I pretty much came to the Heartland Men’s Recovery Program because my life was completely destroyed in every way. I had two children who were old enough to know me and did not want anything to do with me. The other was three years old and with my ex-wife who had a restraining order against me.
The rest of my family didn’t trust me enough to bunk around me, much less go to sleep. So I had exhausted all of my options. I was addicted to alcohol and prescription drugs, and I would do anything to anyone to get what I felt I needed.
I thought the pills helped and allowed me to function. I didn’t consider myself abusing for a long time because, “I needed them.” I thought everyone else was the one with the problem. But I was slowly destroying every good thing that had ever happened to me.
I am from this region, so I had been seeing these tanker trucks going up and down the highways for several years that said “Jesus is the Answer” on the sides. It took me 15 years and using everything and everybody I ever loved to realize how true that statement is.
When I gave my life and my heart to Jesus Christ on October 14, 2007, my life instantly began to turn around. God showed me His healing and restoring powers almost immediately after turning my life over to Him. That next day I woke up feeling better than I’ve ever felt in my life, physically and spiritually. The withdrawals I had been having, not being able to keep food down or sleep, were gone!
Jesus is the only Answer! He amazes me, and I will never stop thanking Him. I went through the program and graduated April 5th of 2009. The Lord has blessed me with a job that I love, working on the maintenance/electrician crew.
The Lord also gave me back my wife and now she has given her life to Him and we are raising our two children together with the Lord here at Heartland. Also my two other children know I am a new man and our relationships are getting better every day.
I am very happy to have the opportunity to serve in the church as an usher and on the worship team both at church and in the Men’s Center service. Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God Who loves me and gave Himself for me.” I claim that verse as my own, and daily He blesses me beyond belief.
I truly believe that because Pastor Charlie and Miss Laurie were faithful to the call of God on their lives, I am alive today.
Mark DeClue’s Story from hlandtv on Vimeo.
