A Light Through the Wreckage: Sabrina Greenlee & Sting Ray Robb
This episode mentions suicide and depression and may not be suitable for all listeners.
Sabrina Greenlee: I think that when we can trust that God can do every single thing and just understand that He said He will never leave us nor forsake us, that’s when you can begin to believe that it doesn’t matter what is going on, it doesn’t matter what it looks like or what it feels like, but that we stand on His Word and know that He said He will always be there with us.
A Light Through the Wreckage: Sabrina Greenlee & Sting Ray Robb – Episode #432
Narrator: Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. Our first guest is Sabrina Greenlee—the mother of NFL star DeAndre Hopkins, a grandmother, and a survivor—whose faith was the lifeline that broke the cycle of violence that followed her throughout her life.
Later in the episode, we’ll hear from professional IndyCar driver Sting Ray Robb, who shares how his childhood passion evolved into a lifelong career, and how his faith has guided him through life’s most uncertain times, both on and off the track.
Let’s begin with Sabrina’s story.
Sabrina Greenlee: I am Sabrina Greenlee. I am a mother of four, GiGi to eight grandbabies, and I show up in the world as a published author—an amazing woman who has the courage and the audacity to defy all odds and stand up and tell my truth.
A Cycle of Abuse & Pain
My childhood was one that was full of adversity and turmoil. From the very beginning, my mother and my father [would] go through domestic violence disputes over and over. They didn’t have the tools to actually be in the situation that they were in with three children back in the seventies. It was desegregation. There were a lot of things going on that they had to try to overcome, on top of poverty. My childhood reeked of a lot of things that I consider now as adversities.
I didn’t have the tools or the takeaways to deal with adversity or the abuse. I had already endured one of my little brothers passing away. Even after he was in that car accident, it trickled my family into a whirlwind of lies and deception. I really didn’t want to deal with it, and we didn’t have counseling, therapy, or anything.
My other brother was killed by the police in Atlanta in 1997. I lost a fiancé. I was in a car accident with DeAndre’s father, he died when DeAndre was only six months old. Every single thing was plummeting down on me.
Here I am laying on my bed, super depressed. How could God be in anyone’s life—or my life—when I’m just sitting here going through all of this?
I was in one relationship after another, trying to cope, trying to survive. I was in abusive relationships, and I didn’t consider them abusive because sometimes I was the aggressor, sometimes I wasn’t. I just went into full-blown coping mechanism mode, trying to survive. I was in a whirlwind of ups and downs—a domino effect of one thing happening after the next.
Sabrina Suffers an Attack That Nearly Ends Her Life
In 2002, it was a beautiful July day… July 20th to be exact. I had befriended a guy and we had only been in a relationship for three and a half months. There were so many red flags, so many things that I overlooked: the lies, the deception. I had an inkling that there were other women.
On this particular day, he takes my car and drives it to Greenville, a nearby place where I had resided at the time. I got up and was furious. My car’s gone, I can’t believe it. Like, you know, Where’s my car? I called him, no answer. As I’m headed out the door, he calls me, “Hey, I’m at this place.” Okay. I head there, then I get another call, “Hey, I’m at this place.” The typical games that he played. It never dawned on me that I wouldn’t make it home that day.
I went there, and I saw my car, and he came out of this dwelling. I kind of turned my back to this door, still I had no idea that this woman existed or that she would come out. Meanwhile, he and I are outside arguing. This young lady is boiling a concoction in her kitchen of bleach and liquid Red Devil Lye, which is liquid Drano to most people these days. She screams my name, she mixes this concoction, and she throws it on me. I instantly fall to my knees and I instantly go blind. He picks me up and takes me to a nearby gas station. The gas attendant is screaming, and they both take me over to the water fountain and splash water on me. He leaves me there and the gas attendant calls 911.
The helicopter flew me to the Augusta Burn Center, where I eventually went into a coma, and I’m there in a coma for a month. Waking up blind, [I was] actually addicted to the morphine, [and faced] extensive therapy because I couldn’t move my neck or my back at this time. I had to have skin grafts to save my life.
