Author, This Thing of Ours (2012)
Married 26 Years,
4 Children; Miquelle, 26, Amanda 25, Michael 22, Julia 13
GUEST BIO
Cammy Franzese: This Thing of Ours
By
The 700 Club
CBN.com -MARRIED TO THE MOB
Cammy gave her life to the Lord when she was 13 years old. Even as a little girl, Cammy felt the Holy Spirit working in her life. “I wasn’t perfect by any means,” she says. “But I believe that with God’s help, I had a better high school and college experience than I would have had without His guidance and inner workings.” In 1984, Cammy, then 19, bought a one-way ticket to California and was hired as a dancer for a movie called Knights of the City. Michael was the the producer. Michael pursued Cammy and they were married in July 1985.
Cammy says she heard innuendos about Michael’s ties to the mob, but they went right over her head. One day, Michael left the house early in the morning and Cammy had no idea why. Later that day, Michael called her with news that would change her life. There was a federal indictment and he planned on turning himself in. Michael was in jail for 4 years, twice. During the years Michael was behind bars, Cammy’s mom, a strong Christian, reminded her of the call God had on Michael’s life. She reminded Cammy that God would work out the situation for His glory. Cammy’s life while Michael was imprisoned was spent visiting him up to four times a week.
Many times, Cammy would have to remind herself. I married Michael. It was my decision to spend the rest of my life with him. Whatever happened, this was my life. There was no escape. Cammy says that there was nothing she could do but with the grace of God walk through her valley, step by step, day by day. When Michael was free, Cammy says they still lived with the fear that he would get arrested again and that their family would be torn apart.
LOCKED UP
In 1992, while she and her family were in their early-morning frenzy to get to school, detectives came to their front door. They arrested Cammy where she spent 24 hours in jail. She silently prayed, Why am I here, Lord? Is there a purpose in me being here? She knew she hadn’t done anything to warrant her arrest. A week later while she was visiting Michael, Cammy was arrested again. This time she was there for only 7 hours. She says it had something to do with a faulty mortgage. During this trying time, Cammy learned a hard lesson: to always put God first. She tells married women this powerful message. “Our husbands will fail us. They will let us down. They will disappoint us,” she says. “When we place unrealistic and unattainable expectations on them to be perfect, to have it all together all the time, and to fulfill our every wish and command, we are basically setting them up for failure.”
Cammy reminds us that God allows us to go through struggles to prepare us for His ultimate purpose for our lives. Michael had accepted the Lord before going to prison for the first time and did the unthinkable: he quit the mob. When he was imprisoned the second time, Cammy says he sold out to Jesus completely. On the first night of his second incarceration, Michael fell to his knees, begging God to do something to make him feel better. God answered Michael by giving him hope and comfort in reading the Bible.
A few years ago, Cammy accompanied Michael to a ministry event. She often worked his book table and picked up his booklet, Good, Bad, Forgiven, a condensed version of his testimony. Cammy was overwhelmed. “I had to process it,” she says. “I had so many mixed emotions (about finding out about what he really did).”
“To think about what he went through to get where he is,” says Cammy, “is amazing. There was a lot that went on that I didn’t know about.” Admittedly she says that Michael knew he was a target for a long time. “But he knew what he could and couldn’t do,” says Cammy. “He felt he had God’s protection. Today, most of the men who would be after him are either dead or in jail. Sadly, Cammy’s mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and passed away. Her mother’s death hit her hard. Cammy says that in every situation, He is in control and knows best. “When you are stripped of all your material securities, you quickly learn where your dependence lies,” says Cammy. “I know I did.” Cammys says the reality show about mob wives is made for TV and that her experiences in New York were nothing like the show portrays.
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
