Cut the Lifeboats: Ralph's Story

Have you ever had a moment where life completely blindsides you, and your "Plan A" is suddenly off the table?

That’s exactly where our good friend Ralph Garcia found himself in 2020. After 17 years of living his dream career in Southern California law enforcement, an unexpected, ongoing internal nerve injury ended his time on the force out of left field. With the world shutting down due to COVID-19 and a painful workers' comp journey ahead of him, Ralph and his wife Lucy packed up the family for a camping trip to get some fresh air.

On the drive back down the mountain through the Central Valley, something shifted. A random pull-up of a real estate app led them to an old 1900s hay barn in a little town they had never even heard of: Exeter, California. Standing in that barn, without knowing a single soul in the area, they felt an overwhelming sense of peace and a whisper from God that this place was their future.

In this episode, Ralph shares the wild, "God-math" journey of uprooting his family with zero employment lined up, navigating a challenging wilderness season, and watching God orchestrate every single detail. From a random Instagram search for a dessert food truck that led them to their new church community, to a jaw-dropping moment where a prophetic word given by a pastor 20 years prior came full circle—Ralph’s story is a beautiful reminder of what happens when we finally cut the ropes to our backup plans and trust God to take the wheel.

You’re going to love this conversation. It’s funny, it’s raw, and it might just inspire you to take that crazy leap of faith you've been holding back on.

Key Themes Explored:

• Surrendering Control: Learning to trust God when your identity and career are suddenly stripped away.
• The Wilderness Season: Navigating the scary moments when the worldly math doesn't add up, but "God-math" takes over.
• Full-Circle Faithfulness: How a prophetic word from two decades ago came alive in a local Valley living room.
• Community Built by God: Standing in an empty barn praying for a future, and watching God turn it into a thriving spiritual home.

Transcript

Forrest 0:00

All right, we're back. Another episode of the 100 Stories of Hope podcast. And today we are with Ralph Garcia, good friend of mine. We've been at church relatively recently. How long? Yeah. How long has that been? A couple years. Yeah. So what what year did you start going to radio? So 2021. Okay. Yep. So yeah, I think I'll let you speak to your backstory because I think it's a pretty good part of the story you're about to tell. Sure. As I understand.

Ralph 0:29

So good. Absolutely. Yeah. So we'll we'll jump into it. Um, so born and raised in Southern California, and uh not a huge um association with the Central Valley uh until later in my life uh met my wonderful wife uh Lucy, and uh she is uh from a little further up here from where we're uh recording this uh in the central valley. So we would kind of pass through this general area, but not not really a whole lot of association with it. So um yeah, after high school, I I joined the military and uh joined the army, uh, had an opportunity to serve there, and then afterwards um joined the police department in Southern California, pretty large agency in Los Angeles County, and uh did that for about 17 years and had a great career, got to do some really cool stuff, and uh felt like I was um living the dream. And in between that time, Lucy and I had always been involved with our home church. We served in a couple different capacities, uh primarily with youth ministry. Uh we served as volunteer youth pastors for a couple years and uh really enjoyed just sewing into the next gen uh type ministries. Uh and right before I was leaving to the police academy, uh my pastor and I had lunch. And uh I'll never forget we we sat down, he said, Ralph, you know, I think you're gonna be a great cop, but I also think at some point that God's gonna call you out of that career uh and into the kingdom. And I just want you to to remember one thing that when he does that, that you would not be so attached to life as a cop that you'd be willing to put that down. And uh I thought, well, that's a real spiritual thing for a pastor to say, you know, I didn't really put a lot of weight to it and uh took off in my career and and 17 years later, uh ended up getting injured on the job and uh went and saw saw a doctor, and he basically said, Hey, I think your uh career as a cop is over.

Forrest 2:24

What kind of injury was this?

Ralph 2:26

So uh it was an ongoing injury, uh internal uh nerve damage in my right ear primarily. It was in both ears, but my right ear really took the brunt of it. Um and after I would leave, like a call, say like a residential alarm where an alarm's going off, and we're in there for about 10 minutes, you know, clearing room to room, make sure there's no bad guys in there, and it'd get back in the car. And when someone would talk to me, it almost sounded like they're speaking through a cone in my ear. Uh, and I started having some uh vertigo. Yeah. And uh so finally the doctor was just like, hey, it's just not safe for you to be driving a cop car. And with this going on, and uh so the decision was made to uh to hang it up, and um it felt like it came out of out of left field. Um I just got promoted and was really thinking about the next half of my career. And so to to put a uh an exclamation mark on it, it was COVID had just hit. So we're we're right in the beginning of 2020 here, and so um I was waiting for an appointment to go see some more specialists. If anyone's ever been through like a workers' comp deal, you know how painful and long that is. And so we thought, you know, let's go get some fresh air, packed up the family, and we headed up to the Sequoyas uh for a little camping trip. And uh on our way back down the mountain, uh, we're kind of driving through like Lemon Cove area, if you're familiar with that, and just felt this sense of like, I don't know, peace, and like maybe there was something here for us, which is really odd because we've never really been through that area. And I pulled up Zillow on my phone, and uh it knows where you're at, so it pulls up like listings near you. And uh this listing popped up in Exeter, and it looks like a ranch, it's got some barns on it, and I told my wife, I was like, This looks like a chip and Joanna Gaines type uh vibe here. Kind of cool coming from the city. I always had just an affinity for country living. Lucy grew up on like a 10-acre ranch and we'd visit her family. I was like, I love this space. Where are they from? Uh Chalchilla.

