No Judgment, No Condemnation, Just Love and Help in Jesus' Name to Get to a Better Place - Adam Johnson's Story (Part 3)

In this final episode, Adam shares how the love of Jesus shown through SafeHouse Ministries, and the encounter with Jesus he had through his own personal surrender changed the trajectory of his life forever.  Adam shares great truth about the fact that none of us really has the right to judge or condemn others, and that instead we should follow the example of Jesus and show grace and love instead.  His story is a great example of how SafeHouse Ministries endeavors to first love and accept people wherever they are and then help lead them to the better place that God desires for them to be.  

Transcript

Adam: 0:00

it's just hard. It's hard to get past that first 90 days and sit long enough, I think at least four months. To get the stuff to stop going in your head, the thoughts of, oh, this stuff happened, or I did this or I did this. Nobody's ever gonna talk to me because I was such an awful human being, and eventually you just have to say, Hey, that was what it was. That's not what it is now. That's not who I am.

Phil Shuler: 0:26

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.

Adam: 1:39

So I remember sitting in a meeting and saying I didn't know how to pray. I didn't know what that looked like. I knew the concept, but how to like truly pray. And my sponsor is a devout Catholic unwavering faith, and he gave me so much grace. Like he would say, just talk to him. Or I'd say, man I don't know if I'm gonna be Catholic or go back. I grew up Presbyterian, first Pres downtown if I'm gonna be Presbyterian Baptist. He was like, Hey, you're right where you need to be. And that's all he'd say to me. And, he would share on his faith. But it was never, you need to, or you've got to. He was, oh, he just, you're right where you need to be. And eventually, I remember one day in a meeting at Freedom House, I said, maybe I found spirituality, or maybe it's here and I'm in the way of it. And when I tell you it was like, I wanna say that day, but I could be wrong. It was quick. I did a, something said, why don't you meditate?'cause I've meditated over the years and I'm pretty good at it. And I did this guided meditation in my room in the quiet, which is hard to find it freedom. But, I shut the door. Fortunately, I was there during the day and most of the guys were gone to class because I didn't have necessarily a program. I would go to meetings and stuff at night with my sponsor. But I had that moment and it was like something like, what, whatever made me decide to meditate that day. And I haven't yet at that point in probably a year or longer. And I did a guided meditation finding your Spirit guide. So I'm thinking, all right, I'm gonna meet an Indian, native American. He's gonna have a bare skin over him. This is just, that's not what happened. It was the whole thing, like you're in a, you're in a grassy field. There's a creek. Take it in, your spirit guide is, it walks out and it's just an immense white light. Like I can tell it's a person, I don't know. I knew who it was, of course, but you couldn't see like facial features and stuff. It was just bright white light. And he walks up she's guiding this. She says, your spirit guide walks up to you and tell him what you want to tell him. Talk to your spirit guide. And I said, man, I looked for you for 30 years. I just wanna sit here in silence. I just wanna sit here. Just, I just wanna take this in. And he sat on the bed next to me right there, and I felt it. I could feel my eyes were closed. I could see the light in my eye, like the direction he was sitting. And I just sat there, man. And so much peace. It was so much peace. And for somebody to, so A-D-H-D-A-D-D like me it was like, whoa. And it was a comp. And and then I saw my parents across the field and they were like a bright, I knew it was them. My mom wasn't in a wheelchair, she was walking at the end of the meditation. She said, say goodbye to your spirit guy. And it wasn't like that for me. He opened his arms and I like ascended in this light. I don't know what that means, but I don't need to, and when I tell you that, I just I wish people could know what that feels like. It's amazing, man. I can't, I just can't, there's no words to describe what that experience is and that I was able or worthy to feel it.'cause I don't have anything to offer him in my heart, and that's it. Yeah. I don't have any, anything to give a king, yeah. You're talking about Jesus. Yeah. But he didn't need anything, man. He just wanted me to surrender and just, I,

Phil: 5:19

wow.

Adam: 5:19

So since then, this was December. Now, last December I was in Jacksonville, Florida, in Publix parking lot. This December I met my Lord in Savior Jesus Christ. And I can listen to songs like Kings and Countries Sings O komo come Emmanuel. They have a version of it and it is so powerful to me.

