Their Story

April 17, 2008 is my day; the day that changed it all. It is when my life began again. It was the beginning of a new story, one that I was finally willing to let God write. Over the past 6 years there has been a lot of change, a lot of growth, and a lot of opportunity. The opportunity that I most enjoy is telling God’s story of my life and transformation. Each time I share it I am reminded of God’s grace and love. I am reminded of how much He loves me. I am reminded of hope and change. I am reminded of the freedom and the joy that I searched for a long time but only found in Him.

Six years!!! I have now lived more life sober than using. I now remember more good days than bad ones. Six is not a milestone year for celebrating, but it feels like one to me.  Around this time I year I spend a little more time than usual digesting God’s redemption in my life, and this year I came up with a new angle. Each time I tell my story I give it from my point of view, but I am not the only one in this story. This story, testimony if you will, also belongs to the people that stood in the gap for me. This story is also my parent’s story.

You see in my 5 years of using and partying, they were not celebrating and having a good time. They are the ones that prayed for me constantly. They cried out to God to save me, and I imagine each time they knew I was high their hearts broke a little more. They had to set boundaries. They saw me make bad choices. They saw me destroy my life and my future. They were hurt over and over, but they never gave up. They never turned from God. They may have been mad, but they kept praying. They had faith when I had none. They had hope when none could be seen. They had love. They believed in me. They saw my worth when I could find none. I can only recall crying out to God 1 time during those 5 years. They cried out 100s. That is why this is their story.

My Sweet Parent’s,

            Words cannot express how much I cherish you all. I am grateful that God has gifted me with each of you. I am grateful that we have grown closer to God as a family through our struggles. I pray that He gives you peace about days that are gone. If I were to have regrets they would be that I hurt you when you loved me. I know you are all proud of me, and that is one of my greatest accomplishments. I can’t wait to see what the next 6 years have in store.

                        Love Always,

                        Cary Dale