The Man I was Meant To Be

How does a high school athlete and Boy Scout from a loving, caring family end up jailed, broke and homeless?

Bill’s troubles began right here in Jersey Shore, “drinking and drugging and hanging out with the cooler dudes,” as he puts it. “I jumped into partying with both feet,” he remembers.

A reprieve!

Bill stopped drinking when he was 29. Sober for 13 years, he raised a family and enjoyed being a dad. But when his daughter went off to college, Bill “started to stray.” He began using opiates, then progressed to cocaine and heroin.

At 57, when most people are beginning to think about retirement, Bill was arrested for drug possession. Released after six months with all his belongings in a big black trash bag, Bill soon discovered that friends didn’t want him in their homes.

“Hey, bro, what’s the matter?”

Bill was standing on the sidewalk thinking about throwing himself under a train when a complete stranger told him about the Mission here in Asbury Park… and then gave him bus fare to get here!

Bill entered the Mission as an overnight guest and began watching the staff and men in our Life Change Recovery Program. “These men were truly happy,” he says. “I wanted to know what they had that I didn’t – it was our Lord and Savior!”

“I was at the end of my rope, and this program saved my life!”

Today, the man who walked in our door with all his belongings in a big black trash bag works at our sister Mission in Morristown, helping others find their way out of darkness into the light.

He’s also trying to establish a godly relationship with his only daughter and his new grandchildren. “I know it will happen in the Lord’s time.”

With a heart of thanksgiving, Bill shares these words: “The Mission is here to support you in your struggles and help you find your way. They made me a part of their family.”

To read this issue of The Lifeline, click here.