Cody

“THE SACRIFICE PLEASING TO GOD IS A

BROKEN SPIRIT. GOD, YOU WILL NOT DESPISE

A BROKEN AND HUMBLED HEART.”

Psalm 51:17

Born and raised in Huntsville, my mom encouraged me to go to church and seek Christ, yet my dad battled substance-abuse issues his whole life. This ultimately led to their divorce.

When I turned 13, I started experiencing extreme anxiety to the point that it started negatively affecting me. Panic attacks controlled what I did and where I’d go. I was experimenting with drugs, skipping school,and was eventually expelled. I started relying on opiates to cope with daily life and was in and out of rehabs since I was 17.

Though I still saw my dad after the divorce, our relationship was strained because of his substance abuse issues, and when I was 22, my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died three months later.

By 30, I was incarcerated. I was broken and could not figure out why my plans never worked out despite my best efforts.

Though I believed Jesus was the son of God, I made no effort to follow Him. Oftentimes, I let my pride get in the way of seeking after God, and I always thought I knew better. I had lost hope in ever having a life free from addiction.

Then, I came to the Downtown Rescue Mission.Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.” I had been humbled and realized that my way of doing things was not working out. There’s another way though, and that’s through Christ.

Jesus said in John 6:27, “Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him.” Jesus also says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

I have been given grace through Jesus, who lived the perfect life and died on the cross for my sins. Ihave been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, and this is all the hope I need.

I plan on staying at the Downtown Rescue Mission after I graduate, and continue to volunteer or work here. I understand being at that point of brokenness which many experience when they come to the Mission. I want to show love to others and pointing them toward Christ, which is what we as Christiansare called to do.

–Cody