Jeremiah 31:3,4: I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with lovingkindness. I will build you up again, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel!
I was a hopeless drug addict for 19 long years, and an immoral person for an even longer time. I grew up shy, lonely and insecure, looking for love and acceptance in all the wrong places. Way down deep inside I felt worthless, unlovable, incapable and unimportant. It was as if there was something missing in my life, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it...
That drove me to do my best in school. Being very diligent, I was a consistent honor student. That won the approval of my family, especially my mother, as well as people in general. For a while that worked to make me feel good about myself...
I grew up in a Christian family and was taught Christian values at a very young age. Although Jesus Christ had always been the center of my family, I somehow managed to turn my back against Him, conforming to the pleasures of this world and experimenting with drugs at a young age.
My rebellious nature and my search for happiness led me to the wrong places and the wrong people. In school I would always involve myself in mischief. I found satisfaction in disregarding rules and regulations when I was little, which eventually led to disregarding the law when I was bigger...
A Simple Man’s Journey to Abundance
I grew up in a very religious family. My parents were prominent members of the church who often contributed money for projects and scholarships. At home though, my father was an abusive and demanding person. For the smallest mistakes I made, he would give me a hard beating out of unexplainable rage without giving me a chance to reason out nor defend myself. He would often beat me up while making me kneel down with outstretched arms in front of a crucifix. My heart grew hard with anger against my father to the point of plotting a plan to kill him. My view of Jesus on that crucifix was that of an impotent god, uncaring and unable to save me.
To escape this hostile environment I found acceptance among friends who introduced me to drugs. I chose to be in the company of drug users and pushers...
I would like to share how God delivered me from 15 years of addiction to drugs, alcohol, and sexual promiscuity.
I am Tony de la Paz. I am the youngest among 5 siblings and I grew up in a normal family set-up. My mother is a devoted homemaker. My father was a colonel in the army. He was a good provider, had no vices, and was very religious. I looked up to and admired my father. He was a well-respected man. He was feared and people knew him to be a brave war veteran. I told myself that I wanted to be like him. But then, as a child I was makulit.
I remember getting into a lot of mischief. When I was 5 years old I busted my head and had to be stitched up...
When I was a child, I inscribed in my heart that I wanted to see the world. I wanted to become a pilot because I wanted to see the world. I was upset when my father told me that I can no longer pursue this dream of becoming a pilot because of financial reasons. I was mad at him, for I really wanted to see the world.
I decided to take up Bachelor of Science in Nursing, for the same reason, I wanted to see the world. But again he objected because he doesn’t want me to be just helpers to doctors. My heart seems to have been torn apart, because I could foresee the slow death of my dream of seeing the world. My resentment against my dad began, for I felt that he did not trust me the way he trusted my older siblings.
Alan and Milette: Healing and Forgiveness
Alan: As a teenager during the chaotic era of the hippies and Woodstock, I was part of rock band where we experimented with drugs and alcohol. Bingeing on alcohol during weekends was common.
After graduation I was hired by a company that was into shipping, airlines and stevedoring. My job called for a lot of entertaining, so I started drinking every night.
Then my father suggested that I take over the family business. But I soon sensed that my parents had no plans at all of relinquishing control of the company to me. So began my feelings of betrayal, anger, bitterness and frustration that I no longer cared about going to the office.
Hope is a Memory of the Future
My story is the typical cautionary tale of the boy who cried wolf. It comes as no surprise that my family lost their trust on me because of the countless times I promised to straighten up my life. It all began after graduation when I started working in a call center where I had enough money to burn to join friends on trips to Sagada or even to amusement parks, high on hash and rebellion. I spent much of that sordid decade, reeling from one job after another and habitually getting kicked out of the house by either of my parents. Vertigo hit me during the time I began to plan to die or end it all. I would sleep feeling as if I was falling down Echo Valley. I would eventually attempt to slash my wrist, stand on the helipad of Philam life Tower and finally pull the trigger on myself-- but fortunately, the hammer of the ancient .38 I used was broken...
I am a believer in Jesus recovering from my addiction to gambling.
For so long I felt so alone and exhausted. I had a void inside me that I could not understand or explain. I got hooked on gambling, pawning & selling my own things, even coming to the point of stealing and entering into a sexual relationship in exchange for money. I literally emptied our house just so I could have money to gamble. I went as low as praying to the devil in exchange of my soul. I was a slave to sin!
Early morning of June 23, 2008, I realized that I needed help and that my insanity had to stop. I was on the verge of committing suicide. I needed to talk to someone desperately so I grabbed the directory, looking for numbers of people and places who could help...
My life as a child was picture perfect. Everything was provided for me by my parents. I excelled in my academics and sports at the same time being loved by all the people around me. Being raised in a Christ-centered home, placed in a Christian school, and was brought up in a Sunday school, I already knew God at a very young age. I thought that my typical childhood life would never change not until I entered my high school life.
Although I was raised to be a Godly person, it wasn’t enough for me to be ready for this kind of life. My world and my surroundings totally changed. Not having the full guidance from my parents, I tried things that any typical teenager would be curious of. Relationships, sex, “barkada”, and addiction pertaining to smoking and drinking...
I am Bob B., the husband of one wife, and the father of two daughters and one son-in-law.
During my younger years, I managed my life the way I thought was the right way. I did things to suit myself.. I was independent and did things on my own. Having been educated in a catholic high school, I felt that my spiritual and moral life were sufficient. We were taught to pray, respect and study religion in the traditional Catholic way.
As a college student, just like any other, I was the normal and typical type until I was exposed to marijuana, cough syrup, speed, downers and LSD which was the fad of our days. Luckily, I was never addicted to any of those drugs...