Growing up I didn't have a good childhood. 

My mother was a hardworking single mother. She brought me to the states when I was 12 years old. By the age of 14, I started hanging around with the wrong crowd and ended up in juvenile hall for stealing cars. From there they sent me to a youth camp. 

I was rebellious and did not fall in line so I got sent up to California Youth Authority. I did my time and after being released and sent back home I went right back to the same bad crowd. I started drinking and smoking weed. By the age of 16, I was already doing cocaine. 

I met my wife and we had our first kid. There's about 10 years of my life that I don't even remember because I was living the fast life. In and out of jail, partying, by this time I was already addicted to meth. I thought it was all under control until we ended up evicted from our house and homeless. Living in a hotel with two kids and one on the way is not living! 

I knew the Lord for many years. The hotel restroom was where I would pray and ask God to take care of us. Even though I was going through all these things he was always there for us. In my heart, I felt that we needed to get out of the area start fresh somewhere else. 

I called my family member in Modesto and I asked If she would take us in to start a new life in Modesto. By the grace of God, she said yes. We put our stuff in a truck and started driving up to Modesto. The enemy tried to stop us of course. As we're driving the truck broke down and we had to go back. We left our truck in San Fernando and jumped on the Greyhound with our kid's car seats backpacks and finally landed in Modesto. This was about 11 years ago.

I got a job, found a place for the family and I was clean and sober. This lasted only for a couple of years. I started using again. I start going back to the old ways. Now that I'm writing this, I came to understand that I wasn't delivered yet because I was trying to do it on my own. 

When you have a problem, addiction, pain, you need God in the mix of everything that you do in your life. 

5 years ago, I walked into a church and Surrendered! I cried out God at the altar deliver me! Set me free! Break these chains! 

I promised to serve God, love, and worship our Lord for the rest of my life. I walked out of church that day a different man. I felt inside that he restored the man that I am supposed to be. 

Addiction is no more and my family is restored. I could say that now I'm a better person because of My Lord and Savior, my Redeemer. He came and told me that I was somebody. He fixed my life, my family, and blessed us with a home. 

I would like to say that if you're going through something in your life give it all to God don't try to fix it yourself because we are nothing without God. All the glory belongs to Him because by His grace we have life today thank you, Jesus.