Crossing The Bridge To Find Freedom And Recovery 

CROSSING THE BRIDGE TO FIND FREEDOM AND RECOVERY

Greg was fifteen when he tried meth for the first time. It took hold of Greg right away and put him on a dangerous path. The next thing he knew, he was at rock bottom. He was in and out of jail a dozen times.

Greg tells the story of how he miraculously found his way out of a hellhole and into recovery. “When I was growing up, there really wasn’t much to keep the youth occupied so a lot of us turned to using drugs. I first met Laura at a party. At that time, she was on Adderall for ADHD and she had learned pretty quickly that she could abuse it. She entered treatment a couple of times for Adderall abuse but ran away. She just cycled downward and continued experimenting with other drugs. When we got together we began living really fast and got addicted to even more drugs.

One day, I actually had a vision. I was sitting outside and it was a gorgeous day. We’d just taken a couple of hits of acid. I had a feeling come over me. And I said to myself, ‘If you keep this up, you ain’t going to make it!’ I had such a horrible feeling that I broke down and I started crying. Laura came outside and asked me what was wrong. I said, ‘I just can’t do this anymore.’ I never really felt like I had a relationship with God so I didn’t know what it would be like if He spoke to me. But right at that moment, sitting outside, I realized this had to be God speaking. Right then and there, we made an oath together that we would never use again. Laura and I realized that we needed to find our way back to God. Laura had just gotten pregnant with Willow and she wanted to be a good mom – she’d always wanted to be a mom.

When we first started coming to Eastside, it was like coming home to family. It was such a good feeling. One of the biggest ways that God has been using me right now is through mentoring. I have gone through so much in my life and I now I can give back and show others that there is a way out — a way to find freedom from addiction. I can relate to a lot of these people who need help to become a cycle breaker in their families. It helps to hear from someone who has actually made it to the other side, that there is hope. We share with others how to take those next steps towards recovery and find a way to cross that bridge to freedom. We trusted God and prayed, one day at a time.”

The miracle is God does show up in our lives. He is present and He shows up! It’s obvious how He worked in the lives of Greg and Laura. They said they put everything into God’s hands and saw miracle after miracle. They can look back and see all the ways God provided hope and healing. They wanted to share this story to inspire others, to offer hope to anybody out there who’s dealing with something similar. It’s amazing what God can do with open hearts.

If you or someone you know is in a difficult season, we invite you to check out the Care & Recovery groups at Eastside. We don’t have to navigate these seasons alone. There is a caring community of people that have walked the path to recovery and would love to walk beside you on your journey to hope and healing. There are so many groups to choose from. Check it out here: eastside.com/care.

Greg said, “It was like coming home to family,” when he and Laura first started going to church at Eastside. We would love to invite you to visit us! We believe that this is a place for everyone, wherever you are on your journey. If you would like to find out more about Eastside please visit eastside.com/about.

FIND A GROUP to help you navigate this season:

Let’s face it: Life can get difficult… complicated. But you don’t have to navigate these seasons alone. This caring community of people, who have walked the path to recovery, will walk beside you on your journey to hope and healing.

We have groups for folks who are going through a divorce, have lost a loved one, struggle with an addiction, are fighting illness, want to save their marriage, or are seeking mental wellness. We also have resources from our recent series Cycle Breaker.

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