Hello, I’m “NORM”
of
The Live Riders Motorcycle Ministry.
The Genesis of me:
In the beginning of my life, born 9-15-56 in Ota Japan, it was the first day of my life to a world that was doomed but not known by me. Being half Japanese and half American I never knew what my path in life would be, I looked more white than Japanese, probably 90 percent white would be more correct. I was a Jewish, Japanese American. We as a family went from Japan to New York, where my fathers roots were, my mother was 100 percent Japanese and America was as new to her as it was to me. We slowly migrated to California in the year of 1960. Being a Jew I was Bar Mitzvah when I was 13, after that I pretty much let go of my Religion, being a teenager there were other things in my life that seemed to be of more importance.
During my sixth year in school I became involved with gangs, living in Ventura and living in severe poverty it was socially acceptable in our hood. Since I was bigger than most kids my age I was always coaxed into doing the things that I shouldn’t have done. I never thought of it being a bad thing but I knew that fighting almost every day was getting tougher and if I was with people there would be less fighting. I was a good kid but because of the situation I was in, gang life was a way of life, we were just kids (12-15 years old) drawn into this situation just for survival. It was pretty much white verses white gangs, I never got into fights with the Spanish gangs on the West side, we stayed on the flats and there was just to much to deal with, within our own turf.
Our family moved out of Ventura in 1970 to Simi Valley, thank GOD! I was a responsible trouble maker or it seemed to follow me, sports and riding motorcycles started taking over in my life and I graduated high school, barely. I got back into the gang lifestyle again when I was in the Army, after being arrested 3 times in one year I called it quits, once and for all, I needed to be in the military, and it was the only way for me to survive. Luckily I didn’t get into to much trouble with the military for all the jail time I served. I actually became a good soldier and served for four years and was honorably discharged, a milestone for me. I needed the freedom from the service and a motorcycle was one of them. I loved to ride; I also had emptiness in my life, like thirsting and never being satisfied. I loved music, and sports and bikes; I centered my life on them, it was a man’s Trifecta but I wanted more.
God knew me very well but I had a less than part time relationship with God, I didn’t care about my direction in life, partying and work was all that I was focused on, but I was being groomed without my knowledge, I knew God, but would only call out to him if I was in dire need. My life changed for the better when I met my wife, we were not into the church thing and being Jewish I had no idea of my future plans or directions. My wife and I talked about our religious backgrounds and we felt we needed to discuss it for our children’s sake, my wife was Christian and I was Jewish, I didn’t want to get into the Jewish life let alone any other religion, it was not a priority in my mind, but it was with my wife’s. We talked about it and she started going to church with our friends and I would stay home. I was kind of against it because she was changing and I wasn’t, I used to get mad at her because she was spending our money, tithing, it irked me every week, I just didn’t like it at all, I thought it was a waste of her time and our money. One day my friend and business partner asked if I could help him and his wife cook and serve food to the homeless people at their church, I don’t know why, but I said yes. They kept on asking me and I always said yes, two times a week! Being poor as I grew up I knew food was a priority in life. I think back and now realize God was planting seeds in my life and I was changing without me paying attention to what was happening, I started going to the church that my wife and friends were attending, I didn’t like the worship music so I would wait until it was over, then go inside.
I being a musician thought they were nuts, but I did notice they were happy. I was slowly being drawn into church as it started, I was confused at first but the worship songs had certain meanings to me and it was getting clearer to me on what it was about. I realized that I was still empty on the inside, one day I heard a message from the pastor that if your marriage didn’t involve Jesus Christ then your marriage is doomed, this hit me hard, and I knew that I wasn’t baptized as well, at the age of 36 I was re-married and baptized in the name of Jesus Christ! We changed churches after a couple of years and was going to a church a few blocks from our house. After a while we were pretty much involved with all the things that make a church, a church. The next thing I knew was I was involved with almost every aspect of the church, I was a Deacon, a board member, I was on the worship team, I was there 5 days a week or more, I realized that God was blessing my business and I could run my business 10 hours a week at this point, this gave me all the time I needed for helping out at church.
As my life was changing I was into music and motorcycles, music has been a passion in my life since I was 5 years old. I’ve been riding motorcycles since 1968, off and on thru-out my life. My life was changing without me taking notice, I was gradually getting tattooed and riding more often, I was being transformed into a biker, but all of my tattoos were of the religious types, to this day I can’t explain this, I think now, it was a grooming process. I was still very rough around the edges even as I was growing in my Christianity, I was one of those very hard and stubborn pieces of charcoal that wanted to be transformed into a diamond, as they say. I still had a hunger inside me that I couldn’t satisfy, an emptiness that was yearning for something other than being satisfied with what I have or done in my life. I needed to be with people of my lifestyle and interests was my conclusion, after many nights and days of prayer I needed to make decisions for the benefit of me and my family, I knew God’s guidance was all I needed and God delivered!
I knew Pastor Rick when he was a Youth Pastor and knew about his Church, The Live Ride; I started going there once in a while over a period of time and I started having a new yearning, my heart was heavy and after many prayers I knew I needed to change and it was a tough thing for me to do. One day all things in my life changed, with joy! I knew then that I was to go to the Live Ride Church, I could feel the freshness, the God loving people, I felt at home. I loved the music, the preaching and the people, when you are blessed enough to have this feeling, God starts to work in your life even more, that’s what I felt and still do I was blessed to be in the Worship band and the Live Ride Motorcycle Ministry, I feel so blessed about this because thru God I am involved with what I loved to do the most, I can’t thank God enough but I let God know every day, I would have never thought in my life that I was being molded to be where I’m at in my life today, I know that thru prayer God delivers and God is just. To me, this is only the beginning, every new day in my life has its bumps and hurdles but I know that I can call out to Jesus Christ for guidance, grace, wisdom, and most of all his Love.
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