One of the greatest gifts I have received is letters from my friends describing how my story or my reaching out has touched their lives. It is such a blessing to read these. Many times we aren’t even aware of the difference we have made in someone’s life by just saying a kind word or reaching out to show we care. Sometimes the smallest and what may seem the most insignificant gesture can change a life. We can make a difference one at a time.
I love the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey. George is considering suicide and God sends Clarence, his guardian angel, to try and stop him. Things aren’t going well for Clarence because George is desperate and hopeless. When he makes the comment “It would have been better if I’d never been born” Clarence makes that happen and shows George what life would have been without him which ultimately shows the many lives he touched and how he made a difference in each one. Of course that is a movie but it has always touched me so deeply and it must have moved many more because it is shown each Christmas Eve on NBC. My kids will even sit down and watch it with me: )
When I made the decision to write a book I asked my friends, whose lives I know my story had an impact on, to write a letter as a testimonial to be put in my book. Each one I asked gladly did it. This was so very touching to me. At the permission of many of these people I have included the letters in my blog because I think it is inspirational to read about the victories any other peoples' lives. I shared about Rebecca and Angela who each are now touching lives and bringing hope to the hopeless themselves. We all are passing it on.
As I share my story and the very poor choices I made as well as the consequences I paid for those choices my hope is to reach someone before they make the same mistakes I did. My hope is for them to turn it around before they receive the legal ramifications that go hand and hand with drug addiction. There have been many success stories because the people I reached out to drew upon God and their strength and quit using before they got in trouble. I admire each one of them more than you could ever know. Obviously I didn’t have that strength, but it is what it is.
With that being said some of these people who turned their lives around before they got in trouble feel they need to be careful to protect their careers, families, and identities. The letter I am going to share today is from a sister of someone I reached out to. I really wanted a family perspective because addiction touches so many lives not just the user. This is a letter that I am going to keep anonymous but I feel it is imperative to share because it shows there is always hope and sometimes the family members don’t have the power ,although they try so hard, to make a difference . Sometimes it takes an outsider not so close to the situation or who has struggled with the same issues to speak into that person’s life. Families don't need to carry burdens and feel responsible for the things out of their control.
Again this also shows how very little I did and what little it takes to touch a life. I was blown away. All I did was meet with this girl for coffee and share my pain, mistakes, and hope. It was an amazing encounter as I had one of those experiences where I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit physically. Then outside of Starbucks I grabbed her arms and prayed to our God for her to find freedom. God was all over this situation because where she had lied about and denied drug use before, she was finally honest. When I looked into her eyes and asked her when the last time she used was, she bowed her head and said on the drive over. Freedom comes with truth and I knew she was on the road to victory and freedom because she spoke in honesty and truth that day.
Today she is drug free and seeking God, living a life in the freedom and the restoration that HE provides.
John 8: 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The letter is below :))
To Whom it May Concern:
"Susan Deface Washington has a uniquely motivating testimony to the transforming power of God’s Love. Growing up in Dallas in the 1970’s, I recall wanting to emulate my teenage sister and her friends. Susan DeFace Washington, in particular, appeared to have it all. She was beautiful, blond, and had a bubbly personality. She was a wonderful gymnast, a high school cheerleader, and was always popular. It wasn’t until years later that I would become aware of the numerous family tragedies and personal struggles that plagued her over the years. I remember observing vibrancy and promise of youth, robbed by the burden of an adulthood hindered by inadequate coping mechanisms. Her story truly is one of Christ’s redemptive Grace and Mercy. She is transformed, and now lives the abundant life God promised, while daily impacting lives for Christ. I know that God is being glorified though Susan, as I and my entire family have been impacted first hand.
In the year 2000, my sister, also a wife, mother, and daughter, began a downward spiral into the world of addiction that left her destitute and homeless. Our family tried on numerous occasions over a seven year period to shepherd her back. All attempts failed. All our family could do was pray, and after seven years, that began to feel futile. Susan offered help. She met with my sister, and was able to connect with her in that distant, lonely place. She could reach my sister on a level the family could not. Because Susan loved and acted, my sister sought help. Today my sister is alive, drug free, and home. What a wonderful example of Romans 8:28 is being displayed in Susan’s life. Our family is so grateful and thankful for Susan’s influence in our lives. I believe her message of God’s hope to a lost world is very timely. Her life testimony is a light to the lost, and a ray of hope for the ones who love them."