Their Story | Harry & Cheryl Salem | Joni Table Talk | Joni Lamb

[Music] well in the unexpected ups and downs of life we can often feel adrift tossed about from one wave to another yet at the end of every trial no matter the outcome we learned the truth faithfulness of God and helping us talk about that today is my dear friend April Simons my bestie of over 30 years Cindy Murdoch and our very special guest Harry and Cheryl Salem now many might know Cheryl is Miss America 1980 but before we talk about that we have to go back to the beginning of it all welcome here in general thank you so could you have you here at the table thank you we go a long way back we were talking about all the way back to when we first had one station before there was a day star television network but for those who don't know your story Tara let's go back to the beginning talk a little bit about growing up your childhood well I'm from Choctaw County Mississippi as you can tell I have not lost that I we live in California now and it's kind of funny because people say to me where are you from and I'll say oh I'm from Mississippi and they'll say well how long you been out of here and I'll say oh I've been going 35 years I don't know I just think I like it yeah I embrace it still alive and I talk to her every day and I think as long as she's alive I'm what I like her I grew up in in Choctaw County I was crippled from a car wreck when I was 11 years old told I'd never walk again went through a windshield I had severe what happened that day of the car accident I mean did that was there somebody very off the road somebody run into you guys well you said I lived in Choctaw County so there was really no there wasn't even a blacktop road we lived on a dirt road and my family was planting our garden it was made the fourth and we were planting our garden and we ran out tomato plants so my mom says to my sister who's just 16 ready to drive run in town get some more tomato plants and we lived about eight miles out of town and so of course I wanted to go where country people if you're going to town everybody wants to go yeah so I grabbed my little brother who was one and then my other little brother who was six we all jumped in the car and we went and we were just about a mile from the house and we hit our next-door neighbors family were coming home from town they bought all the groceries they were coming home and we just came up on the rise and people drive too fast in the country and we hit head-on and it was a very very bad accident I went through the windshield and then the motor came in and pushed both my legs crushed my left leg pushed me back through the windshield pinned me in the car broke my back and every person was hurt very badly and when they finally got me to the hospital the doctors told me that I might never walk again they left me for two weeks in a room with just traction running out my head and my feet couldn't move anything but my eyes and it's amazing how much I grew up in those two weeks and I remember looking up to the ceiling where we all think God lives and I said I need you to do a miracle and for whatever reason that little Evan year-old faith just connected to God and I believed he would and even though I was still in horrible pain I knew God was healing me and over the next three months he put a new bone in my left leg where there was no bone oh why didn't you have like serious injuries to your face and like how many stitches no Brown hundred stitches in my face that time I've been through three wind chills with my face that was the first one and so I've had over 150 stitches in my face and never had any plastic surgery just God with his love and learning not to focus on our scars you know the scars are still there but if you don't focus on all most people don't see them so what is doctors say I mean your recovery it was miraculous it was miraculous at the end of three months they put me in a body cast because they actually thought my back would heal but not my leg so they put me in a body cast for my shoulders down and they watched their process of x-rays a cocoon of calcium begin to form in my left leg at the end of three months the doctor cut the cast off stood me up wrote miracle across my chart and said there is no way that bone could have gotten in that left leg and covered 32 fragmented places unless God did that and so well till the day he died he gave testimony that he was my doctor and that he had watched a miracle even though Larry King they called him and he said I'm telling you I saw it I documented it it's documented mm-hmm wow that's amazing so at some point Miss America came in to the picture where someone said something to you even even before the wreck before the wreck when I was five the milkman his name was mr. Hart and he came every Tuesday I know some of you are watching what are you talking about we had a milk shoot out of the milkman used to open it up on one side who could milk bottles in it close it and then you'd come from the inside of the house and open up get the milk and then we had the milk and the egg and the butter man so when you were five the milkman mr. Horton told me every Tuesday he said one day look are you gonna be Miss America and he'd come back the next Tuesday night following him around and he'd say one day little girl you're gonna be Miss America and I believed him we were poor I wore flour sack dresses I had one pair of shoes you know and you took care of every little thing you had cause we were so poor but I believe that word and it got in my spirit and I really believed it was a word from the Lord because it wasn't just a man being nice it was like God trying to get across to me that life is gonna be bigger than what you're looking at what you're experiencing right now and