Renew. Restore. Rejoice. A SafeHouse Ministries Podcast

Andrea's Story: Drowning in a Deep Ravine...Figuratively and Literally.

• Phil Shuler • Season 2 • Episode 26

Share episode

Andrea's story is a wild roller coaster ride which was often a nightmare lived out in real life.  But through her patience and God's Grace she has come through to get out of the nightmare and live in the light!  You'll hear her modern-day testimony about how God never leaves us nor forsakes us but loves us and is always there for us when we recognize our folly and cry out to Him for salvation and help!

Andrea:

And then I called the guy that was, supply me or whatever while I was in Albany and I told him to bring some stuff over and he did. He didn't ask for anything returned that time and I ended up ODing that time and I found myself in the bathroom holding onto both sides of the wall in a cold shower because I knew I'd pushed the limits a little too far. And the room was spinning in two different directions. I couldn't breathe. And then everything just went black. I woke up about a day and a half later with half of my body in the shower and the other half on the floor.

Phil:

Wow.

Andrea:

And a needle, a couple inches out of my hand on the floor. And I said, Oh God. And I looked at my phone and it was exactly almost a day and a half later. Wow. And I said at that point something just shook my soul at that point. Because, it took me back to, what I had taken from my kids in my using. And it was almost like God said Yeah. Yeah. This is what's going to happen if you keep pushing the limits and then you're not going to have anything to give your kids And I said, okay god I won't touch it anymore. If you will give me the chance to reconcile my relationship with my kids And if you'll give me another chance to be a mom

Phil Shuler:

HellO, and welcome to Renew, Restore, Rejoice, the Safe House Ministries podcast, where we share stories of the power of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. Safe House Ministries is based out of Columbus, Georgia, and we are a ministry that exists to love and serve people who have been affected by addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. I'm your host, Phil Shuler, the Director of Development for Safe House Ministries here in Columbus, Georgia. Safe House serves over 1, 100 people each month as they transition back into our community. Safe House provides an abundance of services including 213 beds for homeless individuals and families, case management for obtaining job skills and long term employment. Over 300 hot meals every day, free clothing, and so much more. One of the most incredible services that Safe House provides is our free 9 12 month intensive outpatient substance abuse program, which is state licensed, CARF accredited, and has no wait list. Almost 100 percent of individuals staying in our shelters who follow our three phase program become fully employed within a few months. And 68 percent of individuals who stay at least one night with us End up finding work and moving into their own home. Thank you for being with us today and listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoy this week's episode.

Phil:

this morning's podcast I am very excited about. My colleagues, as they usually do, text me the names of people that they think would be really great to get on the podcast, and Andrea was one of those people. Andrea has an amazing story, and I'm so excited to hear it, and I know it's going to be a blessing to so many people. So Andrea, good morning, and thank you for being here on the podcast.

Andrea:

Good morning, Phil. Thank you for having me.

Phil:

To kick it off, I would love to ask you if there was one word that might best describe you. What do you think that word would be?

Andrea:

I would probably have to say patient.

Phil:

That is a good word. And that's something I need more of. So tell me what makes you pick that word? Tell me what that means about you.

Andrea:

Comparing myself to a lot of others that I know through a lot of trials and tribulations that I've had I'm really patient and really calm. In a lot of aspects and a lot of people comment on that and they tell me I've got so much patience and they don't see how I do things that I do.

Phil:

Wow.

Andrea:

Yeah.

Phil:

I'm going to try not to be a little too jealous because that's not always easy for me. Sometimes

Andrea:

I wonder myself where do you guys see all this patience because I don't see it.

Phil:

That makes me think of a couple of other things that are so important to have in our lives. The first one that comes to mind is peace, like the peace of God. I think it's hard to be patient if you don't have peace.

Andrea:

And it took a long time for me to get that peace.

Phil:

Wow.

Andrea:

To actually be able to just give it all up and say, okay, God, I'm done trying to hold on to it.

