Gary
I grew up in Manchester and my early years in life were quite difficult. As a teenager, I had a really low view of myself which meant that I was unhappy for most of the time.
I first heard about Jesus when I was 18. I went to church but I really only went because I thought it was the right thing to do. I said I was a Christian but didn’t live my life as someone who followed Jesus.
There were many distractions around me and I started using illegal drugs in my late teens. Although I had a good job I lost it as my lifestyle became more chaotic. I became more dependant on drugs and my habit escalated to taking Class A drugs. I involved myself in criminal activities, ended up spending some time in prison, being homeless and living in hostels at various times. After many years of substance misuse my mental health was affected and I sometimes felt deep despair and even suicidal.
Years later, a friend invited me to go to a church and I committed to following Jesus fully in all areas of my life. I started to meet with a church where I lived and they became a family to me. They welcomed me, loved me and helped to get my life sorted out. A couple allowed me to live with them for 3 months and my life started on a journey of being transformed by Jesus.
Jesus gave me the confidence to look for work and the church found me a job in a local shop. I had been unemployed for over 12 years before I took this job on. Working in a shop really helped me and I could see that Jesus was giving me back all the years that drugs, loneliness and despair had taken away from me.
I met an amazing lady in our church who became a great friend to me and we were married a few years later. Jesus enabled me to find a job where I could help people be rehabilitated and free from drugs. I moved on to working with vulnerable adults helping them move into and maintain their own accommodation. Recently I have been promoted to manage a temporary accommodation service. This involves me overseeing the running of three homeless hostels. I used to live in a hostel; I now help to run three of them! This is the impact that Jesus has had on my life.
My wife and I are now happily married, have two amazing children and live in a lovely home. Jesus has completely changed and restored my life far beyond what I could have ever asked for or imagined. Whatever your life story so far, He can change your life too – for good!
Gary
