Grady attended a church for around 18 years, but knew nothing of a personal relationship with a living Saviour. After descending into a drug-induced hell (including alcohol, marijuana, uppers and downers, L.S.D., mushrooms, X.T.C., Crystal Meth and crack cocaine), Grady has experienced the grace of God and found a relationship with the living Saviour
Raised in the church but I did know God
I was raised in a really wonderful, loving family, but I was also raised in a very formal dry church in which I had never seen anyone with a real relationship with God. I went there for about 18 years. Basically all I really learned was that Jesus did die for me, but I had never heard of the 'born again' experience, which happens to be, I believe, the most important subject of the bible for someone to know about.
The start of the descent into a drug-induced hell
I quickly became very bored with life at a young age. I was heavily involved in sports from the third grade up. The summer going into my freshman year of high school, I smoked marijuana for the first time and I didn't see what the big deal was. I got drunk for the first time later that year and I definitely took an interest in that! As I went through high school, I drank pretty much every opportunity I got, mainly on the weekends at parties and when we were out riding. I also smoked marijuana when it was available. I tried to stay out of trouble as much as possible, because I loved football so much.
Deceived into thinking drugs were what I was looking for
In my senior year I tried L.S.D. and loved it but I knew I liked 'uppers' a whole lot more. After I graduated, at the age of 18 I tried cocaine for the first time and fell in love with it. That was what I had been looking for all my life or so I thought. The devil is such a liar. Well, needless to say, it was pretty much all-downhill from that point on. I began using mushrooms, X.T.C., Crystal Meth, and crack cocaine pretty much on a regular basis always mixed with alcohol, pills, and marijuana. The drug that I became most addicted to was crack cocaine. For five years it was a constant roller coaster of trying to rid myself of this horrible drug. I have often said that crack cocaine is the incarnation of the devil himself.
Jesus entered the equation
If it weren't for the grace of God and a loving family, things would have been even worse than they were. When I was 22 years old, I was introduced to a Pentecostal church and I met Jesus Christ as he filled me with his awesome Holy Spirit! The only thing was, I didn't go there looking for that. It just kind of happened. I went straight back into the world for two more years still on drugs. However, no matter where I went or what I did, I couldn't forget about what had happened to me at that church.
Going back to church
At the age of 24, I checked myself into a detox program to get off of crack. When I got out, I went back to that church to visit. I didn't realize it until much later, but the first time I went was a Sunday night of the third weekend of March. When I went back to church two years later, it was also on Sunday night of the third weekend of March! The reason I remember that is because there's a festival in my hometown that weekend every year.
Life is not a game!
I was renewed in the Spirit that night and began a journey of seeking God and making some changes, kind of just feeling everything out. After two months in church, I fell back into drugs for a three-day period, and felt literally possessed by the devil. By the grace of God, I came out of it, and realized that living for God was not a game, and if I didn't buckle down, that I was going to die.
The joy of pressing on
From that point on, I had a made up mind to live for God, no matter what anyone thought or what it might cost me. Nothing can stop a child of God with a made up mind … praise God! One year into church I began working full time as the outreach director, and I am called to preach … praise God!
God is real …
Life is not a game …
Turn from your sin …
Give Jesus the control of your life …
Grady
