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Thanks for sharing your stories.I’m not addicted to drugs. But I have a friend who is an addict. His family & friend loved him very much .Recently He is addicted to drugs. His family can’t control him to bad habit. Recent he was caught by police because of having drug party with his bad friends. His family done everything. But, all time he seems very closed. He always reject to talk with us & his family about his problem. Hard to believe that it happened to his family. No one in his family even a smoker or addicted.As a result of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both brain and behavior.

Wow, there are some really inspiring stories here. I am not an alcoholic or addicted to drugs, but I remember the story my friend Kim tells about right after he had gotten out of jail. He was sharing in church and a very old lady named Beulah reminded him that we ALL have been in prison of one kind or another.

I think that it’s possible that most of us, if not all of us, have been addicted to SOMETHING. I thank all of you for sharing your stories and I wish you all the very, very, best.

Thank you all so very much for all the stories. Many of you have been on long journeys and I’m glad that so many are seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

I wish everybody the best of luck in the future.

Mary

Like many of us, Eddie struggled with life-controlling addictions. Although he knew about Jesus, Eddie had not yet come to understand God’s grace. Condemnation, guilt and rebellion made him run from God into a prison of fear and substance abuse. Eventually, after losing everything, through a 12-step recovery program Eddie found the steps to freedom and a new life in Christ.

Eddie’s true story is one of many uniquely featured testimonies from you, the members and visitors of this site. Each story reveals a life transformed by Christian faith. If your relationship with God has made a significant difference in your life, we would like to hear about it. Submit your testimony by filling out this Submission Form. To receive weekly messages of hope and encouragement from real-life stories of changed lives, sign up for eTestimonies.

Eddie’s Steps to Freedom
As I try to express all that my Lord has done for me throughout my life, I realize it does not do him justice. His unconditional and unfathomable love far exceeds these few words I use to describe my spiritual rebirth, my life struggles and continued growth towards spiritual maturity.
As I wrote out my fourth step while in a 12-step recovery program, I came to see on paper the patterns of destructive behavior I had developed throughout my lifetime. These behaviors had their roots in feelings, emotions and defective beliefs. I did not like who I was, the environment I lived in and the deep-seated feelings I had about myself.

I did not fully realize these truths about myself until I had suffered enough, to the point of complete and absolute surrender (humility) of my whole life.

At an early age I heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the little bit of truth I understood was enough to plague my entire existence, no matter how far I ran, hid or justified my sinful rebellion.

Needing God’s Grace
Even though I had heard of salvation through Jesus, I was also exposed to church doctrine that instilled fear, condemnation and guilt. I was torn because I knew in my heart that Jesus did in fact die for my sins, but I had no understanding of his grace. I found myself needing to be saved again and again every time I sinned. I literally went to every alter call at every church I attended.
After many years struggling with my Christian faith, I could not bear it any longer. I abandoned myself to what temporarily seemed to bring comfort. I would later become addicted to alcohol, drugs and sex.

But God was still at work, as promised in Philippians 1:6, ” … being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ …” (NKJV)

Losing Everything
I ended up suffering the loss of many precious and wonderful gifts God had given me, and eventually in prison, I was stripped of my freedom. I had to be afflicted so that God would receive my undivided attention. If God can’t get a hold of us through his Spirit, he will do it through the flesh.
Throughout the past 15 years I have struggled to know Christ like others had known him. This wouldn’t come until I truly got into his Word and sought him wholeheartedly, like Jeremiah: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13 NIV)

I began to discover for myself who Christ is through reading Paul’s letters, discovering David’s relationship with God and God’s covenant with Abraham. I began to understand God’s grace towards me. This was the beginning of the end of my self-destructive behaviors.

Finding Hope
When I was at the end of my rope, there I found hope. I knew that nothing outside of Christ was going to bring me genuine comfort, peace, acceptance, love and forgiveness – things I had sought all my life. As I look back I see where I allowed the enemy to influence my life with fear, shame and condemnation, especially regarding my many failures at serving God.
When I completed my fourth step and felt the true weight of my sin and separation from God, I was forced to carry it for a time. It hurt me in my inner most self. I cried for a time and as I looked back. They were true tears of repentance.

When I took this in depth look at my behavior and the pain I had caused those I loved, I knew that I could no longer live this way. So, as I worked through the sixth and seventh steps, I began to see the underlying reasons for my behaviors. They were the results of something deeper. It took the hand of God to reveal these things to me and give me the courage and strength to overcome the thoughts and perceptions which had influenced and controlled my life.

