I’m just so thankful that I don’t have to rely on drugs anymore to numb my feelings.
My name is Eric, I’ve been in Long Island Teen Challenge for nine months. Before coming to Teen Challenge, I struggled for about 10 years with heroin, Oxycontin, opiates. Growing up, I had an amazing family. I had biblical principles, moral values, they were very loving, very caring parents. They taught me you know, everything that I needed, I had self worth, self respect. Just as I got older, I started playing a lot of sports getting, involved with a lot of different guys. You know, they didn’t share the same beliefs I shared, they didn’t have the same understanding or insight. I started to kind of feel like an outcast in a way. And, you know, I just started to be enticed by the things of the world and I started to kind of shift from my faith over and more into the world. And I got introduced to alcohol, opiates in high school, I started to drink it was all recreational. Just started kind of becoming a problem as I got a little older. And I started to get a little confused, I didn’t really know who I was as a man. I started to lose sight of God, I kind of fell out of His will. And I just started you know, to do me. Next thing you know, I was addicted. I woke up one day sick, knowing I needed drugs and I didn’t know where to get it and I found oxycontin. Oxycontin started to just strip everything away from my life. My work, school, my family. You know, it led me in jail.
I went in and out of jail for years. I copped a bunch of charges. I got a record because of it. When I went to jail, I met people that were involved with heroin. When I got out, I started hanging out with those guys. And next thing you knew I was shooting up heroin. Heroin is what really took me to a deep, dark place in my life. I overdosed twice from it. The second time, I overdose behind the wheel of a car with a friend in the vehicle. I stopped breathing for five, six minutes.
And you know that day was the day I experienced the grace of God. I know in Proverbs, it says, When you train a young man up in the way that he should go when he is old, those ways will not depart from him. And when I was able to wake up out of that, and realize the fact that God’s grace was just poured out in my life, I started to remember everything that I was taught as a kid, everything I learned growing up everything my parents showed me, the Bible was just beginning to become more real to me. I came to Teen Challenge and since I’ve been here, and my life has changed for the best. Not only is it restoring my life, God doing a great work in my heart, and in my mind, I’m getting my family back. I’m getting everything that I lost that Satan stole from me, I’m getting it back tenfold. Just being here has been a journey in itself. I dealt with a lot of issues on the outside with family members passing away, and just going through daily struggles. But being able to stand here today, I can still tell you that I have victory, that God is constantly redeeming me, and He’s guiding me through these tough situations. And I’m just so thankful that I don’t have to rely on drugs anymore to numb my feelings. But I can give these things to God knowing that He’s going to provide, that He’s going to bring me to a place where I have joy, peace, and comfort in my life. The scripture I stand on is Galatians 2:20 And it says I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave His life for me.
