You are in for a treat today.
Vickie Dewbre and I went to high school together, but then graduated to do our separate lives.
We lost touch and it was 30 years before we saw one another again. When we met again for coffee last year, her fresh exuberance for the Word surprised and energized me. Vibrant and pulsating with life, Vickie is one of those faith-walkers that presses to live out what she believes. She literally glows.
So what? you say…
Yeah… well, wait till you hear her story.
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“My dad was murdered in August of 1980: shot in the head and stuffed in the trunk of a car.
Now, just because tragedy strikes, it doesn’t give us the right to destroy ourselves. Yet, that’s what happened to me. I let the devastation of his death lead me to blaming God.
You know, walking the pathway away from God just brings more destruction. I found Crystal Meth down that road. And it became my lover over the next several years.
The drugs ruled my life.
I somehow managed to keep a full time job for a period of time. It was so stressful, being a mom, working and using drugs. Eventually, I had to sell the drug to finance my own habit.
I didn’t plan to stay in the scene that long, but sin takes us further than we want to go and keeps us there longer than we want to stay.
I didn’t have what it takes to quit on my own.
Drugs are a symptom of a deeper stronghold: bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment. Even in those dark days, God was still an awesome God. He continued loving me in spite of me.
After a season of being so stressed and miserable…feeling so convicted..hating what I was doing… I lifted my arms up high, and said to God, “Ok, I’m ready. Do whatever it takes to save my life.”
At that very moment, God’s strength began to work in my weakness. He knew me before I was born, in my mother’s womb. He already knew the prayers that would help me surrender my will to him.
About 2 or 3 weeks later, I was federally indicted.
Some call it prison. For me, it was really education. The years of addiction – that was the real prison.
“When I am weak, then I am strong.” What a great verse.
I often get condemned about being in recovery, having dealt with addiction, having no will power, being weak-minded. You know, I’m still weak. But I can glory in that now, because that’s the very type of person that His Presence likes best.
I had to face prison, pay for my crime, swallow my pride, bite my tongue. Sometimes humiliation is the pathway for humility.
What I want to do today is share my story and give others hope. God knows if I can make it, you can too. I am living proof that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
(Vickie and her oldest son, Tyson).
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Wanna know more about this Power that Vickie has experienced? How about these posts?