Last week Jimmy showed up at Helping Up Mission mouth-first. I knew he’d arrived — the first time he entered my classroom!
Talkative, loud, energetic, honest — and probably a little bit manic — Jimmy’s a fun guy to be around! He so honest, he says things that he really shouldn’t be saying, but he just can’t help himself.
If you know me, you know I understand this brother!
So this week he came bouncing into class to announce to me — Jimmy doesn’t really “tell” things — he announces! He’d just passed his UA (urinalysis) here. That means he was clean of any and all drugs in his system.
Jimmy “announced” this was the first clean UA he ever gave in his life! He added, “I couldn’t even get clean long enough to pass a UA to provide public assistance for my kids!”
In his early 30s, Jimmy’s spent much of his adult life incarcerated. He hasn’t been clean for more than 2 months at a time in almost 2 decades.
But Jimmy’s clean today! And he’s excited about it.
I don’t know how things will go for him, but I know Jimmy gets that this spiritual stuff is an important ingredient in real and lasting recovery. I also know it will work every day, if he will work it.
So today we celebrate…Jimmy’s clean and he doesn’t care who knows it!
One Day at a Time – for Jimmy and Me,
Pastor Gary Byers
Deputy Director