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To say that David Martin loves his mother is an understatement. He’ll be the first one to admit it, though his love and respect for the women who brought him into this world does not stop with mere words.
Martin recently moved into a brand new home in Port Arthur — a place where his mother could leave her apartment behind and move in with him to enjoy a better life.
There, among the new furnishings, granite countertops and crisp clean white walls, she’s at home with her son.
Martin said it’s time to pay his mother back in some small measure for all the years she was worried, down on her knees praying that God would deliver her son from his battle with drugs and alcohol and keep him safe while doing so.
“I love my Mama, and hate to think of her up all night worrying about me,” he said.
He’s sure it was her prayers that led to a change so powerful in his life that today he has a good job, new vehicle, and more than anything, good standing in the community.
But, that wasn’t always the case, the now 35-year-old said.
Though he never went to prison, Martin remembers years of “partying” during  a time when he’d rather be doing wrong, than doing right.
“I got caught up in the world of drugs and alcohol when I was about 18,” he said.
About five years ago, his life started to change when a woman approached him on the street and invited him to church.
Martin said he did not know the woman who invited him to Jireh World Church and Outreach Ministries, at 3505 Procter St., Port Arthur, but believes it was his mother’s prayers that brought the woman to his side.
“I know my Mama was praying for me because the church God led me to was two to three blocks away from my house and I had never seen it,” he said.
Martin found his way to the church, where he began a relationship with God that has strengthened and led him from a dead-end life to one filled with hope and joy.
The church in addition to religious services, offered a lifestyle training program he took advantage. That training led to a work program funded by the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation.
He first worked for B&B Ice delivering ice to refinery workers, and became a scaffold builder with Brock Enterprises in 2013.
Most recently, Martin said God put it on his heart to attend ABC Industrial School in Nederland to get a safety certification.
“I am looking for a job in that field, and believe I already have it. I just have to keep on walking in faith that God will find the job I need,” Martin said.
In the meantime, he’s enjoying his new home, built through the Legacy Community Development Corporation — a community and development organization program geared for first-time, low-to-moderate income homebuyers.
“First God blessed me with a car, then he said “Now, its time for a house,” Martin said.
To purchase the home, Martin had to get his credit score up, and save enough money for his part of the downpayment.
As God’s grace changed Martin, he began to see the depth of his mother’s love — how she had taken her worries about her son to God on bended knee night after night while he was running the clubs and running the streets.
Martin now teaches one of the Lifeskills courses at Jireh, and is so thankful that his life is such now that others would entrust him to provide guidance.
But, it’s the lesson of love, first God’s love, then the love of a mother,  that swells his heart with emotion, and makes him want to share that message with others.
“My message is no matter what you have done in your past, put it behind you and run to God. God can re-write your resume, give you things that you would never have dreamed of by trusting him,” Martin said.
And, to the other mothers that are out there praying for their sons and daughters, Martin has a message: Don’t give up.
“I love my Mama and put her through so much. I want her to decorate the house however she wants and to live here. But, one day, with God’s help, I want to pay this house off, get another for myself and this one will be hers.”
For her part, Vanessa Martin has a beautiful new bedroom, a large kitchen to prepare her son’s favorite dishes — just a place to call home.
But, most of all, she’s found peace of mind.
“I am very grateful to God that he blessed my son so well. I am happy for him, and very proud of him. He is an obedient son,” she said.
E-mail: sherry.koonce@panews.com
Twitter: skooncePANews