Gaining Victory over Drugs

It started when I was 18.  I went to jail one night and it was all down hill from there.  I began staying longer as my charges added up.  Now I’m 21.  I’ve been arrested 11 times on 42 charges, mostly drug related.  Then I got my first felony.  Seven years is the bottom of my guidelines.  I’ve been here since September and I discovered God through Ministry Update.  I was amazed at the comfort it brought, just to know I’m not the only one going through this.  The stories I read had a hard impact on me for the time I’m doing.  In custody, life is temporary, and through God I now feel I have strength to deal with this time.  Now I’ve got every inmate in the cell reading  Ministry Update and feeling great.  You can’t change the past, but you can ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future.  Drugs were the reason behind all my charges.  I know this is true for most inmates.  Drugs only lead to jail---and death.  I was robbed once at gunpoint and (still) wouldn’t give up drugs.  I ended up getting shot twice by a 9mm. I was willing to trade my life for drugs.  I overdosed and blindly jumped back into drugs and the game.  I was at my all-time low and didn’t even want to wake up.  I was going through serious depression, thinking of suicide daily, not eating.  With Jesus,I found my depression going away.  It gave me the hope I needed very much.  Faith will help you deal with the inside life.  Make the best of every day as if it were your last.

 Billy E., Florida