Growing up, I was an outsider. I never had friends and was always the last one picked on a team – if you know what I mean. I hated my life. My parents were good to me, but they just didn’t know what to do. By a very early age, I was smoking weed to escape the pain. But all that ever did was mask my problems. I even tried military service, thinking the discipline would help. BUT THAT WAS A DISASTER!
It all came crashing in on me last year when I lost my job as a bank teller. Then I was evicted from my apartment. My family had moved away so I was all alone. The thought of being homeless on the streets was more than I could handle. I decided that killing myself was better than becoming homeless. So I swallowed a bunch of pills, drank a bottle of booze and waited to die…I remember thinking, “Forget life – no one cares about me and no one will miss me anyway.”
For some reason, though (I now know it was God protecting me), I woke up – spitting up blood. Somehow, I managed to get to the hospital, and they saved me. Through circumstances that could only be God at work, I’m now at CityTeam Ministries.
Through their “Tough Love,” they make me be accountable and help me work through my problems and move forward in a positive direction. Thanks to CityTeam, I am learning that God loves me and cares about my life.
Now I’m doing better. I no longer feel depressed and for the first time in my life I’m looking toward the future. In May, I turn 24. I plan to be a certified drug and alcohol counselor. Hopefully I can help others one day who face the same addictions that I have.
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