Phil: 5:42

Yeah.

Adam: 5:43

That's the month I met my Lord and Savior, the month we celebrated his birth. Wow. And to this day, like I even at Freedom House, they hear me in there and it is April or March and I'm playing, oh come Emanuel, because I just love it, man. And Emmanuel, the God with End, this is what I feel. And like I told you I walked away from that meditation feeling like I knew all the answers to life, but it was just, and I don't know what, I don't know what those are, but I guess it's the peace and the ounce of grace, the little bit of grace that I got. It's like everything's all right man. And I know that everything's okay. Yeah. I value human beings where they're at, even if they're not, even if I don't necessarily do what they're doing or their preferences, it's okay. Like even if they're not even if they're confused spiritually or not that they're, if they're totally atheist or satanic, it's okay. It's okay. That's where you're right where you need to be. And had anybody counted me out when I was lost, I wouldn't have found what I found. So I know that there can't be judgment and I can't judge people. I try to be respectful, but sometimes I get moved to say that, I'm met my Lord and savior Jesus Christ, and I can't help it. Yeah. But I still, I like, I don't worry about the church anymore. I don't worry about what religion I'm gonna follow. I know that he's okay with me.

Phil: 7:19

You're just gonna follow Jesus.

Adam: 7:20

I'm gonna follow Jesus. And he told me it was okay. You had it not been okay. He wouldn't have met me. You know what I mean? I just it's profound, man. And I know I spent a lot of years like in, in these programs and they talk about a profound spiritual experience, and then one that just trickles in slowly. I was like, oh, that's never gonna happen. And it took 20 something years, but mine was the most profound in my eyes. But I don't know. It makes it so now life I'm still bothered by things. But it's not gonna be that bad. You know what I mean? Yeah. And I, and and I'm grateful. I'm grateful for the fellowship I have and through Christ and through the people that are working this, the way they're supposed to be working it to make a better life. I wouldn't trade it for the world, man. I got everything I need, my, I talk to my children again. My sister and I are communicating daily. People have given me chances, I wouldn't have the townhouse over on Cherokee, had somebody not giving me a chance. Wow. Because I don't have credit. It's all garbage. And, I'm a convict ex-con. It, there's so many blessings Wow. That have come. My brother-in-law told me when I came out of that spiritual awakening, I wanted to tell everybody, and he said, bro, more will be for real. You're gonna be so like, this is not it.

Phil: 8:43

Wow.

Adam: 8:44

And I was like, okay. But I think this, that's what lit the fire for recovery. For real. Yeah. Because I feel like that was the tipping point when I stepped out of the way and allowed God in. Realize that I'm not the smartest human being in the world and I don't, I'm not supposed to understand why things are the way they are. That was the tipping point that everything's, it makes sense now. And I went back to initially I had a guy at Walmart that caught me shoplifting before I got caught with the dope in 2023. And I had to go sit down for 45 days. I went back and apologized to that guy and I told him, I said, man, you saved my life. I didn't, not necessarily stop me at that point, but he was the catalyst that slowed me down.

Phil: 9:27

Wow.

Adam: 9:28

And the stuff he shared with me about his life, God, don't put these people in your way for no reason. Like we cut up about it. Now when I go into Walmart,'cause at first I would go in there with all my money in my hand. I'm not stealing. I'm buying my stuff this time. But I didn't get banned from that Walmart. I went back to court for those charges and they dismissed them in recovery. But whatever happens, Jesus goes with me and I'm sober. Wow. Yeah. I talked to the dude last night. I said, man, if they give you 25 years, you can go in there sober and you, it will be a lot better. The experience you would have the other way. If what it is, they can't take it away from me. You know what I mean? Even if I lose everything today and end up on the street, I will have a new piece. Wow. That's awesome. That's what Jesus brings.

Phil: 10:14

So you, how many kids do you have

Adam: 10:16

now? I got a two, a 16-year-old and an 18 month old.

Phil: 10:20

Okay.

