Celebrate Recovery – It’s About Changed Lives – Paul Willoughby
July 16th, 2010
Lawrence County’s Celebrate Recovery ministry sponsored by St. Andrew’s Church in Lawrenceburg was blessed Thursday, July 14th to hear the personal testimony of Mr. Paul Willoughby via DVD.
Paul grew up in an abusive, drug using home. His father left early on and he never came around much. His mother introduced him to a string of “boyfriends” who would abuse both her and Paul. Finally at age 14, Paul’s mother passed away from an overdose. He lived with his biological father a few months until it made more sense to him to live on the street … sleeping in friend’s back yards, their garage, or flopping on a spare bed.
He found that selling drugs was “easy money”. But this life of crime caused him to hit bottom as he was sent to the California Penal system to serve at least 80% of a 4 year sentence. Prison life was it’s own “school of hard knocks”. Just as he was headed to prison, Paul had begun to seek the Lord in county jail. A friend had told him the difference that Jesus Christ made in his own life.
Prison life was a hard way to begin the “Christian Life”… being a Christian there had it’s own unique form of persecution and suffering. In the end, he thought those who hated him for his faith might do him serious harm the day before his release. Amazingly a freak fog covered the exercise yard and neither he nor his would be assailants were allowed out of lock down that day!
While there he participated in the first prison based “Celebrate Recovery”. When his release date was near, he wrote to several churches to see if they might be able to join their Celebrate Recovery program and find a place to call his “spiritual home”. One of those he wrote to was the perfect fit. Upon his release he found a church with a Celebrate Recovery which offered him a sponsor, accountability partner, and a new start on life.
The Living God is still reclaiming lost lives. Celebrate Recovery of Lawrence County welcomes you so you can find new life through Jesus Christ too!
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