God Was Calling

Despite the challenges he faced, Adrian kept showing up to school. Behind the scenes, however, he was battling substance abuse and a severe eating disorder.

At sixteen, Adrian found himself homeless, moving from couch to couch while trying to finish school. With support from Youth On Their Own, he was eventually able to get a small apartment and even graduate. Yet addiction remained a constant presence in his life. What began with cocaine eventually escalated to methamphetamine use at age twenty-seven after a close friend spiraled into addiction and drew Adrian along with him.

Meth, he says, “really took a hold” of him. It led to psychotic breaks, and eventually an overdose on fentanyl.

Then came a sixteen-month relationship that became increasingly toxic. Within a single month he said, “I lost my job, my home, my best friend, my relationship, and ended up in the psych ward because I had a nervous break,”

Adrian had heard about Gospel Rescue Mission before, but it wasn’t until March 2 that he finally walked through its doors. Looking back, he believes God was pursuing him all along. “God calls to you in different ways,” he says. “God doesn’t give us anything that we can’t handle… God is near to those broken at heart.”

After arriving at the Mission, Adrian switched from the workforce track into recovery. A relapse prevention book challenged him to confront a truth he could no longer ignore: “I really do have an issue. I really am an addict.”

Today, Adrian is about four months clean. He has completed CBT courses for construction, regularly attends chapel, and works with therapists both inside and outside the Mission. Most importantly, he is learning how to extend grace to himself.

At Gospel Rescue Mission, he is finding hope, rebuilding what was lost, and moving forward one day at a time.