Adam: 10:20

Yeah. And you're part of both of their lives? I'm part of both of their lives. My daughter, my oldest found Jesus at the same time. I did separate from me. Wow. We weren't talking. She stopped talking to me for three years.'cause she was so scared I was gonna die and she wanted me to get help. And so a few months after I got into treatment, she finally started talking to me. And now we is talking on the phone. I about her shoes and stuff. But we both got a shoe problem. She, she started traveling to youth groups to find her place. Wow. And she goes to Cascade Hills. She enjoys it. She shared about me in front of the whole thing. And it, I'm not the guy. I remember at one point she asked my wife, she said, will you tell Dad to panhandle on the other side of town?'cause my friends are gonna see him. To now where I walked in her work the other day and she's not dad, don't come in here. She's what you doing? I'm just checking it out. And she's okay with it. We stood there and talked, wow, this is at the trampoline part. There's kids in, she's not embarrassed anymore, but we can talk about God together. And her dog passed away a couple months ago and I was able to tell her prior to him passing that this is God's will. Whatever happens, this is what we have to accept it. And it's part of life and we can either grow from it or not. You know what I mean? But we wouldn't have had these conversations had I not found God, I probably wouldn't have even talked to her when it all passed. But we prepared for it. And, she knows the way, she knows what the solution is. There's so much, there's so much that'ss. Awesome. This bro, this right here to be able to afford the opportunity to do this podcast. I go to Las Vegas on Saturday to see grateful Ed and John Mayer. Wow. It's just stuff that happens and everything isn't gonna be like, they don't say that your life's gonna be perfect. It's way better even on the bad days. But I've been blessed to have been able to be one that the relationships have rebuilt their selves. I talked to my uncle sometimes, he lives in Canada. He said, man, I ha I said, I'm glad that my sister didn't write me off. And she held out hope. She was tough. She didn't talk to me for a long time, but she knew that's what I, that, that gift of desperation. I needed to not have anybody sending me money for food or anything. I needed to feel it. Yeah. And he said, Adam, I wrote you off. I had your funeral. Basically. He said, I'm ecstatic that you're back. But that's what I did to myself. I wrote myself off, wow. Wow.

Phil: 12:50

how about you and your wife now? Are y'all talking much or we talk

Adam: 12:54

We, we won't get back together. That's it's just been too much. But we talk. She's I still have to communicate through her to talk to the youngest. Yeah. Linen. For somebody that was never supposed to have kids'cause of chemotherapy, to be blessed with two children. Wow. Even though they're way age, age different. You know what I mean? Wow. Those are powerful things I should have paid attention to a long time ago,

Phil: 13:17

yeah.

Adam: 13:18

where are you working at? So I work with some guys in recovery. I remodel houses and it's paying the bills and that's all I need to do, yeah. I'm just enjoying daily journey. I try not to think too far in the forward or the past. Yeah. Just

Phil: 13:33

every day with Jesus. Yep. That's awesome, man. As you think back of your, over your story, is there any highlights of wisdom that you would like to call out? Maybe to just share with anybody that's listening?

Adam: 13:45

There's a lot of things that my dad told me that I've carried with me my whole life, and they're pretty simple. One being when my mother was sick, she was at her disease progressed so fast that it was killed all the muscles in her body. She had to relearn how to talk lift a finger, swallow. So the first time we were gonna go see her in Atlanta, first time after she was in hospitalized, she was in bad shape and she was on a head trauma floor, people with halos. And my dad, I remember him preparing us for that in the laundry room. We spent a lot of time in the laundry room. And this was profound too. For years. I didn't understand why we were always in the laundry room, but he was catching up on washing clothes because he was outta town so much. Like I know that now having kids. But anyway, we were in the laundry room and he said, we're gonna go up here and see your mama. She's on this floor because she needs intensive care, but she's not some of these people are gonna be in bad shape. And he said, just remember, it could always be worse. And I've always when stuff was really bad, I always thought like somebody's got it worse, even in my dark day. I remember that I think that especially with recovery, if people just will just give it a little bit of time, like it's hard. Very hard to see. The change while it's happening.

Phil: 15:05

Yeah.

