Parker Gawryletz

Meet Parker Gawrletz — a young man whose journey of faith was shaped through honest questions, deep struggles, and a search for purpose. In this episode, Parker shares how wrestling with doubt, high school years, and identity led him to discover a God who meets us in our hardest moments. What happens when the things that once promised fulfillment leave you empty? And how do you find the courage to choose purpose over comfort? Join us as Parker reflects on baptism, discipleship, worship, and why he believes there is no ceiling to what God can do in a life fully surrendered to Him. 

Transcript

Rick
Well, hey, welcome everybody to Flying Leaves. It's great to be together again to interview one of our special young adults in this journey of faith. And today I'm would like to uh welcome Parker Garlitz to the uh to the show. Welcome, Parker.

Parker
Yeah, thank you.

Rick 
Great to have you here. It's always great to be able to chat and to be able to share our journey with each other. And I'm just gonna get right into the conversation because I know that uh you're a busy guy. You lots going on in your life, and which is it's exciting to hear about. Just to let you know, friends, that part of these podcasts, as we begin, is just to get to know each other, get to know the young adults who are going to be on here. Parker will be on here numerous times over the next year, sharing his journey. But we just wanted to give you, the listeners, an opportunity to get to know some of these young adults. So, Parker, tell us a little bit about your you know, your faith background, your faith journey. How did you arrive to this point in your life?

Parker
Yeah, I um so my parents, they they're Christian. Um, and growing up in in church, we didn't always go, but we go sometimes. So I had a foundation that way, believing God is creator. But I didn't always know God as personable. That kind of came through, I think, many people just really wrestling in life and asking a lot of questions and having a lot of doubts and a lot of unanswered questions. So yeah, I think with everyone, I think faith, like true faith is needs to be formed. I think a lot of it can be passed down, but I think um for for me, it was went through like long, very long story short. I think it was a lot of wrestling, a lot of questions, a lot of doubting, and a lot of just asking God that he'd prove prove himself for who he says he was. And long story short, how I am here now is that he he has proved himself who he says he is, uh, time and time again. And it's not always in this in the way that I expected or hoped for or imagined, but it's always looking back, I can pinpoint and understand, okay, this is why God did it that way. And this is why he showed me that he's good through this, through this medium and and to this story in my life. And okay.

Rick
So yeah, you mentioned that you, you know, you had some faith, I guess, in your family of origin, which is great. You had a foundation there that you said. What what was it, or maybe we should just go back a bit. Those high school years, as we've heard from other gr guests on our program, are some of the most difficult, challenging kind of times, you know, in life, as we kind of think about our own identity, we think about our future, what you know, what's happening, the peer pressure, all those things in life. What was high school like for you as far as your your faith? Was it part of that time of your life, or was it were those was that one of the wrestling matches during that time?

Parker
Yeah, I that was definitely one of the probably the wrestling match that like I don't know if it's ever straight like darkness to light, like I think it's a lot of times more of a gradient, but I think in high school that was kind of the like the wrestle that kind of like I was two feet in to to Christianity and and faith after after wrestling in those years. So early, early high school, grade nine and ten, it was a lot of fun, a lot of new friends, a lot of new people. But that wears out fast. Um, and like substances, like drinking and smoking and and other other stuff as well. It's it's always like a a strainer where it's like it fills up and then it strains out and it fills up and strains out and fills up and strains out. And this this kind of led me to a lot of internal questions where for a while I knew where fun was, I knew where comfort was, but I didn't know I didn't know who I was, I didn't know where I was going. But throughout all of it, since I was young, there was a deep desire for purpose, and there was a deep desire where I want my life to actually mean something. And I I think it was in high school where I really hit a wall and was thinking very soberly of my life, where I was thinking, like, if I continue the habits I'm doing the next 40 years, like my family's my future family is gonna be terrible. My I'm not gonna have a career. So I I feel like God gave me the grace to kind of look into my future and kind of see like the the two forks in the road, and it's like like calling me to make a decision at that point. And it's like, I don't know what I don't know what the end of the other fork looks like if I follow him, but I know if I continue like being addicted to these substances and continue like just escaping everything I'm going through, I know that what I desire for purpose and identity, I'm not gonna reach that through those substances. So as I think with everyone, a leap of faith and just coming to terms with God, I don't see it, but you see it. And I've come to the end of myself. I don't know where else to go. So, God, you you guide me and you tear everything out of my life you want out of my life, and you build me how you want to rebuild me. And that was a long process. So I got baptized after summer after grade 10. It was kind of the that summer where I really had the the deepest wrestles. And I remember going to a friend's cabin that summer and having in like three nights having like 60 or 70 drinks and just feeling like completely empty. Like it's just all day, every day, like like drinking, like getting very drunk and just feeling still very empty. And that was kind of like, man, like God, like something needs to change. Like, I don't know how it's gonna happen or even like what needs to change, but I know I can't continue on how I'm kneeling, so I or how how I'm doing now. So I that's when I decided to get baptized the end of that summer, and that was kind of I think the the moment where God like started to really truly build my faith and to answer the question where the wrestle kind of like flips flips, giving God my my life at that point.

