Brooks

I was born into a family in a small town in the Southeastern United States. We attended Church regularly and were very involved as a family. At a young age, I was a very well-behaved child who played sports and did well in school.

During my childhood, my parents’ marriage became strained and eventually ended in a bitter divorce. My sister and I were separated. I lived with my Father, and she lived with my Mother; all of our lives seemed to be in turmoil. Over time, I began to change as a person, my friends became different, my grades went down to a point where I was doing just what I needed to get by in school, and I eventually quit playing sports.

When I was in high school, I started going to parties, drinking alcohol, and smoking marijuana. About this same time, I was hanging out with an older cousin who was heavily involved in drug trafficking. I decided that I wanted to be just like him and have his flashy lifestyle, as it was very appealing to a 16-year-old kid.

Even though I knew it was wrong, I started on a journey that would snowball into something bigger than I ever imagined. When I first started smoking and selling pot, I felt immense guilt, as I knew it was wrong. But the guilt was not enough to stop me, and after a while, I didn't feel any guilt at all and embraced the drug dealer lifestyle.

By the time I was in my early twenties, I had already made millions of dollars in the drug game, literally moving tons of marijuana on a regular basis. I was so far removed from the kid who sang in the choir and attended Sunday school every week. I justified my actions with a million excuses and actually viewed myself as a Robin Hood-type character, who excused the bad things I did with good deeds to my friends and family.

This wild ride lasted approximately a decade. I had plenty of opportunities to walk away, but I never did. Many of my friends and associates had already been shot or had ended up in a jail cell for lengthy sentences. Even though I knew I had to stop, it seemed like every time I tried to quit, I got sucked back in.

During this time, I had built a very successful organization, and I was so trusted by the cartel that I even managed logistics and smuggling operations for some of their other customers. I was known as "Siete-Once," which is 7 Eleven, because everything I touched made money.

Eventually, my luck ran out, and all my money, friends, and every other worldly possession I had also ran out with time. The next decade was a very painful one spent in a federal prison, separated from my friends and family. During this time, I realized that even though I was now in a physical prison, I had been imprisoned way before I was ever locked up.

I was tied to the chains of sin and worldly lust even when I was a "free" man on the streets. When I was in prison, I had several Brothers come to me with the Good News, but I truly believed that I didn't deserve God's Mercy or Grace. Nonetheless, the seeds of faith were still planted, and, like the Prodigal Son, I returned home and was welcomed into the Loving Arms of my Father and our Lord!

The Lord never left me, but I just had to accept His grace. Today, with some twenty years walking with the Lord, I can declare true Victory in our Lord Jesus Christ. I have a truly blessed life today with a great career and a beautiful family. Today, I truly know there is Life after Death and we have been washed in the blood of our Father.

It's never too late to come home. Your Father will be there to comfort you and give you rest and peace. I pray that anyone who reads this and thinks they have gone too far from home will realize that it is just a deception from the enemy, and the Lord is waiting on you with open arms and living water.