A Sinner’s Story to Peace

For many years, I worked and looked like success but did not have true joy in my life. Why? Because I was a functioning alcoholic, which led me down a path to drug abuse and self-destruction. That path ended in 2010 when I had lost everything, except my continuing desire to cover up my emptiness with alcohol.

Fast forward to 2023, and only because of my health, I stopped drinking alcohol and began to take care of myself. The good news is, six months later I had lost 40 pounds and was feeling great physically. But the bad news is I still had an unacknowledged emptiness in my life.

This was confusing to me because in 2013 I had met Kate, my wonderful wife. We have a nice home, clothes to wear, food to eat, and a little savings, which is what I thought was all I needed to be happy. But I was wrong.

So, to fill that void, as a lifelong musician who had not played drums for 15 years, I decided to play again, thinking that would fill the emptiness and give me joy. I began looking for a church praise band that needed a drummer. But Kate and I did not attend church at that time.

You see, I was baptized at a young age and felt the Holy Spirit come into my heart at that time. But it didn’t take long before I decided to live life on my own terms and leave God out of it. My belief was that if I’m a good person, I’ll have joy in my life, and I don’t need Jesus for that. But I was wrong.

Looking for a praise band opportunity, Kate and I began attending different churches. We decided to attend a Bible study at one of them, which changed everything.

In September 2024, in week three of the Bible study, I gave my heart back to God. I was overcome with a massive amount of love, peace, and joy in my heart, which brought tears of happiness to my eyes. I remembered what I learned as a little boy: that through the saving grace of Jesus Christ, all my past sins had been washed away, and that God loves me more than I can know and wants a relationship with me now and forever.

The result: I’m not playing in a praise band, and that’s okay. God used music to get me back to Him, and I’m grateful for that. I believe God’s calling for me is the study of His word so I can learn to help others, and I look forward to doing this every day.

I’m not perfect and I never will be on earth, but I know I will be made perfect in heaven because of the mercy and grace of my Lord Jesus Christ. I’m building my relationship with God, with my wife, and my church family, and God has filled the emptiness with joy in my heart like I never thought possible.