Phil:

Wow. That's so neat. The another thing it makes me think of is grace. Like Patience, I think is a quality very similar to just Grace. And giving grace to other people and showing grace and long suffering and kindness you have gotten me so excited. There are going to be things that the Lord is going to teach me as you tell your story and I can't wait. Because I love learning. I know I have so many things to learn and one of the things that I love most about this podcast every week is the things that I learn, the things that the Lord teaches me, the things that You and others share that change the way I think and change my perspective and just It's really great. Yeah, it's really great. So awesome. I'm excited. Thank you so andrea tell us where you grew up.

Andrea:

I was born in Gwinnett county, georgia Okay, I was raised in flowery branch the hall county A single parent home My parents divorced when I was at a very young age.

Phil:

Okay, before you remember, like you Okay.

Andrea:

Before I can remember, And you stayed

Phil:

with your mom? my mom. Okay.

Andrea:

It was just my mom, my brother, and I. Of course, growing up, times weren't always the best. Mom was always, working or, out doing what she needed to do to make a way, for my brother and I to have what we needed to have. And then as we got older, It went from being, just my brother and I to just being me. Because, brother wanted to do his own thing and hang out with his friends.

Phil:

Yeah. So he was older?

Andrea:

So then I started, seeking validation and fulfillment from wrong places. At what age did you start doing that? I'd say probably around 12, 13.

Phil (2):

Okay.

Andrea:

I started hanging out with older people, specifically older men. For older guys I started smoking cigarettes, then that led to smoking marijuana, at the age of 14, 15. Wow. At age 16, I quit school.

Phil:

Wow, what grade were you in at that point?

Andrea:

I was in 11th grade.

Phil:

Okay.

Andrea:

At age 17 I tried to go back to night school to get my GED, got arrested for my first time. At that time on math at 19, at 17. Yes.

unknown:

Oh, wow.

Andrea:

I was charged with my first felony ever. So my 18th birthday in Hall County jail. And my mother let me sit there for a few months to, learn my lesson and it stuck, cause I didn't get into any more trouble for Quite some time.

Phil:

So that was a, that was an effective

Andrea:

Yeah, I mean it was a scared straight kind of thing. 2005 I was on probation for five years. Of course, when you're on probation, you're subject to random drug screens. You gotta do random things that they ask you to do like drug classes or, mental health evaluations, that sort of thing. Yeah. So I did all that. I complied with everything that they wanted me to do. And 2009, I got off of probation. With good behavior, and of course with my mom's help helping me pay off my fines and things early.

Phil:

Yeah, so you hadn't, you didn't do any more drugs or anything during that time period? No. Not even marijuana? No. Wow.

Andrea:

A couple years after that though I would say probably around 2010, 2011 I met the man of My, my first child's father he was fresh out of prison. Of course, that kind of sets up a whole lot of red flags right there. And I didn't know that he was on meth. He was doing drugs and everything when he got out. And I got, Drug back into the tank.

Phil:

Were you living with your mom at that time? I was.

Andrea:

And then I left mom's house to, to live with him and his stepdad. And then, kind of way my mom ends up meeting his stepdad on a chat line. Wow. And they end up getting married.

Phil:

Wow. Yeah. That's a crazy coincidence.

Andrea:

It's crazy. so me and his name was Billy. Me and Billy, we went out on a homeless rendezvous, I guess you could call it.

Phil:

You said a homeless rendezvous?

Andrea:

Homeless rendezvous, because we didn't have anywhere to go, but, we couldn't do what we wanted to do under, our parent's roof or whatever. So we just kind of, struck out and with the world against us, we were ready. You just left out and you had nowhere to go? We were dumb and careless. Dumb and careless. Wow. That's it. Yeah, and then we ended up moving in with my dad.

Phil:

Had your dad been a part of your life over the years?

Andrea:

No my mom actually used to tell me that my dad was gay. A lot. And that he didn't want to have anything to do with me. And then at the age of 12, him and my stepmom had a home wedding and she dumped my brother and I off at, um, their friend's house where the wedding was being held the day of.

Phil:

Wow. Thinking that Did you know that was happening that day? No, I had no

Andrea:

idea.

Phil:

All of a sudden here's Danny's getting married.

