God, I don't think I can take any more!

Where to start—

Tremors, pain, and some paralysis are about all that Richard knows everyday. However, that’s not where the story ends, it is merely part of the journey God has placed him on.

The journey began with Richard contracting hepatitis and nearly dying at the age of four. His mother, like Susan Wesley, said “God has a wonderful plan for him.” Little did she know it would be the beginning of a lifelong struggle with tragedy, sorrow, and heartbreaks.

Growing up as a “preacher’s kid” Richard married his childhood sweetheart, right out of high school, at the age of seventeen. Soon after their daughter was born, the marriage took a turn downward and spiraled into divorce. This was then followed by the conclusion of a short stint in the army, where he received an honorable discharge but left with no direction in life. Giving up on having a normal life, Richard found himself dropping out of college and ending up in one dead end job after another. However, his life would soon be turned upside down when he received the dreadful phone call that every parent fears:

“Mr. McCormack, if you want to see your daughter alive, you need to be at Memorial Hospital in Redding, California within twenty-four hours, she is not expected to live.”

These words would forever change Richard’s outlook on life and would be part of the many tragedies he and his family would face in the coming years. Spending months in ICU and a private room with his 15 month old daughter, he would soon discover that Tara had been beaten and sexually abused by her mother and live-in boyfriend. Seeking answers from God on why his child had to suffer, Richard noticed that his prayers and questions seemed to go unanswered. Good Godly Christians tried to comfort, but through it all he felt abandonment, betrayed, and alone.

Self-determination then became the new outlook. After moving back to Texas he marryed his now wife of twenty-five years, Kaye, and won full custody of his newly special-needs daughter, Tara. Although it was soon discovered Kaye was unable to conceive, the couple seemed satisfied to rest in God’s arms and move forward with rearing a special-needs child.

Life quickly moved forward as the family moved to Kerrville, Texas where, by God’s grace, Richard fulfilled a lifelong dream of being a portrait photographer. During those days he also served as a bi-vocational music minister, and believed things were going well, until . . .

Soon after, Kaye, who was unable to carry a child to term, had two miscarriages. A bad partnership in a portrait studio forced Richard and Kaye into bankruptcy. Then in 2003 after eighteen years of marriage, Kaye conceived, again, but this time the child was conceived with a tumor. All this was given to God through trust and prayer. However, in 2005 the family received the worst news of all; Richard was diagnosed with MND (motor neuron disease) a disease that attacks the nervous system and causes progressive tremors, pain, and paralysis.

Today, Richard, with his wife Kaye, of twenty-five years, and their two daughters, Tara, twenty-eight, and Cecilia, eight (yea, "Wow!"), minister together to help people heal and restore through the sovereign grace of God. Their focus is showing people that there is always a new beginning and they can find the support among the family of God.