Rick
That's interesting because you know, so in grade 10 you were baptized in the summer of. Yeah. So so often, you know, I hear about these stories about you know baptism being a huge opportunity to kind of commit your life to Christ. And yet I know from you know, as a pastor for many years, that's when you're baptized, it doesn't mean life necessarily gets easier because all of a sudden you're committed to Christ, and the other side is the work of the evil who doesn't want you to continue to walk your life with Christ, right? So as you went back then, I guess, into high school, you were you had made this commitment. What were those things that kind of kept you in to the faith as far as not being pulled back out into because I'm sure that well, we know that there's always temptation to kind of leave that, which was you know, we discovered as real. What kept you kind of ongoing there in the faith?

Parker
Yeah, that's that's a really great question. Um I think uh to to sum it up to one thing and just be God's grace, and I'll expand how that actually looked like is like that that whole time it was never like I got baptized and then I was like walking with God after, but I was always wrestling to walk with God. So there's there's a proverb that probably sum up like my journey, my whole Christian journey, and it's a righteous man falls seven times but gets back up. So it's just it's good. It's yeah, that's kind of one one verse that could really that kind of describes that that journey is like uh yeah, like a gradient. It wasn't straight, like black to white, but it was like stepping out of darkness over time, being re-reformed and and rebuilt. So there was a lot of times where it felt very extremely spiritually and emotionally intense, where it felt like Satan was trying to grab my spirit this way, and Jesus was trying to grab my spirit this way. And there was a lot of temptation, a lot of like emotional intensity and spiritual intensity. And yeah, I guess a lot, long at long or long story with a short answer, is I I didn't really I did, yeah, I didn't I didn't really like walk straight into the the light after baptism. It was just uh a constant wrestle and constant process and constant sanctification. Yeah. But what kept me always moving towards the light, I think through every time I I fell back, every time I every time I fell back or fell down is I I think this one concept of like the the light at the end of the tunnel. If that's stronger than anything you're going through, like you're gonna overcome it, even if it's like messy or doesn't look like if it doesn't look pretty, or if it's it's hard if your light at the end of the tunnel. And for me, that was just like the the dreams I have for like especially family. Yeah. And to actually have my life impact those who come after me. Yeah. And that's one thing I think that really kept me going is realizing like every time I would get high or drink or something, it's it was exact equation, even social media. I was trading the potential of who I could be for comfort. And like when I wanted the potential of who I could be more than I wanted the comfort from whatever substance or escape it was, that's when it became easier to actually fight for to leave these things and and go towards who's God's called me to be.

Rick
It's interesting. So I mean, when you when you talk about that, I can't I can't help but think about God's grace. You know, God's grace is sufficient, you know, and even when we go through this, these values and these temptations in life, uh God is stronger than the evil one. And once he grabs you, he doesn't want to let go. He wants he wants to hold on to us, you know. So what what then, you know, as you kind of went beyond high school then, and obviously, you know, uh your your faith was being formed, as you said. What were those, again, what what in your life, what things did you put in your life, what who came into your life, I guess, maybe, or whatever, that helped you then to grow into some of the things you're doing now. We'll talk about those a little later, but that was there was there people, organizations, advanced in your life that kind of made you go, man, I want more of this.

Parker
Yeah, that's uh that's a really great question. There was after I got baptized in grade 11, I was praying and asking God, like, I don't know anyone who's my age who's like a truly devout Christian, like walking it out. I didn't really know one person I who was my age. I knew people who were older, but I was just praying like God, give me a community of Christians my age who are further along in their walk that I could actually walk with and learn from and grow from and ask questions to. And a couple months later, he answered that prayer through I was a not organization, uh a group, discipleship group out of First Assembly called Tehila Youth Ministry School. And I joined that and it was where I I heard about it, I was like, that's exactly what I was praying for. Yeah, just a way to actually get discipled and not go to a youth group and have fun, but actually like learn what does it actually mean to follow Jesus and like actually counting the costs. Like if you're following Christ, this is like like I forget exactly what parable, but Jesus says, like, no, yeah, like if you're gonna go to something, like count the cost first, right? And actually counting the cost of Christianity and learning actually what it means to be a disciple and be a Christian was a big part through that organization and and walking with leaders who have actually given their whole life to Christ and whose whole yeah, their their whole ambition was to become like Christ and watching them and being able to follow them or yeah, follow them as they follow Christ. So that's that played a big part.