A Daily Journey
It is a never ending journey which begins each and every day with seeking God’s will for my life. It takes courage, patience, love and perseverance to press on towards the goal set before me.
I work the twelve steps, which I believe are spiritual in nature in my daily life. I have finally come to be fully alive in Christ. I see how much time I wasted, but I am now convinced God had a plan for me even before my parents were born. I went through what I did to be a witness of God’s grace, love and mercy towards mankind and those he puts in my path.

I didn’t know God was all I needed until he was all I had. I had to lose everything so that I would not have any obstacles between him and me. I had to give up my life in order to gain a new life in him.

Stepping into Freedom
I could go on talking about the steps, but what I need to say is this: In order for the steps to truly work and give me genuine peace, I had to be totally honest with myself and with God, because only he was able to comfort me through the painful process. Only God could help me make sense of it all.
Today I have freedom I never believed I could have. I am convinced that everything I have experienced has become an asset in reaching others who are struggling in similar areas. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not chained like our brother Paul stated, it is for all men, women and children.

“I became all things to all people so that I might gain some for Christ.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Paraphrase)

I would love for many people in recovery, to hear the words, & generate a strong positive feeling from this song. Please pass it along 2 anyone & everyone, everywhere. I wrote this song w/my recovery & spiritual process extremely heightened >>>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gYyc33FHWo

I had an uncle who was an alcoholic. I remember the “uneasy” feelings the rest of the family would have whenever he was around at family functions and “in his mood”. Sad, that only negative memories are all that are left of his presence.

The first step to breaking free are actually admitting you have a problem. This site is a great resource for that!

Being able to break addiction is a matter of shifting your identity — or perception of oneself. Merely changing your behavior isn’t enough, cause you’ll just turn around and go back to old habits. You have to change the underlying reason for why you’re relying on this substance in the first place. It’s a tough road, but well worth it.

I love this site and have a few words to say to all others………..

If you dont want to addict to anything in this world
Please have a aim and meditate.
Your aim should be tougher and higher so only you will work hard for your aim hence there will be no time to get addicted.

Meditation makes your mind calm
So if any one try to overhelm you you mind will not get exaggerated and you will be in a steady state.

So help the people who are addicted and also try to be role model in you society to eradicate the addiction

Meth and I parted company years ago…but one day someone offered me methadone. The person had a scrip but did not take it all, and i began taking about 40-50 mgs. a day for 3 years. I do not want to scare anyone because it is possible to still work and go through the withdrawals, especially if you are in a situation others will cover for you. Since I am sure it is different for everyone I cannot advise you, when you should be under a professionals care. But, I can support you and offer an eye (ear) and respond to your e-mails if you think it will help.
It is the least I can do because somehow i found my way through.
I wish you confidence, health and happiness.
dale

Thanks for this site. My dad was an addict in cigarettes before, but now he’s changed, he said he wanted his life to be filled with nothing but happy feelings. He would not want us to be like who he was before..

Addiction has been a problem in our family in various forms. My dad had alochol dependency and it took us a long, long time to realize it. It wasn’t an easy thing to defeat but through the power of our family we were able to get him through it.

I personally have been addicted to two things in my life – gambling and food. The gambling almost led to me losing everything I cared about, and I am still frequently tempted by the rush of a college football Saturday or an NFL Sunday.

The food addiction was harder to break – as simple as it sounds it was really moving from “living to eat” to “eating to live”. I used food as a crutch, a friend, a comfort, a stress reliever – and my health was deteriorating as a result. I feel like food addictions are one of those that are not recognized and/or dealth with correctly, and now I have made it my mission to help others overcome the same feelings about food that I did. Best of luck to all in their journeys. Peace.

Recovery is another story and its a hardest thing to do and regaining trust from others is another story but the good thing is that it brings out all the best from us.

I really enjoyed reading your story, You are so in depth with your words…It really touched me As for myself I am still trying to drop the habit, thank you for all your inspiration

To those who experienced and those who are still recovering in this kind of prison, don’t give up because God Loves you very much, He trusted you… just do your best to win for this kind of battle.

” Success or defeat is just the result … What is important is the Quality of Fight.”

There are many setbacks with drug addiction..Families will be torn, Relationship from family members will be lost,..and most of the people you love will be far from you.. in the end, just like some artists out there, no one were there with them when they feel like they want to go back to their old self..its really sad to see people like that..

Thank God I found your website. Now I can refer my friends whose families have addiction problems to your wonderful site! It hurts when we get to see families torn apart by addiction in their families. We feel helpless! Now we have help. Thank you!