where can people stay connected with you?

SPEAKER_00: Well, one of the things we're working on is actually still, I mean, the podcast is like I said, it has great momentum, and we're just gonna try to keep it going and try to enhance a few things with it.

The biggest thing that I'm trying to achieve right now, get some momentum with it, is um the motivational speaking side of it to go around and do some motivational speaking and and things like that to connect with it.

But other than that, it's just the you know, keep reaching people, um, keep doing what we're doing, and keep being creative.

You know, that's that's that's the biggest thing.

Just keep being creative.

Everything doesn't come to you every day.

I mean, I'll be thinking one time one thing today, and then by Friday, something will blow me away, and I'll be like, oh man, we gotta try this.

You know, so just being open to what God has for me and keep pushing and keep going and see what the end is gonna be.

As far as the podcast, Real Talk with Reginald D, you can um, you're on the podcast, you can go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast network.

You know, social media, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, just put in Real Talk with Reginald D and it'll pop up.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, fantastic.

Now, what about if somebody was interested in learning about you, about uh hiring you as a uh a speaker?

Do we have a website or somewhere we can send them?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can go to www.real talk with reginal D.

SPEAKER_01: Easy enough.

Easy enough.

Well, I will be sure for anybody interested, all the links to the podcast, the website, all the places are in the show notes.

Reginald, man, you you are uh such a blessing.

You're such an amazing guy who I am so grateful that we got connected with one another.

And I thank you so much for being here today.

Well, thank you so much, Kevin.

Bless you, brother.

Oh, thank you.

And for you listening today, my hope is that you heard something today that can be an impact on your life.

There were so many words of wisdom left to us by simply Reginald sharing his story.

Maybe it's a dream that God gave you, that maybe you forgot about.

Maybe it's time to think back, think a little bit bigger, think a little bit better, and also remember that we always want things to happen yesterday.

We want it today.

Sometimes, though, in God's time, which is the right time, it just takes a little bit.

It's just up to us to stay faithful and to keep walking the walk, doing the thing.

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and this, of course, was another episode of Grit, Grace and Inspiration.

I've got grit grace and inspiration on my mind.