Celebrate Recovery – Testimonial
 

Harvey Straight

My name is Harvey, I was born in Chicago into a single parent home along with my one sister. There are no other siblings. My mom raised us to be very close as we grew up. Mom worked hard at making a home for us that was safe and clean. We were never hungry. My first 15 years were normal as I was into sports, music and art but it was also at that age that I began to be curious about other things and ended up taking my first drink.  I was the first among my small group of friends to do so. There the seed was planted for what would later become a life of drugs and alcohol. I was kicked out of high school in my junior year but managed to get my GED and then go on to serve 2 years in the U.S. Navy. I progressed from marijuana and pills to harder drugs and started to commit crimes and was arrested for armed robbery.

​It was in jail that I met the Lord Jesus through another inmate who was the son of a Pentecostal preacher. After hearing about sin and my need for a savior, I accepted Christ as Savior and Lord. I was sentenced to 6 years and sent to a prison downstate. I don’t know what happened to my new friend. I was later released after completing nearly 3 years of my sentence and went on to start living a better life, getting married and having children. We all went to church but with working, parenting, and even 
attending community college I began to give less time to God (there was actually enough time, I just lost focus) and so Idrifted away. I still remained sober for a few years but the physical manifestation of a relapse was inevitable. It started a 12 year run that saw me lose my wife to lung cancer, then my job and resulted in me being asked to leave by my adult children who were living with me because of spending bill money and deception. I bottomed out and asked God to receive me back. I went into rehab and came out. I have since begun the process of reconciliation with my children and have now been sober and even cigarette free for over 17 years, as well as been a member of my church for that time. I have also since gotten married  again to my current wife and her two children and we both are in ministry together.
 
This my story.
Harvey.