King’s Home president shares story of struggles, faith at prayer breakfast
As president of King’s Home, Lew Burdette daily sees individuals who need help. Whether they are just entering King’s Home following escaping an abusive home life, pursuing a college education or overcoming another challenge, Burdette said he is always inspired by the way the women, children and youths who come through King’s Home continue to survive despite the hardships they have faced.
“The survivor heart that we all have, because we’ve all been survivors of something, that’s when I see that these are survivors. And it’s so encouraging to see young people be resilient and heal from those devastating pasts,” Burdette said during the Nov. 21 Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce’s 20th annual Prayer Breakfast.
Survival, he added, is part of his journey as well, and part of the connection he has with those who they help through services provided by King’s Home.
At age 15, on Dec. 27, 1974, Burdette faced a night he didn’t expect. One where he had to survive, and by relying on his faith and the power of prayer, was able to do so.
As Burdette left his father’s grocery store in Roanoke, a small town in east Alabama, he closed up shop that day, and as he walked outside, he was ambushed and kidnapped by two men. They beat him, stabbed him, tossed him down a well and shot at him, and despite several injuries and a gunshot wound to the head, Burdette survived.
He sat in the well for about two hours, unable to climb out and relying on the recitation of Bible verses to get him through, he said.
“We’ve all found ourselves in helpless situations, but you know what, I wouldn’t give anything for that experience because of the life lessons that I have learned, from that experience,” Burdette said.
He learned about the importance of respect, the power of prayer and trust in God, and the need to live life to the fullest, Burdette said. Obviously the men who attacked him didn’t respect him, Burdette said, but having respect for others would help the world be a much better place.
When he was near the end of his strength, struggling to keep his head above the water in the well, Burdette said he bumped into a hole in its wall. He grabbed onto it with his hand and said he knew if he could get his foot up, he’d have a better chance of getting out.
“We all know the power of prayer, and I’m praying, ‘God, help me give me a way to get my foot in that hole,’” Burdette said. He did just that, and he continued to find those holes on either side of the well, using them to slowly reach the top. “… That was a great relief, to be out of the bottom of that well. And a great reminder to me, and a great reminder for us, is Mark 10:27, to believe God for the impossible.”
Finally out of the well, Burdette crawled his way back to a shack he remembered seeing on the way to the well. One of the individuals in the house — which happened to belong to family of the two men who attacked him — called for an ambulance and Burdette was eventually taken to the hospital. Doctors said he had about a 5-10 percent chance to make it through the night, considering his condition and the chance of infection, and still a slim chance to survive past that first night.
“The power of prayer. My mom, a faithful woman, put out prayer chains wherever she could. … There was no pneumonia, no infection, and I was out of the hospital in about two weeks,” Burdette said. “A recovery the doctors, they just couldn’t explain.”
His experience, Burdette said, showed the power of faith, and is something he hopes portrays a message of perseverance.
“When we’re the weakest, he’s the strongest, and that’s the only reason I was able to make it out of that well,” Burdette said. “It wasn’t my strength, it was nothing I did.”