A life made new. Options

[Stogi]

I guess my story starts like allot of others .... I grew up in a nice home with Christian parents . I was saved as a child at the age of seven. As a youth went on mission trips, retreats, all the activities of our lives revolved around the church. It wasn't until later in life that I would realize the importance behind my parent raising me the way they did.
In my teen years I started to get involved with the wrong crowd started drinking and using drugs. This would go on for the next 17 years of my life on a daily basis. The devil used this foot hold that started as a teen to take all my dreams, joy , health, and sanity from me. During the last 4 years of my drug addiction I was using crystal meth pretty much daily and it turned me into what I call "the devil himself". The chemical imbalance caused by amount of poison I was putting in my body made me schizophrenic. I was abusive to my wife who finally had enough and left me. Nobody but the other addicts I hung with wanted to be around. me. My own family told me if I was going to live like that they didn't even want me in the same town as them (tough love move, I know it was tearing their heart out). I was living in a one room shack. When I say one room I mean it was one room with a small bathroom. I had lost my job as a truck driver because I had too many tickets and the DOT took my license. I had no vehicle and had to walk or thumb rides to go anywhere. I could put all my belongings in my cloths basket. I was full of anger, hatred, desolation, and hopelessness. I would steal from you and lie straight to your face just to get what I needed to feed them demon inside me. The devil had me believing so many lies about myself and why I was the way I was. I had tried quiting many many times before on my on. Rehab did no good. Nothing would work , so, I believed the lies when the devil told me I was made by God to be an addict. I was predestine to be that way and I would always be an addict. I would always do drugs because that's what drug addicts did. (Wow what messed up thinking!) The devil had clouded my thinking so much I had almost forgot my life before drugs.
On November 16, 2001 I was at the breaking point. I couldn't take it anymore . The voices in my head from the schizophrenia wouldn't stop ( To this day believe some of them were demonic). I can't put into words how dark and desolate it was. I had made up my mind it was going to end that night. The prospect of ending my life and taking my chances on where I would wind up seemed much better than living in that hell on earth . Then God broke through what had clouded my mind and I started to remember my life as a child and the teachings I had learned from my parents and the other grownups in the church. God asked me " Have you had enough of this yet!!! Return to me! Give it all to me and I'll heal you." That night I gave it all to him. I gave him the drugs. I gave him the alcohol. I gave him all that anger, the hatred, the desolation, and the hopelessness. He took it all!!! To paraphrase versus from the 103rd Psalms ... He forgave ALL my iniquities and healed ALL my diseases! He redeemed my life from destruction! He filled me with lovingkindness and tender mercies. He satisfied my mouth with good things, so that my youth was renewed like the eagle's. He removed my transgressions from me as far as the east is to the west! His mercies have been from everlasting to everlasting! He totally changed me and my life. Since that night I haven't touched not one drop of alcohol and drugs have had no place in my life. He gave me the strength to quit it all " cold turkey " and get rid of all the junk that had come between me and him. He has replaced every single thing the devil had taken from me with something more wonderful. He has given me a beautiful wife, two great kids, a stable carrier and more than I could ever hope for. God has been good to me and all I can say is BLESS THE LORD , O MY SOUL!!!!!

[JayDawg]

All that I can say to your testimony is WOW! We serve such an incredible God and I am so glad for the work He has done in your life! No doubt, you have a very powerful testimony that can really help others in similar situations out!

[David]

Thank you for sharing that great testimony. I get chills when I hear testimonies like that where you came from the depths of hell and God lifted you up and put you back on your feet.
Praise God

[Stogi]

Thanks guys. I love to tell my story and all the glory goes to God. Jesus is still in the life changing business.

[Mxthunder]

Thats great to hear man! Hearing other peoples testimonies gives me a lot of hope!