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 “We
think it’s for ourselves, recreation, getting away
from the pressure,” Steve Taylor says. “But
that’s what the Lord is for.” At 35, Steve looks
back on five years of gambling and debt. Five years of lying
to friends and family and stealing from his children.
Steve taught at a public school and had a second job with
a youth organization, but weekends he’d withdraw up
to $2,000 and head for the casinos. “I’d gamble
until it was gone, go into a deep depression and then look
forward to the next weekend. That’s when I knew it
had a hold on me.”
“I owed my brother rent. I owed child support,”
he admits. Even worse, Steve had served as a minister, but
because of his secret life, he couldn’t share about
Jesus anymore. “There is such a sense of failure when
you say you love God and have walked as a Christian for
years, but then are attracted to destructive things,”
he says quietly.
Steve spent Christmas Eve 2000 putting together toys for
his children. Then he headed for Goodwill Rescue Mission.
After joining Project Emmanuel, Steve filled out a budget
sheet. Suddenly it was right there in black and white: “I
couldn’t believe how much money I’d made and
wasted. Over $40,000! And I didn’t drink or do drugs.”
For nine months Steve devoted himself to overcoming gambling.
GRM’s staff counseled and prayed with him as he sought
God’s forgiveness, learned money management and communication
skills and prepared to live responsibly. His determination
paid off!
Steve completed the program in August 2001, just in time
for the new school year. Today he teaches sixth grade social
studies and science, and God continues to show His grace:
“I asked Him to let me do my work with confidence,
so He led me to Christian teachers in the school who encourage
me,” he says.
“Without the Mission, I probably wouldn’t have
lived through the spring because I was so depressed,”
Steve insists. “The classes were eye-opening and I
realized how intimate the Lord is. His love and mercy and
power are real! We don’t have to turn to anything
else for comfort.”
Steve says he no longer has a reason to even buy a lottery
ticket. God has filled the void. “God will restore
the years the locust have eaten. If you are struggling,
come and let the Lord do something BIG in your life!”
Steve wants donors to know that the dollars they give make
it possible for men to receive rehabilitation and become
productive members of the community. “This improves
our neighborhoods and our society!” he says.
 Read
other Stories of Hope
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© 2008 Goodwill Rescue Mission | This site was contributed
by The SPI
Group.
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