so even when I went into the car wreck I heard I heard that word in my head one day look girl you couldn't be Miss America and I think it's those little words of encouragement that we hold onto through the trials the things you know yeah you have no way of getting there on your own but you know God said this and it just took me through the months and months of recovery and then I had a short lake for six years so from the time God healed my leg my I was growing I was 11 and so my right leg we're almost two inches longer than my left and then I went from the time I was living until I was 17 with a short leg just try I develop my piano a lot sit down sit down a lot and tried not to bring attention to the fact that I had a short leg but when I was 17 another doctor told me I wouldn't be able to have any children because my hips were so out of line in six years with short leg had caused my womb to develop in the wrong way and just everything was wrong in the wrong place and I went back to the Bible and during those six years I've really gotten radically born-again and a lot of times people don't understand that they say God gave you a miracle and then you got born again but I grew up in church and I grew up in the South where everybody thinks they're going to heaven even if they aren't and you know and I really thought that I was going to heaven and then I had a real encounter with God when I was 14 that you must be born again that your life has to be given to me you can't just be a good person you have to have a radical life-changing moment and I gave my heart to the Lord and really began to grow in my relationship with him and so when another doctor at 17 told me I wouldn't be able to have any children it was much easier for me to know who to go to because I had a relationship and I went to the Father and I said Lord if your word is true and if you want me to be Miss America for your glory you've got a length on my leg and I began to study his word I took started in Matthew I went every day after school through every scripture I could find on healing or a miracle and I wrote it down in my notebook and I would just rehearse them over and over and over and at the end of about six weeks man came to Mississippi his name was kind of taken and I went to hear him preach on faith and I knew before I left home that God's gonna lengthen my leg that night and I went forward and brother Hagin prayed for me and many others and my left leg grew out to be the same length as my right Wow and that was the beginning of my journey toward Miss America okay so isn't that amazing story so cool that you even thought to pray that your leg would grow out because most people don't think that and I grew up when legs grew out you know that was normal at church but I just think that faith was so cool it was it was when I look back on my whole life everything was divinely orchestrated because I wouldn't have known to do it yeah you know but God orchestrated okay so the Lord grows your leg out mhm and performs all these miracles in your body I mean your your leg your back the scars and when everything you're like ready to enter the Miss America pageant yeah for sure you know like with this first pageant this is probably gonna be it right okay I'm thinking I've waited all these years this is gonna be it so I entered the Miss Choctaw County pageant it was the one where I live uh-huh and I didn't know a thing about pageants yeah nothing they never even had a Miss Choctaw County pageant but they decided to have one that year so then I'm certain it's gone it has to be God this one's for me and I enter didn't know how to do an interview didn't know how to walk didn't know how to talk didn't have the right clothes borrowed everything bharden my music teachers dress barber shoes she fix my makeup everything and I came in first runner-up and I was just so disgusted god I know that I was supposed to win you know and I'm just recently filled with the Holy Ghost so everything's a devil's fault you know I'm not I'm sure he's kept this from me and so I'm really having to work through my own life and I entered the next year and I come in second runner-up and I keep going but named most people would be quitting nothing but I just knew in my heart and god he told me I was gonna be Miss America and each year it would it would be like he would dealing with me getting me over myself it has to be about him and not about me and each year I learned more about who he was in my life and how much more of me had to be laid at his feet and by the fourth year I finally won my first local pageant I had lost all the locals and I won the local I went to the Miss Mississippi pageant fully expecting now to win Miss Mississippi and on the but you know you did have some experience which was important you knew what to expect I was getting better yeah even though it didn't look like so how was your how was your did you get your clothes better every year I borrow didn't borrow anymore now she's got a whole army but by the time I went to Mississippi the first year I was still borrowing my swimsuit and borrow my shoes and and I came in first runner-up Miss Mississippi and and I was just frustrated because I am getting older and pageants have an age limit and now four years have passed but I just really took it back to the Lord and I just felt him just say you know I did not tell you to stop so just keep doing what I told you to do and if you will just keep doing it and I think that's really our life's message it's just keep going okay and I went back to fifth year won my first the local my second year I won the local in the Starkville went on to miss Mississippi won the Miss Mississippi and then on to Miss America and won the Miss America then you went on in won Miss America in 