Growing up
I always knew right from wrong from an early age, living with and being looked after by Grandparents does that to you. I got into the odd spot of bother, nothing to serious though. At the age of 4, My Mum and I moved out of my Grandparents house into our own, and there we stayed until I was 10, when my Mum met and then eventually married my Step-Dad. Along came Brothers and Sisters, which was great! And then I turned 15!!!
Downhill from here
At the age of 15, I started smoking cigarettes, thought I was grown up, mature! Looking back how wrong was I. I also met an older group of kids, when I mean older, only a couple of years older, but old enough to get into nightclubs….and then it began….
Nightclubs meant drinking, and in my case, drinking heavily…. I was 16/17, going to nightclubs and drinking!!
This carried on for a year or two, and then I found the joy and thrill of drug taking. I was at college studying my A-Levels, I was surprised they weren’t affected. I’ll be honest with you, I loved taking them, I felt happy, not a joy in the world, that is until the next morning, then I just wanted to die (or sleep for a very long time)
To cut a very long story short, I left college to start work, started earning money. I was working hard during the week, waiting for Friday night and the weekend of debauchery. I was on a downward spiral to oblivion, I was wrecking my body, I was constantly skint and all the other stuff connected to the night-life scene….There had to be more to life then this!!!
Life changing moment
Then one day I met someone, she was like a breath of fresh air, nothing like all the other girls I met along my journey. We met at a friends birthday, but it wasn’t until a few months later that we got to talk properly. We clicked straight away, there was something different about her, a presence I wasn’t sure about.
To cut another long story short, she was a Christian and she went to church. Gradually over time, my excesses slowed down, I went to church occasionally on a Sunday, then one day, I decided enough was enough. I was changing (for the better).I felt better about myself, I felt good being at church. I had people around me genuinely enjoying my company rather than just wanting my money. Then in the middle of November 2001, I said the Prayer that you say when you become a Christian. Instantly I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders, I felt free, what a feeling!
Basically, if you have got this far without falling asleep then great, because I wanted you to know that Jesus has really changed my life. He has given me a family, a wife, kids, a career that I enjoy and an extended family-the church.
My advice to all of you is this: Get to know Jesus, join a church, go on an Alpha course, just do something because let me tell you this, when you do, you’ll never look back.
Labels: Justin's story
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