Rick
It's a big part of your life, and I know that you're you're also gifted uh musically in your life, and so was that a big part of your faith work, your development, your love for where the Lord is expressed through music?

Parker
Yeah, I I think I think a lot of it, I think a lot of it is through worship, especially yeah, just having that medium to actually express like a lot of a lot of the wrestles where to try to capture a feeling of like God, God freed me for something. And then to actually like when the Israelites like went onto the Red Sea and they they praised, it's like that that feeling of like freedom, it's like what does it actually sound like? And I was really grateful to know how to play piano to actually have that medium to like take a feeling of worship or freedom and be like, okay, what does that sound like? And be able to express that, I think, was a big part of like building building my faith in my relation with God as well.

Rick
So when you when you look at where you're now in your your faith, what what excites you, I guess, about being a follower of Christ at this particular point in your life, and maybe if you have a couple examples of what excites you or what you're involved with that others can hear about.

Parker
Yeah, I think what excites me the most is just that there's no ceiling to what's possible with God. That's probably what excites me the most. There's a verse in Corinthians that really I think about often, and it says, like, eye has not seen, ear has not heard, mind has not imagined what God has for those who love him. Wow. And just the thought of that makes me so excited. It's like there's there's things in this life that I would never even imagine seeing. And even being in LA, like that a lot of people hearing their stories at the dream center who are like addicted to heroin, addicted to meth, and a consistent theme. A lot of them said like things happened in my life that I never thought would happen. Like I never believed it was possible even to be free from these things. Yeah. So it just gets me so inspired of like what things do I believe are impossible that like to God it's so small in comparison. And just yeah, wanting to put my whole ambition to actually knowing, yeah, knowing the depths of like the life that God calls us to, and not living a shallow life is what excites me is knowing like there's actually like true life to to live and and true true problems to solve. And yeah.

Rick
You mentioned earlier about that word purpose. And that's a big word. I think a lot of people, not only your your age, but who are even older who are kind of still wondering about purpose. And to ask that question at an early age is pretty amazing, you know, that you that you that you've already seen that I want purpose in my life. Do you think that when you when you when you engage other young adults uh in this world that you live in, do you think that others maybe they're not asking that question, but do you think that is something that's lacking in today's young adult world or the world at at large, maybe the sense of purpose? And do you hear that at all?

Parker
Yeah, I'd say, yeah, I think that's exactly head-on is like even if it's not directly, even indirectly, I hear that come up in in conversations of purpose or like they not sure not knowing where to go, yeah, or not knowing like what they're good at or what to do in this life, like what their life's work is, you can say is a very common theme I see for people my age.

Rick
So let's say there's some people listening on today, which there will be, maybe there are young adults out there who've just happened to listen to this podcast today, and maybe they're once believed, maybe they're struggling in their their faith relationship, maybe they're asking questions about why would I get back into this? Maybe there's people out there who who've kind of put Christianity off. So I'm not interested in that. What would you say to them in terms of why well, they need to take a second look, so to speak, at this? Why would it be important?

Parker
Yeah. I'd say coming back to my my journey in high school, one thing I would always think of is like a real God is gonna give me a real encounter. I don't have to settle for something that's counterfeit or something I fabricate in my mind or manipulate in my mind. That like the story of Elijah, where like there's the two sets of prophets, and Elijah was like, okay, whoever's God is real will come with fire. And I I think it's it's okay to even put that on God and say, God, if you're real, like give me something that's real. Yeah. Something that I can't deny, something that's more than a coincidence, something I don't have to convince myself is true. I think there is a monk or one of the early church fathers, Saint Augustine, maybe, said that the lion or the truth is like a lion, but you don't have to defend it, you just like let it go and it'll defend itself. Yeah. And it's okay to to ask God that and say, God, show me what's true. Like, like even if I start from scratch with everything I've ever believed in, like, just show me what's true. And I promise if you persevere, He will. If you don't fill yourself, fill yourself with something just to satisfy yourself, then God will come and God will will answer that.

Rick
That's beautiful. That's that's a hope. That's a hope for for people out there who are looking, yeah, searching, wondering if there's something for them. You know, so well, I'm I'm excited to be able to have you on today, Parker. And I know that this is just a start of our relationship through Flying Leaves. And in the future, we're gonna bring you back on and and maybe ask some more pointed questions of what God is doing in your life right now. And I know he's doing a lot of different things in different areas. And so just want to thank you for being on the podcast today.

Parker
Yeah, thanks for having me.

Rick
And so, friends, thanks for joining Flying Leaves uh this afternoon. This afternoon where we're talking, and look forward to connecting you with the next young adult. And we'll bring Parker on another time and you'll hear more of his face story and his journey. Young adults who are living this faith out into the restless world. This is Rick Berg, your host, saying take care, and we'll talk to you soon. Bye bye.