1980 and our producer said the year that she was born thank you you don't want to go anywhere Tao and Harry share one of their most difficult trials and what they learned when we come back [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we're so [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] miss [Music] well after being crowned Miss America 1980 Charles life would progress into marriage children and ministry and today charile and Harry Salem travel all over the US preaching the gospel in a unique tag team approach but it would be in this season of life that they would face one of their most difficult trials well we've talked about this before in fact years ago you're on one of the very first Joanie shows and we talked about it and but it's still relevant even this many years later because there are people watching today that you've experienced loss so many times in the Christian world we present this picture-perfect world and it simply is not true we all go through struggles and difficulties and trials and I think that transparency I know I think is probably what helps those of you that watch this program because we've been very transparent haven't we ladies about our own shortcomings but talk a little bit about this tremendous loss that happened with you and Harry Jarrell start with you and then we'll let Harry - well the first thing that came to my mind when you were talking was we've discovered people cannot identify with your massive line of great victories but they can't identify with your broken places right and it is the journey that we went through with Gabrielle that probably changed the whole focus of our ministry personally and solidified our marriage and our life together as a family that that we can help other people keep moving yeah before we talk about Gabrielle we have to get y'all married how did you two meet and get together Harry will let you tell your version all there we know there are sometimes different versions from version well we originally met when she was Miss America and she came to do a television program I was producing it and my mother said to me who was on the program I said another Miss America and see what you think I said you know I want to heal the world I want to make everything like I don't need that my life I had been single I wanted to stay single I was gonna remain single and in a little while later she came back to another program and the Lord just really hit me and he had me look at her she was in chapel doing a service and he said that's not Miss America that's a hurt little country girl and she needs your help so I at that time I went to dr. Roberts and I said never asked you a favor before but can I have two minutes with that young lady and at that time we we met we never went on a date and six weeks later we eloped got married that was on Mother's Day now financially but six weeks later that was on Mother's Day and a fourth of July she gets pregnant with our first son Harry yeah and then we have a wonderful son Harry and then we have Roman Lee and then we had Malachi Charlie that make it full term on this earth and he's in heaven and then we had Gabrielle so now what changed for you from the I mean we want to we want to hear that right [Laughter] you do remember she had on a purple dress because I come from Middle Eastern background and and they all were thick lipstick and I said to try sir one thing I don't like is women that were lipstick was she even as I didn't even stop talking about Miss America's took a paper towel and that's healed it for me that little gesture right there sealed it and so I knew I mean we just knew yeah I don't I I can't explain it anymore uh when he was hearing from the Lord I saw him across the room the that time I came back the second time and the Lord said to me there's a man strong enough to cover you and I thought wow what what exactly does that mean god I like the sound of it and I really had no idea what that really meant that that was gonna rub me and that was going to be hard for me and but that is exactly what God was trying to get me to understand to fulfill what he told me to do I needed to cover him yeah I needed a strong man that I couldn't boss around a man that would help me fulfill what God had called me to do and of course you know a lot of times you'll get a word from the Lord like that and you don't understand the power of it nor what the journey is gonna be to get you to where you do understand it yeah but I am so thankful now he is strong enough to cover me and he still is after 29 years 29 years okay so let's talk a little bit about gabrielle your own would be your only daughter our only daughter yes well we we have a biological daughter which is gabrielle but we have a new daughter in the Lord which is our new daughter-in-law but daughter-in-law and this was was born and just blonde hair blue eyes because beautiful I would tell people she looked just like me and she had her mom smile or countenance she you'd saw her you met her and yeah and then when she ministered in your church and she's played with your daughter's she did have your your cheek yeah I mean she really did she had my little fat face and she had her mama's big voice but see she was my girl more than she was her girl put her in overalls yeah little baseball cap turned backwards she was a daddy's girl daddy's girl and she ruled the roost and and finally a girl that could boss you around she knew how to get my heart she would she would run and jump in my arms and she'd pressed her lips up against my lips and she move her head back and forth and I'd say what are you doing and she said giving you maybe kiss so yeah anything she wanted I I remember we lived in Oklahoma she wanted a Barbie Corvette night there wasn't one in town I get the