TESTIMONY BY JEFF DODD

As with most people, my addiction started early, and with what I perceived as “innocent” marijuana use.  My mother passed in 1975 due to her addiction, and my cousin thought it was funny to see an eight-year old kid get high.  By the time I reached my early teens, I was smoking marijuana quite regularly and started to experiment with alcohol.  My teenage years were rough mainly because of my rebellious attitude.  I ended up leaving St. Paul’s school as a result of my behavior.  I ended up in public school for a year.  Things only got worse.  Finally my father resorted to sending me to Lyman’s Ward Military Academy.  I did good for the first year and a half, then turned to be rebellious again and found myself finishing at Gulf Coast Academy.  Then, I blew a full scholarship at Troy University by partying and drinking.  I should have learned from my past and stayed focused on getting a degree.

I then tried joining the Army.  Again I did really well at first, but a couple of years later I found Crystal Meth in California.  I blew some more years of my life.  There was a time in my life that I was in to going to church with a girl I’d met at Delchamps and God came into my life.  The enemy threw a curve into my life and I ended up with a fracture and compression of the spine.  With honest prayer God healed me.  Once again God’s angels protected me and I am still able to walk.  I went to work at my family’s nursery and did very good until I was introduced to crack-cocaine.

I started to do all the bad things associated with keeping up my habit until in 98.  I submitted to God and stayed clean for about a year.  Then my drinking and drugging became worse. After about five years I found myself broke, homeless and living under a bridge in New Orleans.  I finally cried out “Lord help me”.  As in the book of Jonah, and as with so many of us who relapsed, I tried to run from God and ended up sinking.  Now I have finally decided to resume my relationship with God and submit to the call God has on my life. It is the only way, not only in my life, but everybodys life. Jesus is the way, truth and life. He is with me always, P.T.L.