Road To Redemption
Road To Redemption
Micki Cowden's Transformational Journey from Tragedy to Triumph
Have you ever felt like your path to faith was filled with more twists and turns than a Hollywood script? Michelle "Micki" Cowden certainly has, and her story is nothing short of extraordinary. This week on Road to Redemption, we invite you to join us for an inspiring conversation as Micki takes us through her journey from a Southern Baptist upbringing to a career in criminal justice, and then to the bustling streets of Los Angeles in pursuit of acting and comedy. Along the way, she faced numerous personal struggles and painful detours, ultimately finding her way back to faith. Mickey opens up about her baptism in 2023 and the life-altering car accident, highlighting how these pivotal moments have shaped her spiritual journey.
As Micki recounts her harrowing accident on Hwy 98 in Santa Rosa Beach FL and the miraculous recovery that followed, you'll hear about the divine interventions and the incredible people who played key roles in her healing process. Facing severe injuries, including second-degree burns and nerve damage, Micki's story is a testament to the power of faith and resilience. She emphasizes the importance of trusting in God and maintaining faith over fear, even when life seems insurmountable. We conclude this episode with a heartfelt prayer for healing and hope, encouraging our listeners to connect with their faith and our supportive community on their own road to redemption. Don’t miss this powerful episode filled with inspiration, hope, and the transformative power of faith.
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Welcome to Road to Redemption, a show sharing powerful life testimonies, giving hope to those on their own road to redemption.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Road to Redemption. I'm John Martin, your host, and we have got such an exciting show. Today we're visiting with Mickey Cowden. How are you, Mickey?
Speaker 3:Doing great. How about you, John?
Speaker 2:Awesome. I was so excited to meet you when we met a few weeks ago. We were both volunteering for the VBS and I had no idea your story. When I heard it I was like wow, we have got to get you on our show and first, before we get into a little bit about most recently, your accident, but give us a little background on you.
Speaker 3:Okay, so a little bit of background on me is I'm originally from Houston, texas. I grew up kind of in the criminal justice fields kind of thing. I'm an original Charlie's Angel of sorts. I basically was a model actress and then I went into the criminal justice field and I worked in child abuse, homicide, uh, dwis, plaintiff's law. Um, I loved that field. That was really what I was all about. And then I decided to run away with the circus and go to LA and become an actress, stand up comedian, still continue some modeling, but that was not exactly for, uh, the Lord. Still continue some modeling, but that was not exactly for the Lord. So it's only recently that he has guided me to here to Florida, through a lot of painful detours, if you would say. My parents live here. So I came here and I ran across Destiny Church and I was baptized actually last September 24th of 2023. And I became a Destiny team member and on March 3rd I was on my way actually to come to church to volunteer for the cafe when my accident occurred. So yeah.
Speaker 2:So how was it that you came to know the Lord? Were you always a believer?
Speaker 3:I was always, you know, I was raised. My parents were very, you know, strict as far as that Christian upbringing, stuff like that. We didn't really celebrate, you know, christmas with Santa and things like that or Christmas tree. They were pretty Southern Baptist per se. So we had a pretty strict upbringing as far as that goes. But the more and more I kind of look back at that stuff, it was kind of cultish.
Speaker 3:So you just wake up one day and you're like, uh, why does my Christianity look a little different than everyone else's Christianity? And so I was really drawn to the non-denominational uh pull of that. You know, being able to, I don't know, wear pants and not to be a big deal, uh, to be able to be outspoken as a female and not be completely crushed, um, yeah, just just knowing that you can lift your hands in the middle of a service and just be like praising the Lord, like I just love that freedom, um, that you guys have and the non-national belief, and that was just really the joy of the whole thing. So you know, I was raised in that. So I came to the knowledge of the Lord, jesus Christ, when I was 13 years old and I asked my pastor to be saved and it was only because my parents had taken me to this private school. And at this private school, instead of giving me Tylenol or Advil, they laid hands on me to try to get the devil out of me and that was really freaky. So I asked my pastor. I said you know, I don't really believe in what they're preaching. I want to come to you know the knowledge of the gospel. And he preached a sermon on the crucifixion and at 13 years old I made a profession of faith and was baptized.