Adam: 15:05

I think six months is when I realized all this stuff that we've been talking about has changed. Just hang on. You know what I mean? Like it gets better and everything, everything the Bible has promised me, everything this fellowship I follow has promised me, has come true in my life. And they didn't lie to me. I was the reason that it wasn't able to progress. I know that it's, I know it's very hard, not the work of it's easy. Like for me, everything the little stuff I had to change to clear the wreckage of 30 years it wasn't asking a lot to me. But I know that it seemed like that for a long time. That's why I never wholeheartedly tried to get sober or tried to find God. It's a few. They ask a few simple things of you. One book followed by another book. You've got two books that are very important. It changes your whole life. Like you could have bypassed all that turmoil and just read that book originally. Either one of'em, but both of'em together, really. You're doing good if you get'em both together. If you're talking about the Yeah, I felt the, the Alcoholics Anonymous book and Yeah. Yeah. That book has saved my life. I can't promote that that fellowship. But I'm, I've been a great recovering junkie, but that program in particular has saved my life. The fellowship you're talking about? Yes. And I don't necessarily follow the other one for drugs.

Phil: 16:38

Wow.

Adam: 16:38

It's just, I don't know, man. It's profound, and the way that things were organized long before me, and it's spirit it's all spiritual man. It's if you don't think it's spiritual, the fact that you're sitting here and not on the street doing drugs is a spiritual thing. It's a God moment.

Phil: 16:57

Yeah.

Adam: 16:58

Wow. And it's just hard. It's hard to get past that first 90 days and sit long enough, I think at least four months. To get the stuff to stop going in your head, the thoughts of, oh, this stuff happened, or I did this or I did this. Nobody's ever gonna talk to me because I was such an awful human being, and eventually you just have to say, Hey, that was what it was. That's not what it is now. That's not who I am. When I think about the guy that would walk from flat rock to Macon Road every day, it seems like a alternate dimension. That's not even the same reality or like alternate universe.

Phil: 17:36

Yeah,

Adam: 17:37

because unfortunately I live in Columbus, so I have to frequent stores that I used to sit in their bathroom and get high. There's not a whole lot, Macon Road North that I didn't use their facilities to get. And I had to come to terms with that and know that, that was part of it and that's what I needed to do. I had to go through all that. The deaths in my life, I used to be like, why me? Why am I the only one still around? I've lost a lot of friends very young who murders, car wrecks drugs. I know now that happens so that I can value human life. And I know that people are. Amazing. And interactions with people. Not to say you aren't gonna have bad ones, but I don't live expecting those, yeah. And people make bad choices, fortunately I don't feel like I have room to judge anybody'cause I was at the bottom of the bottom. And it's, I'm grateful, man. I'm grateful, wow.

Phil: 18:33

Wow. Well, Thank you for being here, Adam. Any last comment you wanna make?

Adam: 18:37

I should have talked about the homeless community a little bit more.

Phil: 18:40

What do you wanna say about it?

Adam: 18:41

So there's a misconception in Columbus. My story might have fueled that a little bit, but what I found, cause there's a lot more homeless people than we are told. Yeah. Or the census tells us.

Phil: 18:52

Yeah.

Adam: 18:52

I would meet families that were homeless and it wasn't my story that I was just entitled kid that wanted to get high and it got away from me. I'm talking about people that are homeless because of things not in their control. And there's a lot, there's a lot of economics incur or economic things that have put them in that situation. Trauma. A lot of people on the street are not on drugs more than you would think. And so I just feel like people, like in the community, how can we build a million dollar stadiums when people are starving in the street? And I know you still want your city to be pretty, but all these things breed the other stuff that's wrong in our community, the violence and the the gang culture. All this stems from homelessness and, or, hunger and things that are not necessarily in the people's control at the point that they decide to take this other route. Yeah. Uh, Safe house, they are, the thing that they're doing there, I didn't take the benefits from them when I was homeless, but they did everything in their power to help me get off the street and then remain off the street. Yeah. And it's tremendously hard to go from homeless to. Model citizen or thriving.

Phil: 20:13

Yeah.

