It’s hard to believe that my many years of drug abuse began at twelve yearsold. I started smoking weed and a year later I was doing and selling acid. If
only I knew then what I know now, my life would be very different.
In 2007, I hurt my back and the doctor wrote me a strong prescription which left me hooked on opiates. When my doctor’s office closed, I could no longer
get the opiates so I turned to heroin. Eventually I got into trouble and was placed on home confinement. During this time, I started going to church,
got saved and was doing good until my dad passed away. I couldn’t handle it and went off the deep end and began using heroin and crystal meth. I mixed
it, used it and sold it. I’ve always turned to drugs to deal with tough times even though it made things much worse. Every time I did a shot I would pray
it would be the one that took my life. I lost all hope.
In 2016 I lost everything in the floods. I lived in White Sulphur Springs and the entire trailer park where I lived went down the creek. After that, I lived in my car until I got into trouble again and spent two months in jail. When I was released, I was homeless.
I knew I couldn’t stay clean so I asked to go to rehab. They offered me a 28 day program, but I knew I needed more than that. How could 26 years of
getting high be fixed in 28 days? It didn’t make sense to me.
In July, 2017, I came to Union Mission’s Addiction Recovery Program. When I first got here I didn’t know how I felt about it. They talked about Jesus and I had a lot of doubt. I had seen too many bad things in life, so I just didn’t know about this.
The turning point for me was listening to the other guy’s testimonies and what God was doing in their lives. Little by little, I began to change and realized there was hope for me. My attitude changed, my foul language stopped and I lost my desire for the drugs.
I still have a lot of things to deal with from my past and sometimes I stress out about it. I’ve learned from the program how to deal with frustration the sober way
instead turning to drugs. The difference now is that I pray about things instead of getting high. It’s a whole new approach for me and it is working.
On May 4, 2017, I graduated from the addiction recovery program. It was a wonderful day. Two of my children came to my graduation and they saw me sober and healthy. I really think they were proud of me and I am forever grateful for that.
I want to thank Joe and everyone at Union Mission for the opportunity to be in this program. I didn’t always make it easy for them, but they have been very good
to me and they have showed me unconditional love and grace. Their continued support means the world to me! When you pray, please remember me! I am now
discovering His purpose and His plan for my life.