Forrest 4:20

Okay, yeah. And so you guys have no connection to this exact area, but yeah, some some valley.

Ralph 4:25

Some valley, yeah. So like I said, we'd we'd pass through. Um and so I called the realtor and I said, Hey, uh, we're on our way home. I don't know if this would fit in your schedule. Could we take a look? And she's like, Yeah, it's COVID. I'm not doing really anything. I'll meet you there in five minutes. And so we met and uh we couldn't go in the house right away. She had to get some paperwork. Like I said, it was kind of a weird time. But she said, You guys can walk the property in the meantime, and so we did, and we got to this uh huge hay barn that was built in the early 1900s on the south end of the property, and and I stood in that barn and I just got this overwhelming sense that uh this property uh had a place in our future, which is really strange. And uh I also got just like the sense of community there, which was another strange sense because we didn't know a single soul. Actually, I had to check my phone again to see like what city we were in. And so it's like Exeter, okay. I've never heard of Exeter. Uh and so I asked my wife, I said, What what are you feeling? And she said, I think we're supposed to buy this place. Wow. Which really uh was was kind of cool but really frightening, because I kind of understood what that would mean. And so uh I asked the realtor, you know, hey, we're gonna go home and think about it and pray about it. And she said, I wouldn't actually mind praying with you right now. And so the three of us huddled in that old barn and we just prayed and asked God that he would show us his will, which is really, really cool. Um, that we met a realtor with faith in that moment. And so we went home and uh I thought I was gonna give a call to the realtor who sold us our place. And uh I kicked it down the road a couple days, and I'm I'm in my car, and and lo and behold, his name shows up on my caller ID. He's calling me. Hadn't spoken to this guy in about five years. And uh I answered, I said, Eddie, it's really strange you're calling me. I was wanted to give you a call. And he says, Really, for what? And I said, uh told him what I just shared with you. And he said, Well, I was just going down my list of people I'd sold houses to and I got to you and Lucy, thought I'd call and check in. I'm glad I did. And so one of the weird kind of byproducts of COVID at that time were house prices were jumping up really high, especially like in the bigger cities.

Forrest 6:29

Yeah, absolutely.

Ralph 6:30

And so he was like, Hey, um, I think I can get this for your house. And I said, Well, if someone would be willing to give me that and shake on it, I'll take it. And so uh he said, Why don't you guys leave for a couple days, head up to Chalchilla, and then at the end of the week, I'll give you a call, see how things are going. So uh by that evening or the next morning, we got a call from him and said, We got several offers on the table already, all over asking prices.

Forrest 6:54

Like you list it and you get offers like five seconds later.

Ralph 6:57

Yeah, I had to apologize to some of my neighbors because there was a line of cars, which is really wild. And um, so we we we we thought, hey, you know what? Uh we prayed for open doors, it seems like one here, and so uh yeah, long story short, we we pulled the trigger on it and we uprooted our lives, sold our home. One of the biggest things was leaving our faith community. Like I said, we'd grown up by that time, probably 18 years in that church. Uh, and that was really hard, but we we really uh through prayer and through wise counsel just uh just believed the promise that God would also provide another faith community here. And so we came across Radiant Church uh through Instagram, um, looking for a food truck, actually, a yummy food truck. Uh one of my wife's gifts is finding really yummy places to find dessert. And so this truck had done um an event with uh Radiant Tilary actually uh a couple months prior to the shutdown. And so we thought, hey, we'll give them a call. Called and they said, hey, we're not meeting in the building, but we're meeting by house church, and there's one in Exeter. And so they gave us the address, and uh, we packed up our family one Sunday, rolled into the strangers' uh house backyard, and uh immediately just felt the presence of God uh there in that backyard, and we're met with open arms, and uh Radiant B quickly became our our faith community. And so uh yeah, through that time uh I got word back that uh the separation was gonna be definite with with the police department, and uh that um was a huge question mark of like what do I do next? Like I have skills uh as a police officer, and where's that land for me here?

Forrest 8:39

And so um So you wait you you made the move here without any employment situation at that point. Correct. Wow, yeah. That's that's a whole different thing.

