Wrong place. Right Time.

Finding victory over depression, addiction & prison. Rodney tried just about everything, then he decided to try God….

How faith based Christian recovery programs like our Master’s Touch long-term recovery shelter provide the best long-term sober living solution for people seeking drug addiction help.

.

Growing up in Glen Ellyn Illinois, my father taught me how to work with my hands. We worked on cars together. He taught me to weld and electronics. He was a great dad. When he passed I was devastated. Five months later I learned I would be burying my mother as well. I thought I had all the tools I needed in life to fix just about anything. But when she died, I realized I didn’t have the one tool I really needed. The one to fix myself.

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ~ Nehemiah 8:10

I started using drugs as a casual thing. But then it got to be something far more serious after my mom got sick. And for those four years, I became her primary caregiver. As an only child with no other family, drugs help me cope with the stress of watching the last person in the world to say “I love you,” passing before my eyes.

Without realizing it I was self-medicating to overcome the despair. It affected my job. I had a 20-year career as an industrial refrigeration technician. But I lost it all one night. The combination of drugs I was using at the time caused a black out and I wandered into a house that I thought was my own. The police were called and I was later charged with attempted burglary. What I didn’t realize at the time was this was God’s saving grace.

At first it was overwhelming. But that period of being sentence to a minimum-security prison over the next two years was my chance to become sober. I was incarcerated and learning about addiction, but wasn’t learning about myself. Or the self-destruction that threatened to overtake me.

 Two years into my sentencing, I was released on good behavior to drug court. This sober living facility basically put me into a managed recovery program. But when I got there, I realized that many of the people I was surrounded with were still actively using.

Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. ~ Joshua 1:9

“I knew with my addictive personality, I couldn’t be around that environment. The constant temptation was too great. So I asked the drug court to put me back in prison to finish out my sentence. I guess at the time, that sounded pretty radical to the judge. But I was still looking for the right tool to fully transform my life.

The days passed quickly and with good behavior, I was scheduled once again for early parole. Was I ready?  As the days ticked away I got more nervous.  If you don’t have a place to go, the parole board sends you back to prison. With just eight hours left before my hearing I got down on my knees for the first time ever in my life…”

“I remember praying how much I needed help. But I also needed direction.”

“Then my counselor notified me he found a place. Wayside Cross Ministries. I asked him what it was and he said, “Well Mike, I really don’t know. I just know it’s a shelter but they’ll take you.

A shelter I thought?

I had heard about those kind of places.

Just a place to sleep, breakfast in the morning and then out the door. You could come back for dinner in the evening and hopefully another bed assignment. But some of the people I heard were active in addiction. Needless to say, I was a little concerned. 

Thankfully I learned, that wasn’t the case at Wayside Cross Ministries.

But getting here was a challenge…a two-day bus ride with very little sleep that included a layover in Missouri. When I arrived, I was cold and tired but when I got to Wayside Cross, it wasn’t like anything I had heard of or imagined.

This place was a Bible-based long-term recovery program.

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

~ Lamentations 3:22-23

You really get what you put into it. At Wayside you can earn your GED, get your drivers license and recover your Social Security card. They help with getting a job and so much more. Like how to work as a team. You’re in classes every day and when you’re not, you’re working somewhere in the facility. You are assigned a mentor, and additional support programs like Legal Aid and Financial Peace University are also available. They even have a work training class on how to build transformers that lead to fulltime employment with a local business.

More importantly, it was here that I found the one tool I really needed to fix my life. Jesus. I learned to put him in charge of everything and to trust only in him.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my feet.” ~ Psalm 119:105

This place gave me a chance. It gave me hope.

I found all than answers I needed and more as I began to devour the Bible I was given and in each class I attended.

Eventually, I went through the program and graduated. Now I’m in phase 4. Can you believe that? I also made a couple of great friends too. Mike and Matt. Both were a great source of encouragement as we were all overcoming similar obstacles. We ended up being on the same work team at the warehouse and on one of the delivery trucks.

One of the asspects in staying in their free recovery and transitional housing facilities Wayside you are expected to give up some of your time serving somewhere in the ministry. Many choose the kitchen or carpentry shop. But I chose the warehouse. It’s where all the donations go and it supports the thrift stores which help cover the operational and financial needs of the ministry. It just seemed like a good way for me to give back.

And, it was here that we begain to dream about employment and life after Wayside.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” ~ Galatians 6:2

Mike got hired first and then he got me a job at Motorola too. I’m working a swing shift. In fact, I just finished working 32 days straight, 12-hour shifts. Saving my money too and I absolutely love it. Wayside’s Phase-4 residents are able to work and stay there until they have enough money to move out on their own. And my job? I’m in quality control and shipping. We manufacture phones and other communication devices that are used in government contracts, law enforcement and other countries. We ship all over the world. I’m also very blessed to have two great supervisors.

When I’m not there I’m back here at Wayside, helping out as a resident assistant. Working with some of the new guys, I see them come in exactly the same way I did. Broken. But if you stay here and you work the program, you’ll get your life back. I just try to encourage as many people as I can. I tell them, if I can make it you can too.

Sober for 5-years now and working, many people have asked me what helped me turn the corner to which he is quick to reply. Since I came to Wayside, Philippians 2 has become my go-to Bible verse. The whole passage has kind of become my personal recovery meditation. It’s all about selflessness, how to work, how to live and serve. But I especially like to think about this passage when I get up in the morning:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” ~ Philippians 2:3

For me, it all started when I met Jesus. That’s not just a head knowledge understanding of who Jesus is or what He’s done for me. It’s a heart knowledge that only comes by really getting to know Him, in a real and personal way.

That’s life-changing.

Each day I wake up clean, healthy, employed and I give thanks for everyone who supports and prays for this ministry. You may never know what a difference you make…but I do.

Help Rodney and many others to recover and rebuild their lives in our faith-based addiction recovery programs

If you enjoyed this story and want to learn about other lives that were changed, click: Stories of Hope & Recovery

If you know someone in need of a safe place to recover and rebuild their lives call Wayside Cross Ministries’ Lifespring Center for Women or Master’s Touch for Men at (630) 892-4239.