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I have always thought that the fellow who passionately caresses those pillows on television was a little weird. Maybe you think like I do, but Mike Lindell, that’s his name, seems to be having too good a relationship with a pillow.

My mother asked me recently, “What kind of deal does that man have with Fox News? If there is a spare moment for advertising on that channel, Mr. MyPillow is going to fill it!”

You may be surprised, but Mr. MyPillow and Fox News do have a special relationship and it came about when Mike Lindell was in a deer stand in Minnesota. His new company, MyPillow, was in trouble and about to go under. They had no money that was not owed to somebody else, but Lindell had a $2 million dollar vision and, instead of paying off the debt, he spent all the money on advertising minutes with Fox News.

It was just a gamble, but Mike Lindell’s life was one gamble, one pothole in the road, after another. If I said that he is fortunate to be alive today that would be an understatement. His has had more than the nine lives of a cat, but his story is one of the greatest testaments I know to the resilience of the human spirit and the grace and patience of Almighty God.

A good friend of mine loaned me the book that tells the story of Mr. MyPillow, Mike Lindell. His gambling addiction cost him more money than most of us will ever see. Alcoholism was his teddy bear for decades, but his addiction to cocaine and crack led him to depths of danger and desperation.

The confident and passionate man we see on television, one of the most recognizable men on the planet, began his life in Minnesota. His book is titled What are the Odds? He has quit gambling, but he says that the odds of him getting to where he is today are between a billion to one and impossible. I remind you of a great Bible verse, “With God all things are possible.”

Lindell is 59 years old now and worth $300 million dollars, but up until about six years ago, his life was the biggest mess of any life you would know. Even as he received the idea for MyPillow, he was addicted to crack cocaine, one of the most addictive drugs ever. I don’t know that from experience, but Mike Lindell does.

There was one thing that Lindell always had and that was passion. It shows as he talks about his creation, the most wonderful pillow that will change your life. His passions, however, got the best of him as he gambled, owned a couple of bars, and soothed his nerves by doing drugs. We can see his passion, but his insecurities always got the best of him.

It’s amazing to think of this man as insecure, but when he was asked to do his first television commercial, he was so afraid, he could hardly talk.

All that changed as God took control of his life, but even that didn’t happen immediately. Mike Lindell was like so many of us. He liked to be in control. He explained it like this. He didn’t mind being in the car with God, but only if he could steer the wheel.

God let him steer the wheel for a long time and Mike Lindell went down many a wrong road. Thankfully, God stayed in the car with him until Mike’s car ran into a ditch that was too deep to get out. Then Mike Lindell turned the driving over to God. Good for him!