Ralph 8:49

That's a whole different thing. And so um, yeah, through that we we felt um just an invitation to to press in uh to what God was doing here, and so we kind of jumped back into youth ministry um and uh started connecting um uh with what was happening in in Radiant with the next generation. And uh it was super cool just to kind of uh get plugged back into that uh lane. And in the meantime, um I also got cleared to do uh police work as long as it was uh no field work involved, so investigations. And so a spot came open with the Tulare County DA's office and uh applied there and they said, Hey, uh, you'll be sitting behind a cubicle, it's gonna be kind of boring, but it'll be quiet. And uh doctor will sign off on that. We'd love to have you. He did. And so uh I started there, and um uh I went to uh to a conference with uh Radiant uh out in St. Louis, and it was at that conference. Uh which year was that? This was uh 24. So I was there then too. You were there, actually. That's right. Yeah, you were there. Uh we went there together. Yep, that's right. Yeah. Confluence out in St. Louis. It was the burgers. That's right.

Forrest 10:05

Remember that burger place? Yep. I'm gonna show you this photo.

Ralph 10:08

Yeah, yes, that's the smoked uh days. Yeah, it was awesome. All right, now we're back. Yeah, so so we're there at that conference, and uh the last session was just uh really time to press into prayer. And uh I just felt like God was um just preparing my heart and posturing my heart for something new uh that he was gonna call me into. And it was just like this will you trust me in this next uh in this next chapter? And so I just, yeah, Lord, you know, I trust you, I believe you for what you have next. And um uh get back, and uh shortly after, um Travis Aikland, who leads uh Radiant Visalia, uh called my myself and my wife in his office. And the first thing I thought was like, what did I do? Like I got called the Prince Principals like man, what what's going on here, you know? Uh so we we walk in and uh he's there along with uh Jared Turner from Radiant Telerary. I really thought, man, what did I do? And uh they just said, Hey, um, would you guys pray uh about an opportunity to uh step into a ministry role in Xert, actually to lead lead a church plant there? And uh man, you know what's what's awesome is my mind went right back to lunch with my pastor, you know, almost 20 years, two decades earlier, and just his his sense to share with me that God would call me out of law enforcement and into kingdom work and and to be able to let go one and pick up the other just came flooding back in my mind and really just moved me to tears. And um I told Travis there's there's a heart, yes, that has leapt inside of me, but we will pray and we will we'll think about this. Um and so yeah, through more prayer and wise counsel, uh Lucy and I said yes that we would we would go to Exeter and again leaving a faith community that we built in Visalia. Um uh going uh moving with our family to a new we we lived in Exeter, uh so we had a lot of roots in Exeter and community in Exeter, but we were going to church in Visalia, and so it felt like um a coming home of sorts, and so yeah, we stepped into that role uh July of 25. And um just to think, you know, sitting in that uh conference room at that at that conference and and hearing God say, Hey, uh there's something new on the horizon, and then shortly after getting this word to go to Exeter, uh and and now sitting here almost coming up on a year since that move and and watching God um uh uh move so kindly, so gently, and so graciously uh has just increased my faith in ways that I never could have perceived uh a couple years ago. And so going from police officer to pastor uh has really been a big part of my God story and and trusting him for that.

Forrest 13:11

That's the whole the trajectory of that, the speed of that is like it's incredible. You went so you got injured and had the whole thing happened and that was 2020?

Ralph 13:21

2020.

Forrest 13:22

2021, you have this like random but not random run in with uh with the house. Is that the year it was? And then you were what a month later or two living in in Exeter? Yeah, yeah. And then four years on from that, you're now pastor of your church in Exeter.

Ralph 13:40

In Exeter, yeah, yeah, and even going back to that sense of community that I got when I was standing in the barn when we first were looking at it that day, and then um, you know, not too long ago, we had an event actually right in front of that barn, and you know, and uh, you know, 150 people are gathered there, and just to think, like, wow God, there's community here, uh, and you did it. And uh, I feel like I just I've had a front row seat to what it looks like to um believe God that he goes ahead.

Forrest 14:13

And yeah, that's the beauty of these these God stories we've been telling that I really love is that so frequently, like you hear your story, you had nothing to do with that. Nothing this story happened to you. Yes, yes, it happened.

Ralph 14:26

That's a great way to put it.

Forrest 14:27

And um, I love that because there's just a lot of things you're like literally as you go like you you said yes. I'm obviously gonna give you credit for sure pulling the trigger on a bunch of stuff that's pretty crazy. Sure. Uh but still, as you look through that, and like God just like picks you up by your collar and set you somewhere else. And it's like I got different work for you to do now. Yeah. You're like, okay, well, let's go.

Ralph 14:51

Yeah.

Forrest 14:52

I I love that. Yeah.

