My Story
From addiction and loss to faith, recovery, and a life rebuilt with purpose.
Looking back, it's hard to remember a time when addiction wasn't part of my life. Over the years, my addiction came to involve nearly every type of drug imaginable. As my addiction progressed, I lost everything and eventually found myself homeless. I also experienced multiple overdoses, each one a sobering reminder of just how destructive addiction had become.
For years, my life became a cycle of detoxing, trying again, experiencing periods of sobriety, and eventually returning to substance use. There were moments when I believed change was possible and seasons when I genuinely wanted a different life. Yet no matter how determined I was, I often found myself returning to the very place I had promised I would never go back to.
Even during those years, one thought continued to surface in my heart:
I was created for so much more than this.
Deep in my spirit, I knew I wasn’t living out the purpose God had for me, but I couldn’t find a way out.
Then, in 2019, everything changed. As a result of intravenous drug use, I developed a serious blood infection that spread to my heart. The doctors told me I had a 50/50 chance of surviving. At just 33 years old, I was forced to face the reality that my life could be over. For the first time, I truly believed I was about to die and meet God.
With that realization came one question that would forever change the course of my life:
If I were to meet God today, what would I have to show for the life He entrusted to me?
I couldn’t escape that question. Despite receiving the medical treatment available to me, the infection remained in my heart, and I was told that heart surgery might be needed. The doctors then performed a more detailed test to determine how much infection was still there and whether it could be surgically removed.
But when they looked more closely, the infection was gone. It had disappeared without surgery.
I believe God gave me a miracle. More than healing my body, He gave me a second chance at life. But the greatest miracle wasn't only what happened to my heart—it was what happened to me spiritually.
For most of my life, I had misunderstood who God was. I believed He was distant. I believed He was disappointed in me. I believed He was angry with me because of everything I had done. I was wrong.
For the first time, I encountered and experienced the true love of God. Because of the miracle He gave me, I realized He was real. I realized He personally knew me. I realized He wasn't angry with me. In fact, I realized He loved me more than I could have ever imagined.
Experiencing His love shattered the misconceptions I had carried for years—not only about God, but also about addiction, recovery, my identity, and my purpose. That moment changed the direction of my life.
I knew I wanted to spend the life God had spared serving others. I wanted my second chance to have purpose. That calling eventually led me to become a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA), and I've had the privilege of serving hundreds of individuals and families through some of life's most difficult seasons.
It also led me to establish Restore Recovery Services and create the Restore Meeting—a faith-based recovery support group built on hope, healing, community, and purpose.
Today, I don’t believe recovery is simply about overcoming addiction or surviving the hardest seasons of life. It’s about discovering who you were created to be. It’s about finding hope again. It’s about rebuilding what addiction tried to destroy. It’s about discovering that your past does not have to determine your future.
If there's one thing I hope you take away from my story, it's this:
No matter where you are today, you can be restored to the purpose you were created for.
My life is living proof that God can bring beauty from brokenness, purpose from pain, and hope where there once seemed to be none.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I would be honored to be part of yours.