To Ed & Sally Jeffery and the Men of The Isaiah House,
I want to thank all of you so, so much for the support, love, care, patience, compassion, and unconditional love that I experienced from each and every one of you during my six month stay with all of you. I remember when I arrived; I was in a desperate situation and in quite a real sense felt lost and alone. I came from a life of living on the street, dealing drugs, using drugs, and involving myself with a horrific and violent lifestyle. I recall many of days in my addiction where I was homeless, even as a teen waking up with snow on top of my sleeping bag. No one would trust me or want to help me, and rightly so, because I would manipulate and steal from anyone it took to support my addiction. Life in my addiction got very bad very quickly. There were not a lot of “fun” times for me. Those close to me who knew me best considered me and extreme bad off addict to be as young as I was. I recall many times pleading with God to take my life from me, and then cursing him when He didn’t. I was to “chicken” to take my own life, so I wanted God to do it in my sleep. I would many times purposely overdose on insane amounts of different medications, alcohol and other drugs, and yet somehow survive. I gave up on every single one of my dreams and passions, I was convinced I would just end up dead in a ditch somewhere, so there was no reason to pursue and hopes and dreams I once had.
So what exactly took place in my life, that I haven’t used drugs or alcohol in almost three years? I asked for help. And I did what others who were in recovery asked of me. When I arrived at The Isaiah House, I felt at ease and was able to emotionally and mentally “relax”. There is a spirit of love and compassion to help the sick become healthy there. From the moment I stepped through the doors of The Isaiah House my life has never been the same. My experience there truly is difficult to explain in words, cause in all honesty, if one follows the instructions that the staff provided from years of experience, then it becomes so much more than simply time spent trying to get better in a transitional housing facility, it becomes a very intense spiritual experience. There I encountered the love of God in the form of humble servants. Through the inspiration I received at The Isaiah House, I have since accomplished many simple but once goals and dreams I had given up on. I have finally obtained my GED, I got my license reinstated, and am pursuing becoming an ordained minister, and my dream since I was a young kid to become a professional chef working in the fine dining food service industry at The Georgia Club in Statham Ga- now I am literally living that dream. Today people welcome me into their homes, and want me to help others who were once in the condition I was in. I have rebuilt bridges that myself and many other considered unable to mend. The friends I have and the people I associate myself with today are people who are in recovery, people who have a passion for Jesus Christ. I surround myself with honest people who live a healthy lifestyle. Addiction and alcoholism is a disease and it cannot be cured it can only be put into remission., I by no means an unique or different than any other addict, those of us who recover, recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. So again, I want to thank everyone for their love and support at The Isaiah House. I will continue to pray and help however I can and am able. I encourage all the new guys there be rigorously honest and fearless when working a program of recovery. Please let me know how I can help in any way! I love you all so much; you are just as close to me as my blood family. I will not ever forget my time spent at The Isaiah House. Thank you all so much!
Love,
Ben Lunsford
Grateful Resident