Andrea:

Yeah, I was just told that we were going to go and spend some time with my dad. Wow. I was just like, okay story short, I guess she thought that she was going to ruin the event. And Little did she know they had been honeymooning and everything for a couple of years before they decided to get married. So we weren't ruining anything. But she bless her heart, she opened up her arms to both of us. She lost her only child to a motorcycle accident when he was a teenager.

Phil:

And

Andrea:

So she opened up her heart to the both of us. Wow. Me especially because she always wanted a girl. So she did a lot of things, with me and, she bought me a lot of toys, a lot of clothes, everything I asked for, she would make sure I got it. And, mom would always, new school clothes were bought. Mom would always turn around and take them back to get the money. I was stuck without a lot of times, but, Yeah.

Phil:

So she would try to help you out and your mom would take whatever she gave you and sell it.

Andrea:

Yep.

Phil:

Wow. So that was periodically over, through your teenage years, you had that kind of relationship. You would spend a little time over there and

Andrea:

Yeah, I would go over there every weekend and then most of the time during the summers.

Phil:

Okay.

Andrea:

And then my brother would go too until he got into college. Eventually he moved into my dad's house permanently because, he got tired of mom taking his money and

Phil:

that

Andrea:

sort of thing. He was working and putting himself through school and

Phil:

Wow. So when when you and Billy moved in, was your brother still there as well?

Andrea:

No, he had moved off to Texas. Okay. To pursue his college degree. and me and my At one point in time, my brother and I were really close. And then, I started Breaking promises and, making wrong decisions and he saw it and he just Put the wall up.

unknown:

Yeah,

Andrea:

and I think you know in a lot of ways that co signed a lot of my Bad decisions maybe

Phil:

you felt like he wrote you off. So you just dove deeper into the craziness.

Andrea:

Yeah

Phil:

Did he never struggle with drugs or anything like that?

Andrea:

No, he has always been the golden child. He, dibbled with marijuana once or twice, whenever he was, like, early teenage years.

unknown:

Yeah.

Andrea:

And we lived down the street, we grew up down the street from, um, the sheriff's office in our town. And coincidentally, the laundromat is where he would hang out. Smoke his little joints or whatever with his friends, and it was right next door to it. And, a cop came around the corner one day, he said and saw him stuffing it in a garbage bag, and it scared the deal out of him. He hasn't touched it since.

Phil:

Wow. That's what I'm saying. Wow.

Andrea:

Yeah, he he's always been the golden child. He's very smart. He put himself through college. He's got his PhD. in foreign language and he is a assistant principal Wow. at an elementary school.

Phil:

So he's doing well.

Andrea:

He's doing great.

Phil:

Wow, okay. So you and Billy moved in with your dad and your stepmom. And then,

Andrea:

I found out that I was pregnant with Addison who is now 13. Billy didn't want a part of it. He left.

Phil:

He didn't want the part of being a dad at all? Like he, that, he was like, you're having a kid, I'm out of here.

Andrea:

Cause he was adamant in the fact that, I had to take my birth control every day at a certain time. And I did, but God is God. It doesn't matter.

Phil:

Truer words have never been spoken. He does what he wants to do. Yeah.

Andrea:

But the thing about it is though, I wasn't ready to be a mom at the time. And, I was, getting a little bit deeper in, in my struggles and a little bit deeper in, in the drug use and running the streets and everything. So I moved outta my dad's house just out of respect.

Phil:

Yeah. You and Addison.

Andrea:

Addison was, um, hadn't been born yet. Okay. After she was born, I. It didn't feel right. I didn't feel like I was ready to be a mom. I wanted her, but I didn't want to be a mom. I wasn't ready to

Phil:

You didn't feel like you were able to do that.

Andrea:

Yeah, I wasn't ready to stop the foolishness. So I went into rehab. This place called Women's Services in Athens. I was there for about 18 months. And I was you know with 27 plus women, you get lonely.

unknown:

Yeah.

Andrea:

I went out on a weekend pass and ended up getting pregnant with my now 11 year old son, Tyson.

Phil (2):

Okay.