Speaker 3:Unfortunately, I was in a situation with one of the head song leaders. I was 16 years old, he was 27, and he made a pass at me at that age and I was freaked out because he was baptized the next day in front of the congregation. I was told to keep quiet and so my whole viewpoint of Christianity was pretty skewed at that point. You know what I mean and instead of clinging to God for the trauma and you know things like that or asking for help or you know reaching out, I think I went the opposite direction and I was frayed. And I think a lot of women do that, you know when they're in situations like that.
Speaker 3:So you know, it's funny how the Lord just brings you back, no matter what your path is. He was always there, you know, even in LA. Uh, he was protecting me against a lot of, you know, demonic things. I witnessed a lot of demonic spiritual things and, no matter what I was going through, he protected me through it and I think that all came to fruition. In September, I was involved with a really scary guy here in town and he protected me with a beautiful injunction. I went to court and I was in the shower, john and I was praying to God so hard and I said Lord, reveal your power, reveal your power, protect me. And he did good and something really happened.
Speaker 3:My pastor used to tell me he changes your want to. You don't want to sin anymore, you don't want to do all those things anymore. And, believe me, I've had my bouts, you know struggles with alcoholism, self-medicating, Lord knows what else. But God brought me through and he's continually refining me in the refiner's fire, so to speak. So that's my story. I'm just going on, just going forth.
Speaker 2:Wow. Well, I was thinking, as as, uh, donald Trump has been saying a lot lately you, you really shouldn't be here right now, should you?
Speaker 3:No, absolutely not that assassination attempt.
Speaker 2:You know he's like I shouldn't be here. That's kind of the same with you. Talk to us about this accident, tell us about what happened.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. March 3rd, it was about 9 am. I was traveling to church that day to volunteer in the Destiny Cafe. I was leaving my apartment at 9 am and I was going on Bloody 98, as they call it heading towards church and I was stopped at a red light in front of the Publix on in front of the Santa Rosa Beach location. And I remember that morning I remember the detail of it I put on a jacket. It was a, it's like a I can't remember what it's called. It's called one of those. It's one of those heavy jackets, but I wore it because the top I was wearing was like a little bit see-through and I didn't want to be. You know, I wanted to cover, cover up, and so I North Face jacket. Everything I did that day, from the perfume I wore was called sheep's clothing to being in the right lane.
Speaker 3:Usually I was in a hurry. I was driving my beautiful 2001 Trans Am. I had just gotten out of the shop. It's been in my family since I was a senior year of high school. I've been pining after this car. My dad finally gave me the pink for it. We dropped 33.5 into it and all those motorheads out there. You know exactly what I'm talking about. This is a WS6 package. This is the Ram Air Trans Am, and I'd worked five years on this car and it was finally complete. I was getting ready for church, I was putting on, you know, extra clothing. That day I was really focused on what I was about to do for the Lord. That day, I was driving slow in the right lane, I was stopped at the light, and then I don't remember a thing.
Speaker 2:Wow, what happened.
Speaker 3:I to my memory only thing I remember is waking up in the back of the ambulance and seeing the two paramedics on either side of me and I screamed what is that? And it was my car in flames. And everybody that sees the video, john, they go. That fire is like other worldly. They literally don't. They've never seen a fire like it. Yeah, I had a full day of gas in it. You know, I just filled her up. Um, her name is blue Phoenix.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, I've seen the video.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so the video and I can just walk you through it. Um, it's just amazing what God has done with that video, because video went viral before I was even at the ER. The woman that took it was just a bystander. We had video footage on 38 Road Rage, which is a Facebook group that kind of like you know tells on people here in town. It's kind of a known thing, not really the greatest site in the world, but we had pictures from every angle, from a Publix employee filming it to the lady filming it running up to you. Know all these pictures at 9 am. How many times have you been in a wreck? And nobody has pictures or photos. God wanted this to be documented. He wanted me to do this. So the lady in the video is running up and she's literally praying. In the video she's going Jesus Christ, jesus, christ Jesus. She is literally praying for a complete stranger.
