Wine and beer make people loud and uncontrolled; it is not wise to get drunk on them. Proverbs 20:1
New Year’s Eve was party night for Colin. He went to a friend’s house for the night. As usual, he got drunk.
He staggered into his Ford Focus and then he was off. He swerved back and forth onto both the sides of the road. Then what he thought was the on-ramp of Interstate 35 was actually the off-ramp. A few miles after he got on the freeway, he collided with a pick-up truck. Another driver swerved to avoid the collision, but was able to call 911.
The fire department, as well as an ambulance, arrived on the scene. A fireman dashed to the Focus and bent down next to the car. “Hey sir, are you okay?”
Colin held his hand out as if he had a cup in his hand. “A..a…a… can I have another drink?”
The fireman stood up, “We have a man trapped in this car!”
He knelt down next to the car. “Sir, what’s you name?”
“Co…co…co…Colin.”
“Sir you are going to be all right.” Two firefighters used a crowbar to pry open the door.
The firemen lifted him out of his car seat; put him on the stretcher, and into the ambulance. The other driver had minor injuries and drove to the hospital to be checked out.
A week later Colin’s condition got better. He was now able to talk to people. A strange looking grey-haired man walked into his room.
“Hi, I’m John. I am the person that was in the pick-up truck that you hit. The police told me that your name is Colin.”
“Yeah, what do you want?” Colin eye’s almost bulged out of his sockets.
“I am the Senior Pastor of Grace Baptist Church. My congregation has been praying for you.”
“Thanks for the prayer, but the last thing I want to do right now is talk to a Pastor.” Colin turned over in bed and turned his back on the Pastor.
“The police said that you were way over the limit. You could have died last night.”
“Yeah, so what! I’d be better off dead. anyway.” Colin said as he rolled his eyes.
The Pastor frowned, “That makes me sad, because the God I serve is named Jesus. He loves you and he desires a relationship with you. He can change your life, if you let him.”
Colin turned over and laid on his back. “Why would he want to love an old drunk like me. I’ve made too many mistakes.”
The Pastor smiled and said, “I came here to help you. If you don’t mind me asking. Do you have a drinking problem?’
Colin looked away from the Pastor and starred at the ceiling. “Yeah…I don’t know.”
The Pastor squeezed the bottom of his chin. “The reason I ask is people who are alcoholics, and I’ am not insinuating that you’re an alcoholic, are masking hurt inside of them. I don’t know if you are, but
Jesus can bind your wounds.”
“Pastor, thank you for coming; don’t waste your time on me. I’ll never change. My wife died many years ago; I loved her very much. My life went down hill after that. My daughter could care less about me. My parents abandoned me when I was a child. I was in foster homes during most of my childhood.”
A tear flowed from the Pastor’s right eye. “I’ am sorry you lost your wife. It seems as though you have had a life of hurt. I know someone who was despised and rejected, they spat on him and beat him up then nailed him to a cross. His name was Jesus.”
A vein swelled on Colin’s head. “Well, I’m not very religious; I don’t want to get into that Jesus trap. I really don’t want to talk to you.”
“Colin, it’s not a religion; it’s a relationship. Jesus can be the Father you never had. The thing is he will never leave you or forsake you.”
“I don’t know, I…I just don’t know,” Colin spoke as he turned his head away.
The Pastor pulled a tract and a business card out of his Bible then handed it to Colin. “Here’s a tract and my card if you ever change your mind. If you do, please call me.”
Colin reached for it and put it on his nightstand. “Thanks Pastor, although how could Jesus ever love me? No one loves me.”
“Colin, every-day during my lunch break for an hour, I ‘m going to come here sit in that chair and pray for you.”
Colin shook his head. “You’re wasting your time Pastor.”
The Pastor grinned, “I’m not going to go away and forget about you. I care about you and so does Jesus. He can deliver you from your alcoholism.”
So for the next week the Pastor sat by him and prayed during his lunch hour.
The following Monday when Pastor walked in, Colin said, “Pastor John, you’ve touched my heart. I’m tired of the way I have been living my life. I need help; I want to get to know this Jesus that you talk about.”
The Pastor beamed, “Colin, I will be happy to lead you to Jesus. We have a group called Life Source.
It’s a Christian based group of people who are chemically free. It’s based on the Bible. I think that could help you.”
Pastor John prayed with Colin and he has been chemically free ever since.
Has alcohol or drugs touched your life. My mom was a recovering alcoholic who committed suicide when I was 14. If you need help email me at kenswalkthewalk@gmail.com or click on Email me.