Andrea:

And so we're approaching the end of my, in my term at women's services and I'm doing parenting classes and what have you. I was about eight months pregnant with Tyson. And it was our turn to cook for our painting class that day. And I went to pick up Addison from daycare. It was pouring down rain, like elephants and rhinos, like not cats of dogs, elephants, and rhinos. Wow. It was awful. That's

Phil:

a hard rain.

Andrea:

So I was going down highway two 11 in Brazelton and I hit a deep curve going down a hill and I overcorrected myself. I flipped my car five times.

Phil:

Wow.

Andrea:

And landed, thank God I landed on the left side of the road and not the right, on top of a whole bunch of pine trees. Wow. It could have been a whole lot worse than it was, and thankfully, Baby Tyson and I were unharmed. Outside of a

unknown:

miracle.

Andrea:

Yeah, absolutely, and it happened across the street from like a Chinese church. Which was really crazy, because that wasn't another Building or anything on that road for miles and there wasn't any traffic on the road whenever it happened So I'm sitting in the car and I noticed the cars filling up with water because we're upside down and in a ravine

Phil:

Oh, no

Andrea:

And I said, okay God, I've got to get out of this car. I said if I go through the windshield, it's not gonna end Well, and there's a gap on the driver's side Window, maybe about six or eight inches wide somehow, being eight months pregnant, being in the barn, somehow I managed to squeeze my way out of that gap with, no cuts, bruises or anything. And so was it was, the car

Phil:

was sinking under the water.

Andrea:

Yeah,

Phil:

that is like one of the crazy nightmares I've had over the years and you lived it.

Andrea:

It was awful. And I, wow. Thinking back on it, I was like, okay, God, I'm glad that Tyson wasn't hurt, but I was put in a situation where I had to give up one to save the other because I had to be medically discharged from The family treatment program that I was in that in tune put Addison into the hands of the state So she went into foster care. How old was

Phil:

she?

Andrea:

She was three four at the time.

Phil:

Okay

Andrea:

Tyson was born in October of 2013 with no complications. I had to move back down with my mom in Greenville during that time in December, the December after he was born. She and I have never gotten along. We've always butted heads because we're so much alike. But she put me and Tyson out in the dead middle of winter. Thankfully I had a car, so I was able to find somewhere else to go, and How old was

Phil:

Tyson?

Andrea:

Tyson was probably about three months old.

Phil:

Oh,

Andrea:

wow. Barely three months old.

Phil:

Wow.

Andrea:

And I had some friends that lived up in Rex, Georgia, around Atlanta. And they offered me a room in exchange for, working for their home improvement company. And I said yeah, what about baby Tyson, and she's my, my wife works from home. So, she can watch Tyson while you work. And I said, okay, that might work. But that didn't last very long. His wife got overwhelmed with having a new baby in the house and she didn't

Phil:

have any kids of her own.

Andrea:

She did, but her kids were like seven.

Phil:

Okay. And it was like,

Andrea:

so it was almost like she had completely over. That's a lot. Yeah. We ended up moving back down to my mom's and at that point I Between then and moving back to my mom's I had to sign the adoption papers for Addison So a

Phil:

foster family there was someone that wanted to adopt her.

Andrea:

Yes, and Thankfully, we were able to build somewhat of a relationship before the adoption was final they would let me come along to You know, birthday outings and, just get to know the family, the mom and the dad. Yeah. They have a similar story You know to mine. I'm sorry

Phil:

The adopting family.

Andrea:

Yes, the adopting family. The mom had a very similar story to mine

Phil:

like the way she grew up

Andrea:

and her mom gave her up for adoption and The lady that, that, that got heard that, let her keep her identity. And she told her that, she had another mom, she told her who her mom was. And her biological mom kept a box of letters for her whenever she was old enough to understand the who's, what's, when, where's and why's, she didn't they let them meet and, wow. And so they're doing the same thing with Addison and I'm so grateful for that. Granted, I don't get to see her or talk to her. I do get email updates twice a year. Birthdays and Christmas. Yeah. But she's doing great. She's an AB honor roll student. She plays sports. They've now adopted two more children since Addison.

Phil:

It's like a superhero family. Yeah. Wow.

Andrea:

Yeah, and Addison is a great big sister. That's awesome. She's so patient and smart. She's patient, huh?

