Nicole

I am thankful for; beating cancer, for being delivered from meth, for having wonderful, supportive friends and family who walk with me through the trials of life, for surviving 20 years of abuse, and most importantly for the relationship that I have with my Lord and savior Jesus Christ!!

Tim

I was married shortly after my active military duties. 6 months after I was married my first son was born. I loved my wife and child but satan had a grip on me and my life! My wife gave birth to our second child 3 years later. I was a very distant husband and father. I spent the next several years partying and chasing my drug of choice-Chrystal meth. I still knew that I was loved by family and friends, but I only cared to get high. I took on odd jobs and they only lasted a short time as I was not reliable at all. My wife would tell me constantly that she was praying for me. I didn’t care! I only cared about me and my habit. I progressed from snorting to smoking crank. I spend days and days awake ‘gone’ and away from home. When I returned home I slept for days and days. Some times I would even stay home long enough to go to church, but I would often make excuses as to why I had to leave early. Over the next couple of years I went from bad to worse. I wrecked 5 cars in 3 years (falling asleep at the wheel). My wife and kids would still go to church and they walked everywhere. One evening my wife and I were fighting and she told me she was leaving me. She grabbed the kids and left the house. I was tired of being tired and even more tired of chasing my high and not my family. I was alone at home that evening and I got on my knees and prayed for God to forgive me as I was going to take my own life. I took an entire bottle of sleeping pills and I lay down to never wake up again. I was so sure that everyone would be better off with out me..how selfish! When I awoke early the next morning I knew that it could only have been the hand of God that saved me. Shortly after I awoke the phone rang, it was my wife; she had a feeling that I was going to try something dumb. I told her what I had TRIED to do and what had happened. I made a covenant with God and my wife that day; if God would restore my family I would never use drugs again. I am sitting here today as a living testimony that miracles happen and that we can all be restore by His grace. I have been clean and spirit filled since that day over 6 years ago. I will spend the rest of my life for His glory. I want everyone to know that no matter how low you think you may be, God will restore and return EVERYTHING that satan has stole from you, just ask and ye shall receive.

CJ

Once again I was headed for self destruction, but this time it looked like it might be all she wrote. I was driving a stolen car and was fully aware that the law was looking for me. You would think I would ditch the car, but no, I was riding this one out to the bitter end! I went to a friend's house and stole a old antique cap and ball gun. I knew how this one was gonna end so I thought. Little did I know someone else had other plans. Proverbs 19;21 says "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Totally unaware of anything else besides the scenario I had laid out I proceeded to get as high as I could on my way out of this world. The end was nearing. I ran into a little problem when I went to do my last load of meth ( IV user I was), I was out of water!!! So here I am driving a stolen car through Promise City, Ia (very small town) freaking out cuz I want to get higher. I stop the car by the little city park and start walking around houses looking for a water spicket, keep in mind that it's 11:00 at night. I bet I walked around 5 different houses and for the life of me could not find a spicket! Crazy, I know. So I jump back into the car and head for Seymour, frustrated and confused to put it mildly. I get into Seymour and I do the same thing, and of course no spickets! So I hop back in the car and off towards Centerville I go. I meet a car at a 4 way stop and guess who it is? Yep u guessed it Johnny Law. Then I realize I am driving without my headlights on, someone else realizes it too. He hits his cherries and I hit the gas pedal. The chase is on! With no regard to anyone or anything I had the gas pedal to the floor easily going over 95 miles per hour. I was headed towards another small town called Numa ( lived there when I was a kid) and I noticed I had cops coming toward me too. So since I was on a suicide mission anyway I swerved frantically and flashed my headlights to let them know I wasn't stopping. Then BOOM I ran over the stop sticks they had wisely put down and all 4 tires on the car were blown out. I lost control and spun into some one's front yard, no way was I gonna let em take me in alive!!! Not this time. So I crawled out the driver side window that had no window now and took off running(gun in hand of course). They were not far behind me and I could feel the end coming. So I stopped hugged up against the side of this garage and prepared for what was to come. This was it!!! My heart was racing uncontrollably and I was shaking like a leaf. I had the gun drawn upright in front of my face ready to point it at the first cop that spotted me. This was truly it!!! Then something happened that I will never forget for the rest of my life. 3-4 cops ran no more than 6 feet away and directly in front of me and THEY DID NOT SEE ME!!! I was dumbfounded. And something hit me at that moment, not sure exactly what, but something like fear or reality, probably a combination of the two. Anyways I laid in some weeds for the next 2 hours praying my foxhole prayers hearing radios and voices off and on. Then there was silence and vehicles spinning there tires in the gravel. They were driving away!!! So for the next day and a half I was on the lam and believe me it was not fun. To make a long story short they found me asleep at a friends house close to 36 hours after the chase. No gun, no nothing. Just a tired, wore out guy sound asleep. Once I come to my senses after a day or so of sleeping in the Wayne county jail the misery started to set in. I couldn't even kill myself successfully!!! Why??? Then as I was reflecting on all this, one of the deputies came in and told me I had a visitor. It wasn't even a visiting day. Who? I walked into that visiting room having no clue as to who it could be. Then in comes this little old lady. Elo??? Elo Reynolds was my baby sitter when I was a kid. She was a God fearing woman who shared her faith boldly. The thing I remembered most about going to Elo's was bible stories and bologna sandwiches and spaghettios. I had not seen her in close to 20 years. What was she doing here??? She only stayed about 5 minutes, but one thing she said to me changed my life forever. She said "C.J., I just want you to know Jesus loves you and HE will forgive you, all you have to do is turn to HIM." I have heard that all my life, but until that moment I didn't really buy it. I don't know why I didn't get it until then, but I trust that God knows. That was in 2004 and my conversion hasn't been quite like the apostle Paul's, but I am not the same man that I was either. That is all God!!! HE gets the glory!!! I truly believe that once you have tasted God's goodness and had your eyes open to HIS truths you will never be satisfied with anything less!!! Looking back on my life I can clearly see that God has been there all along, I was just blind. I am so thankful for those people HE placed in my life to invest in me and believe in me even when I was lost. And more importantly they never stopped praying for me. Today I am a long ways from perfect, but I am pressing forward in my walk with the Lord and doing my best to let my lifesong sing for the one who saved me from sin and death. I have been blessed beyond belief!!! I have 2 daughters of my own and Misty has 3 boys and 1 girl that I love as if they were my own( even though I will never try and take the place of there Fathers), and I have a beautiful fiance who is everything I could ever ask for. Thank You JESUS!!! I have many more stories of what God has done in my life, but hopefully this one gives you an idea of where I was and where I am now. I was lost, but now I'm found!!!