09/12/2026
Today, We celebrate 12 years of being delivered and set free from drugs, alcohol, and the lifestyle that came with them.
I cannot boast in anything I have accomplished, because none of it happened through my own strength. If there is anything good in me any courage, influence, passion, or power it is Christ living through me. I may be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to advancing God’s Kingdom, but it is not because of who I am it is because of who lives within me. The enemy knows that, and he should!
“But he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 10:17 NKJV
It took me nearly 20 years of chronic relapse, pain, and trying times to finally reach this milestone. I did not get here through my own strength. I am here only by the grace of God, the love of the recovery fellowship, and the people who loved me when I could not even love myself.
There was a time when I came to the end of myself and did not want to live anymore. Losing both of my parents at a very young age left an emptiness in my life, and my upbringing was extremely challenging, to say the least.
But let me tell you about the God whom I choose to call my Daddy.
He showed me unfailing love. He brought spiritual parents, godparents, mentors, and faithful people into my life who prayed for me, believed in me, and poured into me. God raised me up for such a time as this not because I was perfect, but so I could serve him by helping others and help them discover that freedom is possible for them too.
Look at what God has restored and allowed me to become. Today, I have a relationship with my children, a loving wife who walks beside me, and a family I treasure. I am a homeowner, a business owner, a pastor, a servant, and a pillar in my community. Most importantly, I am a child of God with a purpose and a plan greater than anything I could have ever thought or imagined.
The devil tried to destroy me, but God delivered me. What the enemy intended for evil, God turned around and is using for his Glory!
I have hope, a desire to help others, and a passion for the purpose God has placed on my life. I am determined to leave my mark by serving others, fighting for those who feel forgotten, and fulfilling my calling until the day He calls me home.
There is still work to do!
September is National Recovery Month, and I share my story with honesty and vulnerability because someone needs to know: if God did it for me, He can do it for you.
If you or someone you love is struggling in the depths of addiction, alcoholism, or despair, please do not give up. Keep praying. Keep encouraging them. Keep speaking life over them.
People already know what they have done wrong. They do not need to keep hearing who they will never become or what they will never amount to. Remind them of who they can become. Speak hope. Speak purpose. Speak life.
Whatever you do, do it from a place of love because there is One who sees everything, and His name is God.
Today, I am grateful, free! I celebrate 12 years of recovery.
There is still purpose in me, people to reach, lives to impact! Until He calls me home, I intend to keep answering that call.
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
Ephesians 3:20 NKJV
To God be all the glory!