Speaker 3:I'm burning alive in the car because the kid had hit me in the right lane so hard it catapulted my car 50 feet like a spinning, exploding top and our cars had landed to a head-on position. And because it was such a hard hit and so his front end's completely destroyed, all his airbags are deployed. It's a brand new 2024 honda accord. He didn't even break. There's no tire tread. He's a foot and a half from my driver's seat and then, when she's running up praying over the car, I'm burning alive in the car. And so all you see is this first kid at the car trying to punch the window, trying to get me out. Punch the window, trying to get me out, and we did verify that it was the driver of the other car. Now think about that for a second. This kid who hit me jumps out of his vehicle to come and save me. Jesus spared him and he punched out of the airbags to come and get me. And he's apparently a baseball player and he's in the best shape of his life.
Speaker 3:And then you watch the video and there's another kid that comes running out of freaking nowhere and he's a father. He's about to be a dad. His wife's pregnant with her very first child, baby girl. He doesn't even hesitate. He's an Instacart driver of Republics. So you have these two 17 and 20 year old men trying to break me out of my car as I'm burning alive and this woman's filming it, praying over the situation. Then, all of a sudden, you see the Instacart driver, the one that's running up. He stops for a second and he looks over into the ditch and there's a rock there. Anybody that's been to 30A knows we don't have rocks here. We're a beach town. Maybe something fell off the truck, but what are the odds that a rock would be there at that exact moment, at that exact time to be used? And what does it say in the Bible that Jesus Christ is? He's the rock.
Speaker 2:Amen.
Speaker 3:And so he picks up the rock, but he can't carry it by himself. So the other kid who hit me comes over and they grab it together and they start carrying it together. Well, what's it say in the Bible? Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them, they carry it together, they slam it against the door, the glass breaks and I'm set free. That, my friends, is a picture and type of salvation, because there is nothing that I could have done to get myself free. That's the miracle of the whole thing.
Speaker 2:And you were kind of catapulted out of the vehicle when they did that and you ended up out on the road right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's the thing that people don't catch about the video. That last second is this supernatural thing. You know a lot of people say, oh, it's your adrenaline kicking in, oh, it's the flight or fight mode. I've heard many people look at that and you know you're going to have people to have people to say, oh, that's just your intuition kicking in. Fighters when they get hit, they get knocked out into that position, your eyes wide open. You see them just kind of parade out. It doesn't make any sense, john.
Speaker 3:If you zoom in on that last frame, as soon as that rock hits, I am literally thrown out of the driver's seat. That is like modern day Shadrach Meshach and Abednego Daniel three right before your eyes. Me being thrown out because there's no physical possibility. I'm like six foot, I'm five, 11. So how did I get my long legs out from underneath that? You know, steering wheel and everything, cause transams are like Corvettes. You're on the ground and then then get my seat belts off and do all that I mean because you see me being thrown out like you don't even see my hands. I was like hurt. There's a head first to the pavement and all these kids, all these good Samaritans had to do was just drag me on 98 to safety, because you see my lifeless body laying there, not moving. So how is that possible? And it's like God covered that whole thing up because my car was exploding when he catapulted me out. What?
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:Like how awesome is our God. Amen To where he did that, and so, yeah, you got to think about it for a second.
Speaker 2:Wow, so what happened? You seem perfectly fine. Now I mean, what happened next?
Speaker 3:It's been a it's been a long healing journey. In the internal I did have second degree burns, we could go through a laundry list of things, but it was really kind of awful, for the first 25 days was probably the worst time I had. I could not speak after the accident. I could hardly see after the accident. I could hardly walk after the accident. My shoulder was in a sling. They thought it was like a rotator cup. It wasn't. I couldn't go to the bathroom on my own as a female because my hands were all fried. I lost some of my hair. I had to grow back, but I mean, you guys are looking at me right now and there's no physical issues at all. But it's all internal and so the Lord is slowly healing me.