Adam: 20:14

It's a huge leap to go from on the street to just gainfully employed. And that's where these programs help and benefit. And I know that it's not pretty because, it's it's not pretty to look at, but a lot of these people, man, I was, I wanted a change so bad and didn't know what to do, if you don't have resources in your community, then you don't have the solution offered to the people who are want out. They want something different. And so then their options are breaking your house steal to get what they need. You know what I mean? Yeah. And it's a tremendous thing to feed humans. I used to get real mad about the sidewalks in Columbus. There aren't a lot, a lot of you get on the other side of town, it wasn't built with sidewalks, but now there's people everywhere on the street. But just, I'm compassionate to the homeless situation. And even if the person in my, like in my situation, even if they're getting they're asking for money or something because they're want to get high. They're just trying to make it, I try not judge'em for that. I guess I would rather pray, give them something to drink than give'em cash. But at the end of the day, they're gonna get it anyway. And they're just trying to survive. And I, I can't say enough about Stephanie. Stephanie is above and beyond for everybody that comes into contact with her. Wow. And she has tremendously helped me and, just finding the place to live and no, not even that. When I left Freedom House, I didn't know if I wanted to go into another program or get a place. So I had a transitional period where I was staying at the Motel six downtown for a couple weeks, and then I found an apartment and moved in that. But she was like, calling places, she's gonna checking up on you, making sure you, oh, she, yeah, she's always gonna check on me. But all of'em down there really, and the guys at Freedom House, I still see them on the regular, like the guys that run that place. And I go in there and talk to Mike and I say, look, it's a lot more peaceful here now that I'm outta here. Like, when I come back, I'm like, man, this place is straight. But I tell them all, y'all saved my life and had y'all not. But I ain't causing problems. They knew I was working a program from the beginning. But you get complacent with things and then things start irritating you. And fortunately I've got enough clarity now to know that means that I've just outgrown something and it's time for me to go to the next chapter. And I still go to Freedom House and hold meetings with the guys in there. It is, it's an awesome, it's an awesome thing. I know we've got other programs in Columbus that help the homeless and the people who are struggling with addiction. But, safe House the way Freedom House runs, there's not another one like that in the state. And it's just a leg up. It's that step because that's the problem. To go from the bottom floor of homelessness with nothing, just to get somewhere to sleep and shower where you can actually go to work and not look like you've been living on the street. And that's what Freedom House does. Even on the shelter side. Yeah. It's that reprieve. Like you, you can bathe, you can, we're gonna feed you. We're not gonna charge you a dime. We're gonna help you save your money. Help you get go through job training at Goodwill and we're gonna require you to do these things, but it's really just us helping you do these things for real, because let's be real. You wouldn't be here if you were good at helping yourself. Daily devotion, it's even there, it's not forced upon you to believe what they believe. They offer two, two denominations, either non or Christian devotion in the morning. If you don't believe what we believe, we're still gonna give you a place to pray. That stuff's cool to me

Phil: 23:43

yeah.

Adam: 23:43

And had I known that it was there, I don't know that I would've gone sooner, really? But it is I'm grateful. I found out when I found out and I'm grateful they were willing to take me and really they let me take up a bed and I wasn't in the program, so they just let me stay. You know what I mean?

Phil: 24:01

Yeah.

Adam: 24:02

And I know they could have moved somebody in there to put'em into treatment, the treatment program. And they just let me be there, I remember coming back from them, turning me down at the treatment program. I was like, Amy, are you gonna kick me out? And she was like, no, do this, and this. Wow. Which is the way it needed to go. Yeah. I think that I needed, that's what I needed at that point. And it worked. It worked. Praise the Lord. Amen. Man. That's awesome. Amen. Praise the Lord.

Phil: 24:28

That's so

Adam: 24:28

good. So good.

Phil: 24:29

Wow, man. You've shared a lot of good things. Yeah. Thank you for being here. Thank you. I appreciate it. You mind if I close this in a word of prayer? I would love that. Father, thank you for your grace. Lord, just thank you for Jesus. Thank you. That you were willing to send him to die for us to pay the payment for our sins, to give his life. Thank you. That he rose again three days later, that he is victorious, that he is the king and Father, thank you for showing us how to love. I just pray you'd bless Adam Lord, guide his path, direct him. Bless him. Help him to walk with you every day, to draw close to you, to let you just continue to transform and change his life and be with his kids, Lord, get into their hearts and their lives and just guide their paths according to your will. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Phil Shuler: 25:24

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: 26:02

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.