Phil:

Yeah. Okay.

Andrea:

But I, it took a long time for me to be at peace with having to because I felt like I'd abandoned her, but I knew that she was going into a situation where she would have a better life than what I could have given her.

Phil:

Yeah, I can't imagine how hard it was yeah, it

Andrea:

was rough But I didn't know what I was signing when I signed it and it was a closed adoption. Yeah, so But yeah,

Phil:

wow, okay

Andrea:

and then so tyson and I Kind of it was just me and him for a little while and

Phil:

at your mom's or you at my mom's

Andrea:

And then I had gotten back on drugs. I started smoking marijuana again. Hanging out with the wrong people. Kinda more worried about the companionship of a guy than I was about spending time with my baby. Although, I was taking him with me wherever I went, which is not the best environment for a baby. But, you know, I was determined that I wasn't gonna let my mom, throw that up in my face that I was dumping my baby off on her to go run the streets or whatever.

Phil (2):

Yeah, okay.

Andrea:

A couple years go by, Tyson is now three. And got a job working at the Golden Pantry in Pine Mountain, Georgia. And I got my own place.

Phil:

So you moved to Pine Mountain? Okay.

Andrea:

And my mom was leery about letting Tyson come and stay with me, but, in all reality, I should have stood up for myself, but I didn't. And she said if the right person finds out that you're still Smoking weed and this that the other you know, they're gonna snatch him away from you like you just like you lost Addison And so she In a roundabout way. I feel like she blackmailed me into giving her temporary guardianship of Tyson And after that It was excuse upon excuse. I still you know why I couldn't come and see him or you know why I couldn't bring him birthday presents Christmas presents or any of that up until

Phil:

So she shut you out? Yeah,

Andrea:

for a good five years.

Phil:

Wow.

Andrea:

And during that time I got even deeper. Yeah, I got back on meth. I was homeless. I lost my place to stay because I lost my job.

Phil:

So you're homeless living in Pine Mountain?

Andrea:

I was going from abandoned, from one abandoned house to Another almost, until I met somebody that became more of a friend than a a provider, a drug provider, because he cared more about conversation and companionship than, Whatever but he said, as long as, you can stay here as long as you want, just, I just don't want to be alone. And he was retired, Army vets but he's he was

Phil:

older than you.

Andrea:

Yeah much older than me old enough to be my dad Probably even my grandpa

Phil:

Wow

Andrea:

But he spent his entire pension and Social Security check on drugs Yeah, and that's his life. It's his lifestyle and he enjoys it But I had a room there for several years I had I turned to put started turning to prostitution And,

Phil:

Make money for drugs?

Andrea:

More, yeah, not really. Maybe

Phil:

the companionship piece as well, or?

Andrea:

Not really for the drugs, but just to have what I wanted. Because I still had a car. And I needed gas, and I needed clothes and things.

Phil (2):

Yeah.

Andrea:

But I didn't want to, I didn't want to leave the safe haven of my drug house to go and be responsible. To get a honest job, yeah.

unknown:

Okay.

Andrea:

And I met this guy his name was Brad, and he was an IV user.

Phil:

Oh, wow.

Andrea:

And I'd gotten a call from my mom telling me, this was back in June, this was, This was in June, telling me that my stepmom had died.

Phil:

But

Andrea:

the cellular service was so bad in Pine Mountain, I understood her say that my dad had died.

Phil:

Oh no! And so

Andrea:

that,

Phil:

that

Andrea:

sent me completely off the edge. Because I've always been a daddy's girl, even though, he's been out of my life for so many years. He taught me more responsible life skills than my mom ever did. I can fix my car, pipe breaks or something in my house. That's awesome. Wow. Dad's always been great, but, he wasn't really emotionally there. He was just always, that type of relationship. But, that set me off the edge. And, I told this guy, I said I looked at him, I said let me try that. And, you could see it just like a ghost. Just Came in his body. His eyes got really big. He said, No, Andrea, you don't want to try this. You don't want this life. And I said Yes, I do. Let me try it. And he said, No, I can't do it.

Phil:

Wow. So he, because he knew how like the next level of the IV using what it does to you.