My kids had no idea what had happened. While I was in the hospital, none of them could actually see me except for my oldest daughter. They were told they were too young to be in an environment like that. Coming back home a month later, they had not seen me at the hospital. They had only heard the rumors of what could happen, what could not happen, how I looked, and all those things. So every single thing that I thought was life instantly turned into depression and anxiety, and life was no longer anything that it seemed after that point.
The Aftermath of Violence and Overcoming Bitterness
I came home a month later to four children and I was their sole supporter, sole provider. That was tough for us because they were all active—they were into sports—and now the whole world… everything stops. Mama can no longer do anything. I’m just sitting back there helpless. They had to see me at my very lowest point, which was tough for me.
I was suicidal. I reeked of depression. And so to try to wheel myself back up—it was something that every mother can relate to when you’re trying to just get back up for your children. I’m still bitter and angry, and I just remember having these nightmares. I was addicted to morphine and the nightmares were these dark figures coming into my room. They were moving around, and I just cried at night thinking, God, help me. Am I going to hell? What is this? But there was about five minutes where a peace came over me, and I held on to that. In that [moment], when I look back now, He was letting me know that He was there through it all.
The children were my sole supporters at the time and my inspiration to get back up—the little things that they would do. I look back now [knowing] that they were really trying to just find humor in something they did or they would come in and tell me about their day. And so little things like that really, really, really helped me a lot.
DeAndre came and sat on the bed one day and it changed everything. He said, “Are you coming today?” And I said, “No, [I’m] not coming.” I was running out of excuses, really. He said something that really changed my life. He said, “Mama, it doesn’t matter that you’re blind.” He said, “I just want you there. I need you there.” It resonated with me. How dare I say I’m going to repair my family, but still not show up?
I began to start repairing my life. What that looked like, I had no idea. I just knew that I couldn’t allow my children to be captivated by the streets or people. I made up my mind that what happened to me, I didn’t want them to use as an excuse for them not succeeding in life.
“I began to start repairing my life. What that looked like, I had no idea. I just knew that I couldn’t allow my children to be captivated by the streets or people. I made up my mind that what happened to me, I didn’t want them to use as an excuse for them not succeeding in life.” – Sabrina Greenlee
As Healing Begins, A Family Finds Their Way
So I began to do little things just to kind of repair my family and get them back together. I began to call family meetings. I began to sit them down and apologize and tell them, “I’m sorry,” understanding that had to be told, because as a mother or as a parent, sometimes we forget that these children are little human beings that need to be apologized to. That was the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do, but I needed [to do] it to repair my family. We began a healing process, and I began, eventually, going to their activities. I began to start getting out of the bed and cooking a little more. And when I did that, it changed everything.
I began to get a full understanding of life. I began to want to live. I began to want to cling to people that were about God’s business and Christ-like, and the peace that everybody that I reached out to was simply amazing. I yearned for the biblical verses, the scriptures, and things like that. The more I was curious, the more I began to heal.
I think just talking to those children and having the mindset that nothing was going to stop us and I wasn’t going to let life interfere with them being successful, it changed everything. They began to kind of see me differently—not the weak mother that allowed men to come in and out, not the weak mother that put people before our family, but the mother that was determined to take her power back and be a mother and be present every day.
DeAndre Makes a Name for Himself
I knew that my son had a great work ethic. He was determined to be somebody and I didn’t want to stop him by continuing my antics of being enraged, bitter, and angry. He would see me begin my forgiveness process—praying, meditating, humanizing my attackers, and things like that—and he began to heal also. I think he credits me because he’s like, “She just wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t give up—not only on herself [nor] her family.” That motivated him to propel himself to go into this whole mindset of, I’m going to be somebody, I’m going to make it.
It didn’t surprise me when DeAndre got drafted in 2013 in the first round because he put the work in and this was one determined kid.