car drive all the way down to Dallas pick this Barbie Corvette it tied it to the back of the Kalinga we just we'd just been on the road ministering he had a wonderful Christmas and then we noticed one day her little eyes didn't move to the left to the right so we took her to an eye doctor we thought you might have a lazy eye or something and four minutes into the room he came out and he told me he said your daughter suffering from what we call doll's eye and I said what does that mean he said something's causing this disruption in her and you need to get an MRI now and that was about one o'clock in the afternoon by 4 o'clock we had the MRI by 5 o'clock all hell broke loose in our life and you know what did they diagnosed her with an inoperable brain it's called a brainstem glioma which is inside the brainstem so the tumor was actually in the in the brainstem and having been where we were in the ministry in the business world we had entree into some of the greatest doctors and one doctor in New York who was specialized in this said it would be like if I went through a hundred pair phone line and tried to get to the tumor without nicking one of them if I nicked this one she could stop hearing she could stop breathing she could stop her heart was there couldn't have been a worse place and no treatment would but in that fact is the worst place but if if God so chose to do a miracle it would have been for a testimony to the world yeah and so they said she would would not live past six weeks no she wouldn't see or fit in so how long did she actually eleven months which was unbelievable right was in I would put her on experimental medicine and and that's why I said to Marcus earlier thank you for doing what you're doing for the young cancer patients in Israel because our medical expenses were so astronomical that regular insurance didn't cover because it was experimental but she graduated to heaven on November 23rd at five minutes state in the morning with a lot of Prayer everyone was really praying and ever it was it or Robert said the perfect healing is mmm-hmm well we took her to we decided not to just run her around to every event have everybody pray for we did one event it was in June of that year that they were all there every ministry you could imagine every faith healer every and so when people came to us afterwards and said you know it was a lack of your faith and I'd asked them did you pray for and they said yes so what's it say about your face that's another whole program will get you I don't want to get me all upset right there utterly ridiculous but what a beautiful little angel let's see a little bit of the footage of Gabrielle [Music] I love that I know you loved that even though I think it was the hardest for for Harry to watch that but we do remember Gabrielle and like you said Cheryl she's in our future take about 1 or 2 minutes and encourage that person that's watching today that may have lost a loved one that they're in their future one of the greatest things that we've learned is that we didn't lose them we know right where they are they're in heaven we're going there the Bible says that the earth is a vapor and we put so much emphasis on this earth but God says that this earth is just a over and heaven is forever it is real place we're going there it's not some ethereal cloud we float around we live and we will always live there and our daughter she's not in our past but she is in our future she's not a wast she's an is and I encourage you to look forward for your loved ones don't look behind you they're not there you will be devastated if you look behind you but if you look forward if you're pressed forward if you'll not give up and you'll just keep moving take one more breath and say father I love you I'm gonna keep moving forward it's hard it's it's never I will never ever discount it and say you're gonna get over it because you don't you'll never get over it but you get better at it you get better at moving on and that will help you if you just don't stop and today the two boys Harry is how old twenty to twenty eight and Roman is 24 and newly married just beautiful yes Roman is married to Stephanie see I promised to come back and we'll talk about some of these subjects yes we would love to have y'all we are out of time I want to thank Kerry and Cheryl Salem for joining us at the table for books ministry information and more you can visit them online at Salem family ministries dot org I know I've got Gerald's book rebuilding the ruins of worship and Harry's book the rise of an orphan generation longing for a faith a lot of other great CDs and DVDs but just you know if you're sitting there today and you've been battling through a difficult season maybe you've experienced a loss like Jarrell and Harry then we want to pray for you today we have wonderful prayer partners that are standing by ready to pray with you and there's a number on your screen you can call we would love to encourage you today again it's no accident that you're watching this program was just for you today also be sure to tell us your thoughts about this program by joining the conversation online by leaving us a comment on Facebook or you can tweet me at Daystar Joni I'd love to hear from you thank you so much April Cindy and the Salem's what a blessing we'll see you next time bye-bye for today [Music] this has been a day star television production [Music]

Channel: The Way Of Life Church

Views: 12,189

Rating: 4.8870969 out of 5

Keywords: the way of life church, groeschel, lifechurch, life.churchtv, church, god's word, sermon, Christian, bible, God, Their Story, Cheryl Salem, Harry, Joni Table Talk, Joni Lamb, Daystar

Id: m7uXOBMR_pE

Length: 26min 4sec (1564 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 18 2019