Speaker 3:My neck is supposed to be, you know, curved one way. It's the opposite. Um, I've got hematomas in my head and in my back and um yesterday I was like driving back from Texas and I could just feel my body just kind of like short circuiting, kind of like electrodes. So I've got some major nerve damage and things like that. Um, after the accident I would um sit up or lay down or whatever and I would literally grab my head for like 30 to 60 seconds because it felt like my brain was remembering the accident. So I would literally have these brain freezes where it felt like somebody was just grabbing my head and squeezing as hard as they could and so I would literally freeze. So it. You know it's been painful, but the crazy thing about that is God keeps revealing his power.
Speaker 3:So I had met a lady, I guess previously, a month before, at this entrepreneur camp, and, uh, turns out she's the. She was the key to my healing. She came all the way from Milton Florida to help me with, you know, opening up the pathways in my neck, because it's a full body torso reaction. And she opened up the pathways. God gave her the ability to just move a couple things here and there. And that happened on Good Friday, 25 days, you know, western medicine was popping me full of pills and saying good luck to you, honey. And she came over and worked on me and it was the most awful like three, four hours of pain I've ever had in my entire life. But I was detoxing up all that smoke, all that nasty that was in me and I was going hot and cold and throwing up. It was crazy, but the next day I could see clear, I could speak, because she put my jaw back in place and I had my balance back.
Speaker 2:Wow, what a miracle, true miracle.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Well, what do you have to say for our listeners out there that are on their various journeys of life? We're all struggling with things you know people, drugs, I mean people, accidents, all these things. But from this experience you've been through what advice, what can you say?
Speaker 3:Anyone, it's really simple Trust Him. They always say. You know, trust the Lord with all your heart, lean on your own understanding, or read your Bible or something. Do it, you know. You know, I remember like I have a series of doubts with drugs, alcohol and and not living according to what God wants me to do, and I remember going through those things and him bringing me out and I just remember singing hymns, like singing hymns. If I couldn't pray, I would at least sing a hymn to him.
Speaker 3:Just, it doesn't matter, you don't have to be perfect, just having a relationship with him, talking to him, trusting him and not believing the lies that the devil wants you to believe, because he's going to give you anything and everything you want. It's not a feeling, it's not emotion, it's an actual walk, it's an actual relationship. You have to have that faith. You know, I was wearing this ring when I got in the accident. It's faith over fear ring. And I remember being in the ER and they said we're going to have to cut your ring off because my hands were so swollen and the guy looks at me and he's going to cut it off and I just I started crying Don't cut my ring off, it's just a ring, but I got another one.
Speaker 3:Amen, but have that faith over fear and really, no matter where you are in your life, know that you can always reach out and talk to your God are in your life, know that you can always reach out and talk, to talk to your god.
Speaker 2:Well, folks were visiting with mickey cowden, who had a just miraculous recovery from an injury. You'll we'll put some pictures up on the website and the video. Um, when you see it you'll be like there's, there's no way someone lived through that. And she's here now. She looks great. She's still on her healing journey. Mickey, what's next for you? What are you passionate about? Moving forward?
Speaker 3:Next steps. Well, after VBS, I was actually approached by another lady to be a small groups leader. So after I was baptized in September, I just you know you get so excited when you know the Lord and you're like, how can I help? You know, where can I, where can the Lord use me? And I think that's exactly where I'm at. I've been running restaurants for about 26 years. My whole life's been in restaurants and I just want to live for God. So it's like, whatever, whatever the church can do. Wherever I can be used for that, I want to do missions.
Speaker 3:Everybody's been on my rear end about, uh, writing a book about my life. A lot of people are very interested in my LA days. Uh, especially since that's such a hot topic nowadays, is you know what? What did you experience then? And you know, I did meet Hugh Hefner. I did, you know, rub elbows with Harvey Weinstein. I did go to parties where there was, you know, pentagrams in the middle of the floor. You know I've seen a lot of that stuff, but I was spared.
Speaker 3:I mean, I had witches come up to me and grab my hands and go join our coven, and I didn't know what a coven was. I didn't know what witches were, you know. It's really about you know, being able to help people understand where they are in this world and what we are battling against. And I think that the churches that I grew up with they didn't really hit on these points. They didn't really protect kids, you know, by preparing them for you know what's out there. And so if there's anything that I can do to work with women who have been dealing with trauma, you know, and help heal, and that's kind of where my heart is really at is just working with kids.
