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There are some people you never forget. For me, one of them was my cousin Marty
When I was in junior high school, I spent a lot of time at my cousin Marty’s house. He was several years older than me, and I always looked up to him. I loved spending time with him. One of my favorite memories is sitting together in his room, using his HAM radio to call out to anyone who might be listening and willing to answer. It was exciting never knowing who might respond or where they might be calling from.
Breaker, Breaker, good buddy … are you out there?
Unfortunately, I don’t think that all were good buddies.
As I entered high school, I saw Marty less and less. I heard he had gotten into some type of trouble and had been thrown from a moving vehicle onto the highway. He suffered multiple injuries.
The accident might have been a wake-up call for some, but for Marty, sadly, it wasn’t. I still don’t know what kind of trouble would have had him thrown from a moving vehicle, nor the severity of his injuries; all I know is that the next time I saw Marty was years later, and he was just outside of the Port Authority bus terminal. Marty looked frail and was begging on the sidewalk. We spoke briefly. He asked me for a little money and then moved on. My heart broke seeing him that way.
The second time I ran into Marty was somewhere along Broadway, in the heart of New York’s Theater District. We were crossing an intersection from opposite directions when our eyes met.
For just a moment, we recognized each other. But this time, there were no words. Marty quickly turned away, as if ashamed.
That was the last time I ever saw him.
Later I learned that Marty repeatedly entered rehab, only to return to his addiction.
Marty’s addiction was visible.
Ours may not be.
Pride, fear, anger, unbelief, bitterness—we all have places where we try to live life apart from God. Like David, I’ve learned how easy it is to think I can handle life on my own… until I discover I can’t.
I often wonder what might have happened if Marty had finally surrendered his life completely to Christ.
Only God knows.
But one thing I do know is this:
God is still in the business of picking people up.
He picked up David, and he picked me up.
And He never stopped reaching out to either of us.
And He longs to lift up all who humble themselves before Him.
Sometimes the people who need to be picked up the most are the ones who find it hardest to reach out.
I wish Marty had known that.
If this story resonated with you, I invite you to listen to the song it inspired.
Story by Bill Hutzel, Copyright 2026
Click on the Youtube link below to listen to Pick Me Up
Written by Bill Hutzel & John D’Elia