Randy grows up in a Christian family, taught to work hard and finish whatever he starts. His dad becomes a pastor when Randy is twelve. Randy is working his way through Bible college, goes forward to gain assurance of salvation, and marries Tina, also a student. After three children are born, he drops out to pay debts, opens a painting business. He falls from a scaffold and breaks his neck. The first part ends as he survives surgery but faces grueling rehabilitation as a quadriplegic.