Speaker 3:And I love widows. Widows are my passion. I worked for a church where I was a part of a group called Love and Oven and they lost their husband. We'd go over, I'd cook a home cooked meal for them and I would share the gospel with them and pray with them and cry with them. You know, that's where I think I can be used the most is just doing those simple things. And I would love to do missions.
Speaker 3:I don't know what the Lord has got in store for me, but I'm open to anything and everything, because I am tired of wasting my time doing what I want to do. I want to do what's glorifying to him and so I'm asking sorry, I'm cracking up, I'm crying about this. That's just where my heart is now. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time, but I think that's what really refines you in this moment is knowing that he's going to bring you out, he's going to use you in all of these trials and all of this mess. He's got that message that's going to be sent to that one person that is struggling for that moment and you can reach out and touch them. You can share his message of salvation. You can share his message of you're not alone. You know he suffered, he had a Gethsemane, he had a Judas, he had a desert.
Speaker 2:Amen. Well, folks, we're visiting with Mickey Cowden sharing about her experience of how she's come to know the Lord Anybody that's out there that's listening. We want you to know that the Lord is calling out to you, no matter what you're going through right now, and we want to just encourage you to do three things. The first is to open the word of God, because he will start speaking to you right now through his word, through his Bible. So if you have a Bible, a handwritten Bible paperback, whatever, pick it up now and just start reading the Bible. If you don't just get your phone out and open any Bible app, destiny Worship Center has an app called Disciple Me. Open that or the YouVersion. Start reading the Bible.
Speaker 2:And next, we want to encourage you to go to a Christ-centered church and give it one year of your life. Just go. We promise it will just transform your life. And the last thing is to get into a small group, a small group that you can do life with, that you can be vulnerable with. That will change your life. It's just life-changing. So we really want to encourage you to do these things, mickey, is there anything else You've shared so much?
Speaker 2:I mean, it's just been I don't know how there could be, but let's just say a prayer. I want to pray for you before we go.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Heavenly Father, lord, thank you so much for Mickey coming on and being so transparent about her road to redemption. Lord, we just pray and come into agreement right now that her whole body be healed in the name of Jesus, every bit of these things that she's dealing with still internally and in her neck and other places. That she be healed and see complete healing from these injuries. And we just thank you, lord, for using her to be a great vessel, a great witness, a great ministry that she has ahead of her and sharing her testimony. In Jesus' name, we pray, amen.
Speaker 3:Amen, and for all the women and anyone listening that just has a open heart. I'm going to pray for you. Dear Lord, thank you so much for this day, for this opportunity for your Holy Spirit to work and move in everyone's lives. We didn't deserve any of it, but you came down and you gave us a gift, you gave us a message, you gave us everything so that we could be saved and with you forever.
Speaker 3:I pray that you just help that one person who feels like they don't have a voice, that one person who feels like the trauma is just too deep, the one person who feels like they don't have a voice, that one person who feels like the trauma is just too deep, the one person who feels like they're trapped inside of a relationship they just can't get out of. Lord, there's freedom in you, lord. There's freedom at the cross. Lord, I just pray that you heal the wounds, you stop all of the horrible things that happens in our lives and make us, make us just have that armor that you promised. Help us depend on the promises that you give because, honestly, that's the only way out is just to read the word and depend on the promises, because you are the ultimate healer, protector and savior, no matter what you're going through, ladies, gentlemen, everyone he's there. Trust him, have faith, you are gonna make it through. In your precious holy name, I pray.
Speaker 2:Amen, amen. Thank you, mickey, it was great.
Speaker 3:My pleasure.
Speaker 1:You've been listening to Road to Redemption, sharing powerful life testimonies, giving hope to those on their own road to redemption. If you have any comments or questions, we would love to connect with you. You can reach out to us at destinyradiolive. Thank you for listening and we'll see you next week on Road to Redemption.