DeAndre and I started this tradition almost by accident. Someone was sitting in my seat one particular game and they placed me in the end zone. Right after halftime, here comes DeAndre with the ball—he always tries to see where I’m sitting, where his family is. He comes running over with the ball and everybody’s like, “He’s coming towards us.” I was like, “No way, he’s coming over here?” He comes and he hands me the ball. I think at that moment, He didn’t just hand me the ball. He put his hands on my hands, and he squeezed them really tight, signifying that, Hey, I want you to feel this ball. This is your ball. It was the most rewarding moment because I didn’t know he was going to do it.
After that, I’m like, “I’m sitting in the end zone!” We have to sit in the end zone because it just began this tradition of, “I’m getting my ball today.” So I’ve gotten many, many balls since. That was many years ago. Still to this day, he makes sure that I get my ball.
I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me
There are going to be things that come our way, and God says He gives us the tools in the biblical sense to conquer everything that we went through. All we have to do is just tap into that. There were so many different things that happened to me, and each time I got up. No matter what happened, I stood for myself. I stood in my truth. I stood up for my children at times, getting all four of them into college, even after the attack.
“There were so many different things that happened to me, and each time I got up. No matter what happened, I stood for myself. I stood in my truth.” – Sabrina Greenlee
I think the scripture that comes to my mind most is, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. [Philippians 4:13]” Not one thing, not little things, but all things. We can trust that God can do every single thing and understand that He said He will never leave us nor forsake us. When you can begin to believe that it doesn’t matter what is going on, it doesn’t matter what it looks like or what it feels like—we [can] stand on His Word and know that He said He will always be there with us. I think that is what I implemented in my daily life that I poured into my children.
Once I found the presence of God and He met me where I was, everything turned around. If I can do that—a little girl from Central, South Carolina—then I feel like everyone has the chance to redeem themselves, but you first have to surrender and give God your life. In the end, He’ll give you the glory for your story.
“Once I found the presence of God and He met me where I was, everything turned around. But you first have to surrender and give God your life. In the end, He’ll give you the glory for your story.” – Sabrina Greenlee
Narrator: To learn more about Sabrina and her journey, please visit www.sabrinagreenlee.co, and be sure to check out her book, Grant Me Vision, at your favorite retailer.
Stay tuned to Sting Ray Robb’s story after a brief message.
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Now, we’ll dive into the high-speed world of racing with American driver Sting Ray Robb. He shares how his childhood dream evolved into a relentless pursuit of excellence, facing challenges both on and off the track that shaped not only his career, but also his faith. He opens up about how he balances the adrenaline of racing with a deep-rooted trust in God’s plan.
Sting Ray Robb: My name is Sting Ray Robb and I’m the driver of the No. 41 Goodheart Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing in the NTT IndyCar series.
Born to Go Faster
I was born and raised in Idaho, and my parents were not marine biologists, despite what people may think. They were actually Corvette fans, and that’s where I got the name Sting Ray from. And so that’s kind of what inspired me at an early age. I grew up going to Corvette Club meetings, autocross events, drag races… I actually took my first steps at a Corvette Club meeting, which is kind of funny, but it kind of tells a story about how I got my passion. From an early age, I used to sit in the backseat of my mom’s car and yell, “Go faster, faster, faster!” as we’d leave stop lights or stop signs.
I actually saw a video on YouTube of a guy that jumped a go-kart into a foam pit. And as a four year old, I thought that was the coolest thing ever. So I asked my parents for a go-kart for my birthday, and sure enough, my fifth birthday rolled around, and there’s a go-kart sitting on my garage floor. When I saw it, I said, “I’ve waited my whole life to be five.” So that’s kind of how we got our feet wet in the go-karting world. But my parents were amazing and they kept pouring into me. Usually, parents assume that it’s just a phase that you’re going through. Some kids want to be a fireman, some kids want to be a golfer, some kids want to be a police officer. But for me, I wanted to be a racecar driver. And then it just continued, so we started traveling all over the world. They never said no, they always said yes.