Andrea:

He wouldn't let me. crossover into that lifestyle. And I gave him an ultimatum because my world was crushed and I was upset. I was beyond angry. And I said you can either let me try it or you can give me my drugs back and get the F out of my room. And of course he pulled an extra needle out of his pocket and he said, that's what you want. I'm going to leave it right here, but I'm not going to sit here and watch you do it.

unknown:

Wow.

Andrea:

And I did and that, that sent me to the moon.

unknown:

Wow. To

Andrea:

the moon and I was I was an IV user for almost a year.

Phil:

Of meth? Of meth. Okay.

Andrea:

Yeah. And from Pine Mountain, somewhere between there I ended up meeting, who's now my late husband We met in November. We got married the following April, but he and I were both in our mess. He grew up in that lifestyle. So to him, that was normal. He didn't know anything but in and out of jail. A sober day was an awful day to him. And so we just became Bonnie and Clyde in the worst ways, running off On the dope man, you know this that and the other and I eventually got tired of the abuse and being cheated on and I left I ended up in albany

unknown:

okay,

Andrea:

With a good friend of mine and Somehow like I ended up finding the worst people I think I used to be attracted to these people like they were Would find out that, I was an addict or that I was a user. And they'd be like, Oh, I know the perfect person. I'll be right back. I'll get you some.

unknown:

Wow.

Andrea:

So there's always people co signing my bullcrap and I would go for it. Unfortunately I would go for it. And

Phil:

Did they want to manipulate you and take advantage of you? Or were they just no, this, Just, that's just the kind of people they were and they wanted to bring other people into it?

Andrea:

Yeah.

Phil:

Okay.

Andrea:

This person I was living with in Albany, we had met several years ago in my early 20s. And we tried the whole relationship thing and it didn't work because he was an over the road truck driver. He came off the road and became a firefighter in, in Albany. And he just wanted me to be somewhere safe, cause I would keep in touch with him and tell him what all I was going through. And he kept trying and kept trying to get me to come down there. And finally I was just like, you know what? I've had enough. I'm ready. I'm ready to leave. I can't do this anymore. And whenever I got down there I'd gotten comfortable with the town and some of the people in it and stuff and I started using even more. And I met these guys on Plenty of Fish.

Phil:

That's a website? It's

Andrea:

a dating site. Okay. Yeah, and went out for what I thought was gonna be, just a night of partying and, just to get away and have a little bit of fun. Being stranded in a abandoned trailer park. And I was there for about three weeks. And the person that brought me there was willing to, keep supplying my drugs as long as, I would sleep with them or whatever. But he wouldn't be willing, he wasn't willing to bring me back home. It was too far. And I didn't have any money. My, my dad, I called my dad. He wasn't able or willing to come to get me. He's either out on the other end of the country, or he just didn't want to be a part of it. And I knew mom wouldn't, so I wouldn't even dare to call her and say, Hey, this is what I meant. Can you come get me? Cause I knew she wouldn't. So I the last time I remember using, I can't do anything but think about my husband. And I said, God, something's got to give, because, the way I was raised. Things like that are supposed to be a one time thing, and I said I just, I want to save my marriage. And I said, if it means me getting sober and trying to, give him that support or give him that role model. And and getting him's over then that's what I'll do. And I quit for about four days. And I called my husband and he said he didn't want me back. And he wasn't really, he wasn't willing to sign the divorce papers, but he didn't want me to come back home because he was with someone else. And they were, living up, using together and the whole nine yards. And then I called the guy that was, supply me or whatever while I was in Albany and I told him to bring some stuff over and he did. He didn't ask for anything returned that time and I ended up ODing that time and I found myself in the bathroom holding onto both sides of the wall in a cold shower because I knew I'd pushed the limits a little too far. And the room was spinning in two different directions. I couldn't breathe. And then everything just went black. I woke up about a day and a half later with half of my body in the shower and the other half on the floor.

Phil:

Wow.

