Now or never

Either I change my life completely or I and the relationship I have with my family will be destroyed. These were the thoughts that brought me to the point of entering the Wiedenhof. My name is Sascha, I am 26 years old and I grew up in a christian family. At age 13, I got introduced to cannabis through a friend and that's where my path to drug addiction started. It didn't take long until I began to drink alcohol, take pills and other controlled substances. At the age of 16, I was totally addicted to drugs. Due to battery and theft I got arrested twice during my youth. I also underwent detoxification twice. My life went downhill as I continued to use and even started to sell drugs.


I was 21 years old when I met my wife and we got married a year later. Numb and tough as I was in my addiction and the lifestyle I had, I realized that, through the love I have for her, I still have feelings and the desire for life. In 2016, our son, Sam Aiden, was born. Through this intense experience, I became aware of, for the first time in my life, the fact that I have a responsibility to my wife, my son and myself. So I held on to anything that would give me hope in this time. This glimpse of assurance entered my life through my mother-in-law who is a believer. She shared Jesus to me and, in this very situation, I gave my life to Him. Right after that I went into cold turkey from the drugs and alcohol. But it didn't take long till idleness in the daily life caught up with me and I backslid into drugs again and even gambling.


My marriage, my family and other relationships got even more destroyed. But the turning point came again through my mother-in-law who told me about the Wiedenhof. New hope rose up in me and I decided to go for the therapy here.

Arrived

When I arrived in the Wiedenhof I experienced that God set me totally free from all the addictions I had. After two weeks, I realized I didn't even have any withdrawal symptoms at all. Instead, I felt a deep sense of peace and contentment in my heart and came to know that God loves me, for the very first time in my life. A time of renewal has began. God started to restore my life inside and out. Now Jesus shall have the first place in my life! That's the reason why I was willing to let go of my family for the time being and to focus on myself and my life with Him, which means one year of therapy without my them.

I have now been in the Wiedenhof since the beginning of March. In my everyday life here I experience that when I lay down my life before God He comes a thousand steps towards me. To be specific, this means that I experience financial and material provisions and with this, He has spared me from going to prison. Some relationships are already getting healed and especially, my heart! I am learning to overcome pride and resistance. I am coming to know the Holy Spirit more and more and able to respond to His words and impressions. It is getting quiet and peaceful inside of me! Meanwhile, I learned that I am becoming a father again! And now the best is: God made it possible for my family to stay and be with me in the Wiedenhof. This July my wife and son will be moving in and I will be able to be part of our daughter's birth in August.


Nothing is impossible for my God! The greatest adventure of my life starts now with Jesus – and I am so much looking forward to it!




Sascha