Steve
12 months living with 18 strangers - God is the only place to escape.
I grew up in a Christian home. A by-product of the Jesus Revolution in the late seventies my two brothers, sister and I were raised in a Christian home going to church our entire upbringing. I accepted God in my life when I was a kid, was baptized when I was 13 and grew up loving God with a passion to live my life for Him. Then, freedom to the world entered into my life when I graduated high school and moved out on my own. I was still going to church and had God in my life until I turned 21. I was an aspiring drummer, touring in a band and playing shows in music venues, college campuses, bars and I began living life in the world while I put God away in a closet - and that's where the downfall begins. I started smoking weed, drinking alcohol and living a party lifestyle. Eventually the partying, having fun, weed and alcohol were taking priority in my life. Within 2 years, I was no longer socially drinking, I was drinking very often and to get drunk. At this point, I was also dabbling in crystal meth, mushrooms, ecstasy and acid.
My lifetime dream of being a musician in a band crumbled away. While the other guys moved on in their lives for school and careers, my life became one of “freedom” - no responsibilities, no parents, and no God in my life meant no restrictions. I began living like a rockstar without the fame and fortune. This began the literal journey of my seeking and trying to find happiness, contentment and even purpose to my life. I followed friends, fun, drugs and alcohol wherever it led me.
I had a friend in Portland, Oregon, so I moved up there for a summer, working just enough to pay for drugs, alcohol and partying. From there to Breckenridge, Colorado with some friends for a winter, working just enough to support my partying lifestyle. Back to Portland for 6 months, then to Chicago for six months and finally back to Breckenridge where I lived for 20 years. The drugs, drinking and party lifestyle became my life. Before I committed to the Bridge program I hit my breaking point because I was entirely reliant on cocaine and alcohol to live my daily life. I drank alcohol to escape how lost I truly was in life, and then I would do cocaine in order to keep drinking! I was seeking fulfillment in my life through women, partying and whatever helped me to escape thinking about the pain in my life of emptiness.
Fortunately my family, through years of prayer and a lot of coercion, helped convince me about the Bridge program. Two years ago God began the miracle of restoration in my life through the Bridge ministry. A close friend of mine, a graduate of the program also, talked about how the program forces you to grow up! No matter your age, if you're married, have kids or a career, in one way or another our addictions (whatever they were) were vices that helped us escape dealing with issues in our lives. 12 months living with 18 strangers - God is the only place to escape. This is why I appreciated so much the daily morning devotions in the house, which opened the hearts and minds to God and his word. I benefited from the culinary program in that it instilled in me a new confidence in my sobriety of conquering a challenge I didn't think I could do. Now I have a certificate from a 4-month cooking course as well. These things could seem small or insignificant but not when you instill, in a person that's broken, a sense of accomplishment. I also have enjoyed immensely the free courses of bible theology that the program provides. The Urban Ministry Institute, or TUMI, provides a more in depth study of God, his word, and I plan to use all that positive life-altering knowledge in whatever way God has planned for me in the future. I am now taking full advantage of the affordable living in the men’s second phase home in Seaside while working for Trader Joe’s in Monterey.
The program has truly helped me by giving me the opportunity, the time and tools it required to restart my life on the right path with God. People check into different rehab facilities but the Bridge program makes a world of a difference because it is a ministry helping to restore peoples lives the way God intended them to be. God created us to have lives filled with joy, love, contentment, purpose and most importantly to be complete. The Bridge has helped me to refocus my life on Jesus and my desire to live a full life for Him.
Changing one life at a time…
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