Andrea:

And a needle, a couple inches out of my hand on the floor. And I said, Oh God. And I looked at my phone and it was exactly almost a day and a half later. Wow. And I said at that point something just shook my soul at that point. Because, it took me back to, what I had taken from my kids in my using. And it was almost like God said Yeah. Yeah. This is what's going to happen if you keep pushing the limits and then you're not going to have anything to give your kids And I said, okay god I won't touch it anymore. If you will give me the chance to reconcile my relationship with my kids And if you'll give me another chance to be a mom And so I felt some sort of peace and relief after that moment and I broke my syringes and I flushed all my dope. And with a, I called my dad and coincidentally he was coming back in from Florida. And he was going to be stopping at a truck stop about 10 miles down the road. For, an overnight stay. And he said, if you can meet me here, I'll take you home. He said, but I can't come get you. So I didn't have anybody to call to take me. So with a fully packed gym bag, and a fully packed backpack, I strapped up my Converses, my favorite pair of shoes in the world, and I took off walking.

Phil:

Wow.

Andrea:

And I walked about eight of those miles before somebody picked me up. And they asked me where I was going, and I said, I'm going to the truck stop to meet my dad. It was an older lady and she said, okay. And she asked me where I was coming from and I can do anything but cry. I couldn't tell her, said, I want to go home. And she said, okay I'll get you there. And I haven't used since that day. I, by the grace of God, I was able to walk away from it. Cold turkey, July the 12th.

Phil:

Wow. What had your relationship with God been over the years? Had you ever come to know Jesus as your Savior? Or what has your relationship with God been like?

Andrea:

I can remember whenever I started having something to do with my dad. He would take me to church. I can remember getting saved at the age of 14. Wow.

Phil:

That was when you were presented with the gospel and Jesus died for your sins And if you ask him tell him that's gonna forgive you and come into your heart and save you Yep, so you did that at 14

Andrea:

I did Wow, my dad was singing Just to close your walk with thee This is one of those like old timey like fire and brimstone Like churches hard Baptist Church.

Phil:

Wow

Andrea:

The pastor knew me like on a first name basis. Not a not in a good way And so he just looked at me and I couldn't sit still during the service and you know He just looked at me and he made the altar call after the sermon and I get up and I walked up to the altar I said I Said I want to give my heart to Jesus You And he called my dad up there to pray with me, and, they both prayed with me, and I left church that day a little different, but, it just wasn't enough.

Phil:

Yeah, the darkness still had such a hold on you.

Andrea:

Yeah.

Phil:

But, that moment, hanging out of the bathtub,

Andrea:

Yeah, that did it.

Phil:

God had been there all along, and He was waiting for you,

Andrea:

cause I, at that point I had, in my mind I knew what I was doing, self consciously and I was ready to leave this world, honestly. And I don't remember what I saw before I blacked out, but I can remember feeling almost like somebody catching me whenever I fell out, but there was nobody there.

unknown:

Wow.

Andrea:

And it was, whenever I came to, it was, and I thought about it, and I thought about it, and I was like, I really think that was God catching me, and God saying I'm here. You're ready. I'm here.

Phil:

It's not, it's such a beautiful thing because He's always there with, for us. He's always there. It's just, we're the ones that walk away, and, but He loves us. He's faithful to us. He's long suffering with us. He's patient with us.

Andrea:

Absolutely.

Phil:

Absolutely. He welcomes us back when we turn and say, all

Andrea:

yeah,

Phil:

I'm giving it all to you. I'm following you now. Yeah.

Andrea has taken the first step to a better life, but there is so much more left to her story and there's more craziness to come as well. So come back next week and hear the rest of Andrea's amazing story. God bless you.

Phil Shuler:

We look forward to being with you again next week as we share another testimony about the power and the goodness of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. if you are someone listening to this podcast that loves to hear these stories of the great things that God is doing in changing people's lives for the better, and if you would like to be a part of that work, please reach out to us You can reach us at 2101 Hamilton Road, Columbus, Georgia, 31,904. You can call us at seven oh six three two two. 3 7, 7 3, or you can email us at info@safehouse-ministries.com.

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-2:

Thank you so much for being with us this week for the renew restore and rejoice podcast of safe house ministries, we pray that God will bless you this week. And we look forward to having you back with us again next week for a new episode