Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places!

Have you ever felt abused, unloved, or unworthy? Perhaps you wonder if your life really matters? That's the way I felt growing up. Life was difficult for me. So difficult, that I became a heavy drinker and drug user in the 8th grade until I was 37 years old. I couldn't stop and I didn't know how to stop. People would tell me, "Just quit. Don't drink. Problem solved." But it wasn't that easy. I was an alcoholic and I couldn't imagine life without alcohol. One evening I had gone to Mexico with some friends, had been drinking, and on my way home I hit a brick mailbox followed by a telephone pole. The impact was so great it crushed my face, as I had no cheekbones, no nose bone, and I was pronounced dead by first responders. I later wake up in a hospital room to discover that my mouth is wired shut and the mirrors in my hospital room are covered with cards and well wishes for my recovery. Then one night I see a bright light, and God speaks to me, reassuring me He has a purpose for my life. That I'm ok and things will be fine.

I was not a Christian during this time and life continued in its downward spiral of alcohol and drugs. I had gone through one abusive marriage and the second one was not much different. I felt like I was living in a whirlwind of darkness and chaos with no way out. Suddenly this peace and calm covers me and I feel God wrap His arms around me saying, "This is what I can do for you. You can have this peace and calm and love."

While assigned to a jury murder trial, God showed me that I am no different than the man on trial. I realize I need help!! "I surrender God." I enter a rehab center in Florida and later attend Alcoholics Anonymous in Harlingen. I begin to understand who God is and how much He loves me. That the word of God is true and I can trust it. That everything is given to us by God's grace. Sometimes I feel that I don't deserve God's grace and goodness in my life, but He gives it to me anyway because God is love and He loves me.

Why did I have to go through all those years of alcoholism and drug addiction? Feeling lost and without hope? Feeling unloved and unworthy? Why did I have to have a major car accident and endure multiple cranial facial surgeries? And abusive marriages? So that I can confidently say, "The Lord has never left me nor forsaken me. He was with me through everything."

Today my life is a testimony of how God can change people. And through what I experienced, I can bring comfort and hope and share God's love to others. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, "The God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

As of May 11, 2025 I have 15 years of sobriety. I would not have the wonderful life I have today if it wasn't for God pursuing me. I attribute everything to God.

What testimony in your life do you have that could bring hope and comfort to others? I'm sure you have something to share.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Kristen Brogdon

Harlingen, Texas