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Hello, my name is Richard Rochkind, and I have finally decided to put my story on paper. I grew up in a suburban area in Baltimore, Maryland, the oldest of three children in a single parent home. At a very young age I was diagnosed with what is termed today as ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Growing up as a hyperactive child made life very interesting for my family. For example, on one occasion I made an “innocent” attempt to climb into the polar bear cage at the zoo. On two other occasions I was the cause of my brother’s need for stitches. Other daily events in my world included throwing rocks at cars passing by just to see what would happen and tossing balls around the house with the intent of breaking things.

Quite a bit of my childhood was spent visiting behavioral counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other doctors at various hospitals for numerous tests and exams. I would often ask myself, “What’s wrong with me?” It was extremely difficult for me, as well as most children with ADD and ADHD, to sit still and concentrate. In fact, it was nearly impossible to do so. I can often remember my mother crying with frustration and guilt, at a loss as to how she could help me.

Growing up I had the most love anyone could receive from their family. But because of my ADHD I often felt like I didn’t quite measure up to other people and their expectations.

Thank God for His glorious love and mercy. After years of living this way, the Lord graciously saved me at the age of 17, and took my excessive energy and began to direct it in His own perfect way. The Lord started to do and accomplish things in my life that I never thought possible. By becoming a Christian the Lord allowed me to see myself for who I really was, a child of God, and that I was chosen and set apart just for Him. Wow!

Friends, there is good news! I found out through the reading of God’s Word that He doesn’t look at us the way people do. He doesn’t scrutinize our personality or criticize the way we look. God looks at our heart—our inmost being—and loves us despite our faults. In the Bible (1 Samuel 16) we read how the prophet was looking for an individual who demonstrated the qualifications necessary to be the next king of Israel. While in the house of Jesse, Samuel asked to have his seven oldest sons brought before him. At first glance he knew that not one of them showed the sign of the chosen one. Samuel then asked Jesse if there were any more. With a hesitant reply Jesse stated that there was still one, the youngest, who had been out tending to the sheep. David, the next king of Israel, wasn’t even being considered for the job, yet when Samuel saw him, he knew he was the one.

You see, God wasn’t looking for the biggest or the strongest. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. People look at our outward appearance, but God looks at the inside of us—at who we really are. I began to realize that even though I may not have been the smartest kid in school, God loved me just as I was.

And do you know what? God loves you, too! He loves you and me so much that He not only wants us to know Him, love Him, and be with Him, but He also has removed the wall that kept us away from Him. Our sins—the bad things that we think and do—stand between us and God like a brick wall, but He sent His only Son Jesus to suffer and die for those sins in our place so that we can have our sins forgiven and live with Him forever.

The good news that I want to share with you is that just as God has saved me and given me a new life in Jesus Christ, He can save you and give you a new life, too! Come to God, believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again—trust what He has done for your salvation—and the Bible says that you will be saved from hell, made a brand new person on the inside, and given a home with God in heaven.

"The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart" (Psalm 34:18).

"The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37).

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

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