I began to see the promise of what I could have as a career in the motorsport world. It just continued to inspire me to do more and be more. I had a driver coach growing up that always told me, “There’s someone out there that’s practicing, and one day you will meet them and on that day they will beat you.” And so I was very, very dedicated as a young kid. We were on the road forty-two weekends a year, as a ten or twelve year old, just for the sake of go-kart racing. And so getting those championships, being ranked number one, it wasn’t necessarily unexpected. I think that we worked our tail ends off to get to that point. It wasn’t me by any means. I had a great driver coach, I had a good engine builder, and my dad and grandpa were my mechanics. My mom and grandma were our hospitality crew and kept us healthy being on the road that much. And they were also my support group as a young kid going up through the ranks like that. You have to grow up kind of quickly. And so they made sure to kind of hold my childhood valuable and make sure that I was getting my education in other places as well, but still allow me the opportunity to grow and develop in that area.
It was 2016, and that was kind of the year I decided that I wanted to make a transition into something for a long-term goal. You know, at that point, I’d been racing for ten years. And that’s crazy to say that as a fifteen year old I had been racing for ten years. But I wanted to make sure that whatever path I chose in motorsports, that it was the one that I enjoyed the most. And so we did everything from dirt cars to NASCAR to open wheel, which is what I’m doing today. And for me, open wheel was what I settled on because it was the most similar to go-karts. It had the high grip, but also good horsepower. And I liked the idea of being able to race an IndyCar on multiple styles of track, so roads and ovals. And so when I got into the Skip Barber series, that was kind of my initial transition into open wheel racing from go-karts. And that scholarship was able to propel me into the road to IndyCar. And so that was the stepping stone number one on my path to IndyCar.
My faith and racing have grown together a lot. It kind of seems that how I was challenged in the racing world, I was also challenged in my faith. I said a long time ago that I would not be a racer if it wasn’t for my faith. It’s my foundation that I lean on, and it’s the thing that I call to and find purpose in.
“It kind of seems that how I was challenged in the racing world, I was also challenged in my faith. I said a long time ago that I would not be a racer if it wasn’t for my faith. It’s my foundation that I lean on, and it’s the thing that I call to and find purpose in.” – Sting Ray Robb
So, there’s definitely been moments on the track and off the track that have challenged me. And one of those that I always like to tell is, 2020 was a tough year for all of us, as we know. COVID was crazy. But for my career, it was a make it or break it season. We go to the first race of the year, we’re in Florida, ready for the streets of Saint Petersburg, get the call that the world is collapsing and get sent back home. And we waited for three to four months, and I got to sit at home with the thought of, Am I good enough to make it? Am I going to make it? As far as my career goes, am I good enough? And by the time we got back racing, I had watched probably several hundred sermons and just kind of grown my faith during that little bit of time.
I went to the first race of the year and had a mechanical failure. No problem. We’ve had this before, finished on the podium, great weekend. I went to the second race of the weekend, of the year, and I qualified somewhere in the top four I think. And [usually] I think, Okay, that’s good enough. I can go and win a race from there.
Well, at this point in my career, I had been in forty-eight races without a victory. That was one of the first times where I said, “I’m not good enough.” And when I got off the track, I ended up taking a walk out there at the racetrack, and on my walk, I took a knee, and I ended up praying: “Lord, I can’t do this anymore. I’m giving up. I’m either not good enough, someone runs into the back of me, a mechanical failure happens… I’m done. I’ve given as much as I know how to give for as long as I can remember. And it’s just not happening.” In that moment, I had a Bible verse come back to me. My homeschool teacher made me memorize a bunch of verses until I was blue in the face, but it came back to me in this moment for a good reason. And that was James 1. It says, “Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” And in that moment, I had a realization of, Wow. Okay. Well, maybe this is preparing me. I think that this has all been for a purpose. I had the realization and clarity and peace that came from knowing that it wasn’t in my control. I could trust God’s sovereignty. And so I said, “Alright God, I’m gonna keep racing, I’m gonna go out on the track tomorrow. But I’m done, and You’re going to have to take over.” And so I went out finished first, and that was my first win of seven on the season. That would provide me the championship and give me a springboard, eventually, into IndyCar.
