My Story – How The Truth Set Me Free

I thought I’d like to share with you a little bit about me, where I’ve come from and a brief introduction to how I got to where I am now.

I grew up in Redciliffe, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia.

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Not a bad place to grow up, as a kid I spent a lot of time fishing for Black Bream and swimming in the Swan river, as well as riding Motocross and BMX bikes on the dirt tracks around the banks of the Mighty Swan.

But, at about ten or eleven years of age I began spending a lot of time pursuing habits that were to lead me down a path of desperation, despair and suicidal tendencies.

It was at this point I found Alcohol, and It changed my world. I became Obsessed with it, It became my everything, and over the course of the next 12 years I dedicated my life to Alcohol and Drugs.

Until…

On one particular day whilst sitting in the back yard of my parents home, drinking alone contemplating my hopelessness, I called out to a God I didn’t know or understand, I remember it like it was yesterday, Because I know looking back that it was this day that my life changed forever.

Looking into the heavens I said, “I believe in you God but I don’t believe you can help me.” and I then went on drinking myself into the usual drunken stupor.

To be honest nothing miraculous happened, I didn’t see a bolt of lightning and the heavens didn’t part and I didn’t hear God’s audible voice, but I know God heard my prayer and saw that I was willing to look to him for help. Hebrews 10:22

The set of circumstances that followed proved to me that God was a real tangible presence in my life.

It wasn’t long after that day, my boss told me that I no longer had a job, this was a terrible blow for me, I desperately needed to work to support my habits, I was devastated, fear gripped me like I had never experienced before, the thought of going without Alcohol was terrifying and the threat was now very real, I think only an Alcoholic could truly understand what this would feel like.

I now know this was the first step God made in helping me to find sobriety. It was at this point I started to see the grip Alcohol had on my life, don’t ask me why, but I never associated my drinking with my depression and hopelessness.

Up until now Alcohol was the only hope I had of ever blocking out the pain and internal suffering that I was exposed to every single day.

The next thing that would prove to me God was involved in this whole life changing process was, I was exposed and introduced to a twelve step program for Alcoholics, I would like to add here that I wasn’t looking for a solution, I didn’t know one existed, the solution found me.

Without going into too much detail I found myself on the opposite side of the country attending a meeting of the twelve step program.

I accepted that I was suffering from the symptoms of alcoholism, and found myself having a complete breakdown, I can’t truly explain how I felt, other than to say It was like my whole life had been ripped out from under me, It was as if every one that I had ever loved had been taken from me suddenly, I could not have felt worse, I was totally devastated and in a state of complete overwhelm and brokenness.

I then spent the next two months in a rehab on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, I worked my way through the twelve steps and started to build my life, as if from scratch.

I spent the next 5 years dedicated to attending meetings and in fellowship with other recovering Alcoholics in the twelve step program.

Thanking God everyday for my sobriety and praying to this God, that I still didn’t know, asking him to reveal himself to me, as stated in the 11th step of the program.

Step 11 – Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God* praying only for knowledge of God’s* will for us and the power to carry that out.

I was searching for the truth, Just being sober wasn’t enough, I wanted to know and glorify this awesome God that delivered me from the living hell I had been exposed too, I needed to know who God was, after all I knew without a doubt he was real, the fact I was sober and had been for over five years proved that.

It was around this time America experienced the September 11 attacks, and it was around this time I heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The words I heard spoken on a particular night in late 2001 were the missing pieces to the puzzle of who was this God that would save me.

That night I found the truth, and the truth had set me free.

My life today is not even the slightest resemblance of that pitiful and sorrowful Alcoholic, I have a beautiful wife and two incredibly wonderful kids, Sometimes I have to pinch myself because of the blessed life the lord has given me.

Thank You Jesus.

Introducing My Family.

Luke.

April.

Me, Ellie and the kids as the Flintstones

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