Anyone that suffers from addiction knows their own story. They have told it so many times that they could do it in their sleep. Here is my story, and how I overcame it. About 12 years ago I moved off to start my freshmen year of college. Within a few short months, I was introduced to prescription pain killers after a baseball injury. At the time, I didn’t even know that the painkillers could be addictive. I was very naïve to what addiction really was and would have never guessed it would take me on such a long journey.
During my 4 years of college, I took pain killers off and on. Despite what I considered a mild addiction to them, I earned my degree and moved back to Waco. I told myself so many times that I wasn’t an addict, since I knew absolutely nothing about addiction. I thought my reasons were very logical: an addict doesn’t have a college degree, an addict doesn’t have money, and an addict doesn’t have my type of life. Needless to say I was wrong. An addict doesn’t always start at the bottom, but they always end up there. One day I woke up, went to work, and by the end of the day I had lost it all, my great job, company car, health insurance, company cell phone, etc.... The secret I had kept hidden for almost a decade was out, and now for the first time I realized I needed help. But I couldn’t go to my parent’s, I was too ashamed. At this moment, they still don’t know. I decided that I would try to get clean by myself and if I couldn’t do it, then I would ask my family to help.
So I entered an outpatient program at Brentwood Clinic of Waco. I went in a few times a week, before the sun came up because I was worried about someone seeing me. That’s when I really started actually learning about addiction. Through counseling and group settings I begin to understand who I had become.
During this time, out of the blue my church started this new Sunday school class. I decided to give it a shot and it changed my life forever. I decided that day that I wasn’t going to beat this addiction by myself; I was going to beat this thing with a little faith. My parents had been taking me to church since I was a baby. I went just about every Sunday from the time I was born till I graduated high school. This time it was different. This time God was going to literally save my life. He was taking me from the bottom back to the life He has planned for me. During this time the people in my Sunday school class most of them much younger than me, had no idea the impact they were having on my life. I eventually made some tough decisions that to this day have me back on my feet and drug free. I started taking responsibility for where I was in my life because of bad choices. I started to pray from the heart and one by one God answered my prayers. Within the next year, I was drug free. I met the woman I will spend the rest of my life with. I am 100% debt free, and had regained the friendships I had lost during my years of addiction. What I finally realized after all this is that we are never alone, even when you are at rock bottom, the Lord is there with you. He is picking you up every time you fall down. He wants you to do it with Him not by yourself.
In conclusion, Brentwood Clinic Waco started the healing process but God who is rich in mercy lead and guided me to the finish. Remember, “All things are working together for the good of those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 Therefore, the bad worked out for my good. I found out whom and whose I was and I found purpose and destiny.