“I had the realization and clarity and peace that came from knowing that [the race] wasn’t in my control. I could trust God’s sovereignty.” – Sting Ray Robb
Reflecting God in Our Pursuit of Excellence
I think God gives us passions for a reason. My racing has provided a platform to share the purpose that I find in my life from my faith. I think God wants us to want things. He wants us to chase things. He wants us to be excellent in what we do. Ecclesiastes 4 talks about how whatever your hands find to do, do it, and do it with all your might. And so for me, that’s racing. And for others that might be a grocery store owner, a mom or dad. There’s so many options in this world to have passions and that God has planted in us for good. And it’s our job to glorify Him with those passions. And so I’m doing my best with racing to glorify Him and use this as a platform to reach others and provide some form of excellence that people can see a reflection of God through.
“I’m doing my best with racing to glorify Him and use this as a platform to reach others and provide some form of excellence that people can see a reflection of God through.” – Sting Ray Robb
A lesson I’ve been learning this year is we’re all submitted to something, whether that’s to ourselves, to our plans, to other people’s plans for our lives, to our jobs, whatever. And I would just say be careful what you’re submitted to and give the power of validation to the right things. That has to be God for both of those answers.
There’s a verse in Proverbs 16:9 that talks about man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. And I think that’s important because in America especially, we live the American Dream, hustling and bustling and trying to get to work and do the right thing and make the money and get the job and get the car and get the house. I think that before we do any of that, before we pursue excellence, before we pursue our passions that God has given us, we have to submit each one of those things as if they’re dead to the Lord. And I think that that’s really hard to do because you have to die to your plans. You have to die to the plans of others. You have to die to the expectations, and you have to turn it all over to the Lord and then go pursue excellence, not for you, but for Him. That’s a hard thing, and it’s way easier said than done. But when you do it, it frees you up to have joy. And the only way you can start with joy is by knowing that your future is secure in the sovereignty of God.
I think that as Christians, we’re called to meditate on God’s Word. And the best way that we can do that is through prayer and having conversation with God. I think that our jobs as Christians is to create that space and create that time to be in relationship with God. And the only way that we can be in a relationship with someone is if we’re conversing with them or doing life with them, and the way that we do that is through prayer. And so I find prayer not just as a tool, it’s not just an emergency call line, it’s my relationship line. And when I’m spending time with my fiancée or my family members, whoever, you can’t just sit in the corner and pretend like they’re not there. I have to seek them out and be intentional about what they’re doing, what they’re feeling, and how I’m feeling and what I’m doing, and how we can enjoy life and be yoked together. How do we kind of go in the same direction and have the same goals? And so that’s what my faith is. That’s what all of our faith is. God has called us in a direction, and it’s our job to hitch ourselves to that direction and go with what He’s telling us to do.
“God has called us in a direction, and it’s our job to hitch ourselves to that direction and go with what He’s telling us to do.” – Sting Ray Robb
Jesus Listens, November 6th:
Dear Jesus,
Help me to lead a victorious life by living in deep dependence on You. I used to associate victory with success— not falling or stumbling, not making mistakes. But being successful in my own strength made me vulnerable to going my own way, forgetting about You. It is through problems and failure, weakness and need, that I’m learning to rely on You.
I realize that true dependence is not simply asking You to bless what I have decided to do. It involves coming to You with an open mind and heart— inviting You to plant Your desires within me.
This is not a path of continual success but a way of multiple failures. However, each failure is followed by a growth spurt— nourished by increasing reliance on You. I want to enjoy the blessedness of a victorious life by deepening my dependence on You.
In Your victorious Name,
Amen
Narrator: To learn more about Sting Ray Robb and to follow his career, visit www.stingrayrobb.com, and be sure to follow him on social media to cheer him on.
If you’d like to hear more stories about turning to God for strength, check out our interview with Mary Marantz.
Next week: Scotty Hasting
Next time on the Jesus Calling Podcast, we’ll hear from veteran and Purple Heart recipient Scotty Hasting, who opens up about his experience in the military and how he turned to music as an outlet to find healing from PTSD.
Scotty Hasting: I am a part of a brotherhood that will never waver, a brotherhood that will always be there for each other, no matter what. And now with what I’m doing I get to be a part of trying to help them find healing in some way, shape, or form, like I was able to with music. I feel like God has given me the ability to do some good.
