Anthony's story
A “Dear John” letter led me down –
but God’s never-failing love lifted me up!
My name is Anthony. As a young man, I joined the Army, and life was going along pretty well - until the day I received a “Dear John” letter from my girlfriend, announcing she was dumping me. I went into a deep depression, turned to drugs and alcohol for relief from the pain, and made the poor decision to go AWOL. This led to jail time and a downward spiral of drinking and drugging. Every so often I would stop for awhile, but soon some sort of problem would flare up, and back I would go again.
I became a single father of my beautiful son, Turner, in 2001. It is no exaggeration to say that Turner saved my life. He and I were living in a trailer, and one night when I was sloppy drunk, I put some food on the stovetop and fell into a drunken sleep. My two-year old son shook me awake, saying, “Daddy, smoke”. I woke up just in time to extinguish what could have been a devastating fire.
My son saved my life:
Having Turner in my life also saved me spiritually and emotionally. After the fire, he and I were staying with friends who were dealing drugs. Things got pretty rowdy one night, and I found myself wondering what would happen to both him and me if the police were called. I knew it would be considered an unfit environment and that I might lose custody of him. That was the night I made the decision to turn to the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission for help.
I have been a member of the Family Hope program for nearly a year. I’m now clean and sober, have learned so much from my classes, and know that I’m a much better father. I’ve learned that God will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory; before, I thought that I had to supply my needs through selling drugs. I really like having my son in such a secure environment as well.
From shifting sands to solid rock:
My plans are to graduate from the program, and hopefully stay on at the Mission to work in the kitchen. Although I was a carpenter by trade, I’ve been working in Food Service during my time here, and I love to come to work each day. I’m very grateful to God for this second chance and to all of the donors and volunteers who give to make this happen. Once my life was built on shifting sand, but now it’s built upon the solid rock of God’s promises. It’s such a blessing to be here, and be connected to God’s unconditional, never-failing love.
