“Opiates were my drug of choice – raw heroin. I couldn’t live with it and I couldn’t live without it. I had been doing really out of character things –I had lost the house to bankruptcy, lost my job, totaled my vehicle – my life was falling apart and snowballing out of control. I stayed at HUM for the first time for 5-6 months. I thought I was OK, but I only stayed clean until my first paycheck. I learned that relapse doesn’t have to be the end of recovery. Fear keeps a lot of guys from making the decision to surrender. There’s embarrassment and shame. Getting over the guilt and shame, and coming back through the door of HUM was part of a spiritual awakening for me. God’s really been working in my life and people can see that. It’s brought my family together – we’re all attending church together on Sunday, which has been remarkable. I don’t react to things the way I would in the past. In the past when traumatic things happened, I would have used. Not today. I don’t deserve and couldn’t repay anyone for what I have now. But I’m becoming the person that God intended me to be.” —–Matt, 365 days #clean and #sober Map who's running in the next year's Boston Marathon! You can read his story, or listen to Matt’s interview with Pastor Gary, at the link in our profile: helpingupmission.org/stories/matt #grace #runner #runninglife #marathon #bostonmarathon #addiction #shame #heroin #opiates #surrender #heardatHUM
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