Joe’s Story
“I felt the embrace from God like, ‘You're home. You don't have to worry anymore…’”
“I was definitely on the run from Jesus.”
Because his mother was an intravenous meth user while pregnant with him, drugs were ingrained in Joe’s life before he was even born. For the first six years of his life, his mother routinely used meth behind locked doors with others, and he only knew a reality where drugs were present.
After he turned six, his mom decided to get clean and give herself and Joe a fresh start. Despite the positive change, it was a shock to Joe, and he struggled to adjust. “My home life was completely different. I was in T-ball, Cub Scouts, karate… everything you can think of.” For the next nine years, his home life was drug-free. Despite this, his new life still felt empty—he felt something significant was missing from his life.
At age 15, Joe found friends in high school who smoked weed. After being invited to join them, he accepted, and that moment marked the re-entry of drugs into his life. “I had just found the missing piece to my life that had not been there,” Joe remembered, “It was like I felt normal again.” His drug use continued, and he needed more. A year later, he switched to using meth. Joe recalled, “It was like my jigsaw was complete all of a sudden. I was myself, and I never wanted to be any different.” Drugs brought the sense of normalcy and comfort he was looking for. Nothing else could put him at ease the way drugs could.
For the next several years, Joe was in rehab five times, had a stint in prison, and his drug use persisted. Despite the heavy use, he maintained a relationship with his grandma and lived in a shed on her driveway. The longer he stayed, the more he withdrew from everyone. His grandma and aunt, who owned the shed, noticed this and attempted many times to include Joe in the family. When he resisted and their efforts proved futile, they made the difficult decision to evict him. The only way to do so was to put a restraining order on him.
“They had a restraining order for the whole property,” Joe said. “I ended up coming back here to the Mission with nowhere else to go. I didn't have any money. I didn't have a job. I didn't have no friends.” With nowhere to turn and no one to call on for help, Joe came to Union Gospel Mission. This wasn’t his first time here, but he was at the end of his rope and had changed significantly since last time. When describing his return to the mission, Joe said, “I felt the embrace from God like, ‘You're home. You don't have to worry anymore…’”
He joined the New Life Fellowship and noticed his love for God grow the longer he stayed. Aspects of his life changed when he made the choice to surrender his life to Christ. “I can depend on the Lord for answers. That has impacted my life hands down more than anything else. I love Jesus Christ, and I love God. And when I'm stressed out, my mind won't stop racing at night, I'll lay there, and I'll just pray out loud to Jesus… It gives me the ability to be thankful to be alive. And the whole spectrum on things that I appreciate is broader. It’s like someone I can ask for advice no matter what… And I get all those answers from The Lord every day.”
Before graduating, Joe served in the maintenance department at Union Gospel Mission, using that time to build trade skills and experience with other men at the Mission. His familial relationships have been restored, and he has many meaningful relationships with those at UGM. With renewed faith and Christ-centered purpose, he is on fire for Jesus and pursues Him daily.
