{"id":632266,"date":"2021-08-09T02:54:35","date_gmt":"2021-08-08T15:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/?p=632266"},"modified":"2024-06-04T18:41:50","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T07:41:50","slug":"a-story-of-restoration-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/pb\/blog\/2021\/08\/a-story-of-restoration-4\/","title":{"rendered":"A Story of Restoration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Desculpe-nos, mas este texto est\u00e1 apenas dispon\u00edvel em Ingl\u00eas Americano<\/a>.<\/p>

<\/p>\n

\u201cI was at a crossroad: I could have played the game and done all the right things, but instead I chose to take a good hard look at myself and make a change.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Kieran, Sydney Australia<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I never thought I\u2019d become a drug addict. I came from a good, working-class family who never did drugs and who had always warned me of the dangers of drugs after my uncle died of an overdose. But life has a way of derailing you \u2014 and mine was derailed at the age of 13. \u00a0One minute, I was a normal kid \u2013 riding bikes and playing video games and then almost overnight after setting up a Facebook account everything changed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As I scrolled through other kids\u2019 posts, I began to realise how different I was. I started feeling very anxious. I hated being skinny. I didn\u2019t like looking at myself in the mirror or getting photos taken. On the outside, I had friends, and everything seemed okay, but on the inside, I felt very disconnected and sad. I spent a lot of time in my bedroom playing Xbox \u2014 just trying to escape my reality. Then I looked for other forms of escape. Some days, after school, I\u2019d go to my grandparent\u2019s house when they weren\u2019t home and steal their alcohol. When I was 14, one of my uncles suggested I try pot.<\/p>\n

Initially, the drugs made me feel better about myself, but I got to the stage where the weed wasn\u2019t enough, so got hooked on speed. I justified my addiction by thinking to myself: I drank alcohol and smoked weed and I\u2019m still going to my school so it\u2019s okay.<\/em> When I took drugs, I felt euphoric and comfortable in my own skin \u2014 but I had no idea what lay ahead. One afternoon, I was with my uncle and he suggested I try Ice. It was so much more potent and addictive. On weekends, when I took Ice, I felt amazing and during the week when I came down from the high, I\u2019d feel like crap and my thoughts would spiral into self-hatred. In year 10, my life was out of control. \u00a0My grades were down. I was fighting at school and with my family. I eventually left school and got an apprenticeship as a chef. Now I had a way to finance the habit. But it didn\u2019t take long before the drugs I turned to when I was feeling bad, turned on me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The drugs made me feel anxious, insecure and paranoid. I would be driving at night and constantly checking my rear vision mirror. I was convinced people were following me. In a crowd, I was sure people were looking at me or talking about me. I thought the answer to all my insecurity was more drugs. It was insatiable. I was earning $750 a week and spending $1000 a week of my addiction. I was trapped. I had broken every promise I had ever made to myself about never taking drugs. One night, it all hit me. I was in the bedroom at a friend\u2019s house when I realised, I was headed down the same path as my uncle. I sat on the edge of the bed and wept. A few days later, I called my mum: \u201cMum … I need help. I need to go to rehab.\u201d \u00a0She had heard about a rehabilitation program called one80tc and made all the necessary arrangements.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On a chilly morning in April of 2015, mum and dad drove me down a dirt road in the middle of the bush and dropped me off at the facility. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The team had created an atmosphere of value, acceptance and belonging. I was overwhelmed. Three months into the program I was in a good place. My mind was clear, and I had become a Christian. I thought I was ready to go back out into the world and kick some goals. Everyone at one80tc told me not to leave, but I ignored them. A week later, I was back on ICE and living with my drug dealer.<\/p>\n

With no job to support my habit. I turned to crime. After one attempted robbery, I got arrested and thrown into prison. I was only 19. During this time, Gary, one of the after-care workers from on80tc had been trying to reach out to me. He\u2019d leave voicemail messages and send me texts like: \u201cThinking of you mate.\u201d He was relentless, but I didn\u2019t want a bar of it. I was embarrassed about using again. Out of the blue one day, Gary showed up at Silverwater Prison. He didn\u2019t come to lecture me. His only motivation was to love on me and give me some hope. It was a stark contrast to prison, and it was his unconditional love that softened my heart.<\/p>\n

A few months later, I was transferred to Bathurst jail and on the day of my sentencing, my lawyer arrived with some bad news: \u201cYou\u2019re going to get 2 \u2013 3 years mate.\u201d \u00a0Then he slapped a letter up on the glass from on80tc that read: \u201cIf the judge is willing, we\u2019d be more than happy to have Kieran back in the program to finish what he started.\u201d I was being thrown a lifeline. I went back into the program a little embarrassed, but the guys were like: \u201cOh my God Kieran, it\u2019s so good to see you back.\u201d Now I was at a crossroad: I could have played the game and done all the right things, but instead I chose to take a good hard look at myself and make a change.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

After 12 months, I graduated and joined one80tc as an intern, I got my qualifications and then when my mentor, Gary retired, I got his job. Now at 24, it\u2019s my turn to walk alongside these courageous men and support them in their darkest hour. Over the years, I have clung to so many scriptures, but the one that stands out is John 13:35: By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another. I have learnt that by showing love and doing stuff with no agenda, these guys get to know the love of God. Today, I have a sense of purpose. Yeah, I\u2019m still a skinny guy, but I\u2019m comfortable with that now.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, Hillsong Church has contributed millions of dollars towards the work of on80tc: a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. Since 1977, more than 5000 men and women have been helped through their\u00a0life-changing programs. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more information on the work of one80tc go to: one80tc.org<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Desculpe-nos, mas este texto est\u00e1 apenas dispon\u00edvel em Ingl\u00eas Americano<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I was at a crossroad: I chose to take a good hard look at myself and make a change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49345,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,15414,15410],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/blog\/2021\/08\/a-story-of-restoration-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"pt_BR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"[:en]A Story of Restoration[:] - Collected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[:en]I was at a crossroad: I chose to take a good hard look at myself and make a change.[:]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/blog\/2021\/08\/a-story-of-restoration-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Collected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-08T15:54:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T07:41:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/08\/Kieran-and-family-at-Disneyland-1024x768.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/de\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/de\/\",\"name\":\"Collected\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/de\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"pt-BR\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"pt-BR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/blog\/2021\/08\/a-story-of-restoration-4\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/08\/Kieran-and-family-at-Disneyland-1024x768.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/08\/Kieran-and-family-at-Disneyland-1024x768.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/blog\/2021\/08\/a-story-of-restoration-4\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hillsong.com\/collected\/blog\/2021\/08\/a-story-of-restoration-4\/\",\"name\":\"[:en]A Story of Restoration[:] - 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