Ralph 14:53

Yeah. Yeah. Oftentimes even with with the church, you know, God has just been moving uh very powerfully and uh in Exeter and just to to see what he's doing there. And people ask me, you know, how's it going with the church? You know, I you know, you guys are seeing growth and all these things, like, well, like what's going on, and what what are you doing? And I say, uh actually it feels like I'm doing nothing. I'm showing up and I just keep saying yes and holding space for God to move. And and and I love that because it it doesn't feel heavy. Uh don't give me wrong. I mean, there's you know, there's investment of time and space and hard energy and all those things, but the heavy stuff uh God is lifting, and that makes it sweet.

Forrest 15:34

I was just saying yesterday, I was talking to somebody, and it's like, if I really truly, like in the core of me, believed and I I do believe that God moves that way, and I've heard story after story about it. We still have that little bit of doubt, and you still want to grab the wheel of your own life, you know. And uh it's like if I really truly fully believe that, and was can I would the contentment I would get from that would be incredible. And like I I just wish I could get all the way across that finish line. Cause yeah, I'm always a little bit like I I know God's, I trust, I know he's in control. But then, yeah, but I'm gonna maybe I should just be double sure hedge my balls. Totally hedge. Absolutely. Just in case it doesn't work out, you know.

Ralph 16:18

100%. Yeah. I don't I don't want to get too preachy, but it reminds me of that uh the passage in uh in Acts when uh Paul's on the boat and uh they they're getting uh tossed and battered by the ocean, and those guys go over to the the the lifeboats and they're getting ready to like jump in it and bail out, and he's like, Hey, if you bail out of this thing, like it's not gonna work, and they had to like cut the lifeboat like the plan B, right? And it was like cutting that rope off to go, all right, like you said, there there's no backup plan here. Like, I'm all in, like the lifeboat's flight floating away, and so yeah, I I think there's something in that.

Forrest 16:55

Yeah, certainly. And that's I love those stories too where you man, who is it talking to? Doesn't matter. Uh just talking to somebody else, and it's like what you did really on paper, you look at somebody being like, You're out of your mind. Like, why did you decide to do that? You're crazy. I'm sure people who in your world were like, You're gonna do what? Sure. Then you look at it now and you're like, that's amazing.

Ralph 17:20

Yeah.

Forrest 17:21

Absolutely. But doesn't it just it literally doesn't make any worldly sense, some of the choices that you made. Yeah, yeah.

Ralph 17:27

And obviously this is a bit of the reader's digest version, but there's a definite wilderness season wrapped up in that where, yeah, you're trusting God for daily bread, you know. And it's like, man, the math isn't mathing, but there's a God math uh happening because uh things don't make sense, but God really saw us through that season of transition, which was really tough at moments, and you sometimes second guess like, did I hear you, God? Are you sure? Uh but yeah, I think that's it's part of the journey.

Forrest 17:58

Yeah, I yeah, those are those are good moments. You take that second to stop, turn around, and be like, man, like yeah, look how far we've come, look what he's done. Yeah, and uh, because yeah, it's when you're in it, when you're in that wilderness season and your money's running out and you're I I'm out of ideas, I'm not smart enough to fix this. Yeah, it's hard. Yeah, that's a that's a weird place to be. Yeah. Especially if you've done something that like I did this to myself. Yeah, totally, totally. We decided to move to this crazy place in the middle of nowhere. That's right. Yep. Yep. Sorry, Exeter is not crazy. It's a wonderful place.

Ralph 18:32

Yeah, we do. Yeah, we uh we we hadn't even gone downtown when we uh put the opera on the house. You didn't even see the town? Nope. And uh Lucy was like, hey, we should actually go like check out the downtown, you know? Is there a is there a Costco nearby, like a Target? And uh so we when we did go downtown, we were so pleasantly supplied, surprised. If anyone knows downtown Xeter, just so quaint and so sweet, and we thought, man, we scored. Like, this is awesome. Uh yeah, so well, thanks, man.

Forrest 19:03

This has been fun.

Ralph 19:03

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Forrest 19:05

To share this story with everybody.

Ralph 19:07

Yeah, I appreciate you uh inviting me on, and uh I I love I love the um the heart behind what you guys are doing. Testimonies are so powerful, and I say that as a preacher, I know hardly anyone will remember my sermons, but the times that guys come up and share their testimony, they'll remember that. So I appreciate it.

Forrest 19:25

Yeah, that's the classic. They'll they'll forget your sermon, but they'll remember your stories. That's right. That's right. I appreciate it, brother. Cool. See you anytime. Thanks for joining us. Follow the journey. Find us at My Spirit Radio on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for more stories of hope. Do you have a God story? We would love to hear it. Head to spirit889.com slash hope and share it with us. Links are in the show notes. Alright. I'll see you next time.