08/05/2026
My name is Teddy Dicus-Murray. I am 37 years old, a software engineer, and I speak to you today from a wheelchair. Six years ago, on Christmas Day 2020, a gunshot wound left me paraplegic.
For too long, I tried to write my own life's script, to fill a void I didn't understand. On October 10, 2010 (10/10/10), I lost my virginity, and from that point, I often turned to sexual immorality, seeking comfort and control in destructive ways. As Romans 1:24 reminds us, when we follow our own desires, we can trade eternal truth for fleeting, physical distractions. I believed I was managing my own path, but I was simply running corrupted patterns.
At 19, I experienced catatonic schizophrenia and fell into a coma. Even then, in that deep pit of physical and psychological turmoil, God reached into my reality. Though I didn't believe in Him at the time, in that coma, I had a profound experience—I saw the legs and shoes of Almighty God, and felt Him gently rubbing my head as I rested in His lap. Isaiah 40:11 speaks to this tender care: "He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart." Long before I fully acknowledged Him, He was already holding me.
On December 13, 2014 (12/13/14), I was baptized, publicly stepping into His grace. Yet, life's trials were not over. Six years ago, on Christmas Day 2020, a single bullet paralyzed my body. The physical pain was excruciating, and the psychological urge to revert to old patterns of self-medication and sexual immorality was incredibly strong. Psalm 34:18 became a lifeline: "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
I found the strength to overcome that overwhelming pain not through my own intellect or any engineering logic, but through the consistent, unceasing power of prayer. 2 Corinthians 12:9 became my enduring foundation: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." God did not reverse my paralysis, but He profoundly transformed my spirit. My wheelchair is not a prison; it has become the place where I meet God daily in prayer, finding myself fully restored in His boundless love and grace.
