A Lifehouse Testimonial Update
By Jeffrey Ian Wilson
It has been 27 months since Rocky Meadows opened his arms to a homeless and hopeless man. I was Lifehouse resident #2. Scared, near broke and alone. I never could have imagined how much my life has changed since that cold, wet December day in 2011. Even now as I write this third update for Rocky, I find myself lacking the words to aptly describe how I feel today. I have become a husband and father for the first time. I have a wonderful job in Atlanta now as an artist for a video game company. I am a loved, respected and a trusted member of my family and society. Most of all I have found a faith in God which sustains me. 2013 was the most wonderful and trying year in my life. I had my first child, a boy on Father’s Day in June 2013. Shortly after I lost my job. I was slowly losing every material possession I had. Without the aid of family I would have become homeless. As a husband and new father, I was ashamed of my inability to provide for my family and slipped into periodic depression and despair. Thanks be to God I married the right woman. She would always tell me that everything was a part of God’s plan and all I had to do was hold on, not lose faith and remember that I was loved and needed, regardless of my ability to financially provide for my family.
In October 2013, we packed what few possessions we could on a truck and left Los Angeles to drive cross country to live with my parents in Alabama. Returning home was not easy. I frequently argued with my family and became more and more frustrated. Again my wife brought me to Church and I prayed. During all of this, I never lost hope. I knew one day I would find a job again. I learned to live on very little through my parent’s love and generosity. I was offered a position with a university in Alabama only to turn it down because I knew I would not pass the security clearance requirements. This was a real punch in the gut. To come so close, only to start over again was a hard pill to swallow. Finally in January I was offered a position of a lifetime with benefits which cover all of my family’s needs. At the same time I was offered another job in San Diego which paid nearly $120,000 a year. All of 2013 hand built up to this moment where I had to make the right choice for my family and not just myself. Working with Sony in San Diego would have been a career opportunity of a lifetime but it was only a contract position for no more than 12 months. I was left with a choice, stability or money, which would it be?
Stability. All of the joy and suffering of 2013 had purpose. God had led me to decision where I chose family over personal satisfaction. Little did I know that accepting the position in Atlanta would push aside all of those fears and leave me with a peace of mind I never knew existed. My wife was right. God was in the details. When I made the decision to move to Atlanta. Everything started falling in place all at once. When I needed money it was there, almost like magic. Deposits paid, movers paid, new furniture and a new beautiful condo near the river here in Roswell, GA. My first morning was one of true contentment and peace for I remember seeing deer in the back which brought a smile to my face.
When we stop trying to force our will and accept where we are, life becomes well, life. The love of a beautiful wife and a smile from my son fill my life with joy but sometimes life needs a frown and stern words of honesty from that same wife as well as the seemingly endless cries from a frightened child in the middle of the night. It is at these times I find the true measure of who I am. Life is not meant to be wonderful all of the time. This is the folly of all those with addiction issues. I believe that now some measure of suffering is necessary to bring us a closer appreciation of what joy and happiness truly mean. In hindsight, losing everything again was necessary to begin a new life. And what a wonderful new life it is.
And I have known true joy, love and hope.
God bless you all and thank you Rocky for your friendship and brotherly love.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Wilson
By Jeffrey Ian Wilson
It has been 27 months since Rocky Meadows opened his arms to a homeless and hopeless man. I was Lifehouse resident #2. Scared, near broke and alone. I never could have imagined how much my life has changed since that cold, wet December day in 2011. Even now as I write this third update for Rocky, I find myself lacking the words to aptly describe how I feel today. I have become a husband and father for the first time. I have a wonderful job in Atlanta now as an artist for a video game company. I am a loved, respected and a trusted member of my family and society. Most of all I have found a faith in God which sustains me. 2013 was the most wonderful and trying year in my life. I had my first child, a boy on Father’s Day in June 2013. Shortly after I lost my job. I was slowly losing every material possession I had. Without the aid of family I would have become homeless. As a husband and new father, I was ashamed of my inability to provide for my family and slipped into periodic depression and despair. Thanks be to God I married the right woman. She would always tell me that everything was a part of God’s plan and all I had to do was hold on, not lose faith and remember that I was loved and needed, regardless of my ability to financially provide for my family.
In October 2013, we packed what few possessions we could on a truck and left Los Angeles to drive cross country to live with my parents in Alabama. Returning home was not easy. I frequently argued with my family and became more and more frustrated. Again my wife brought me to Church and I prayed. During all of this, I never lost hope. I knew one day I would find a job again. I learned to live on very little through my parent’s love and generosity. I was offered a position with a university in Alabama only to turn it down because I knew I would not pass the security clearance requirements. This was a real punch in the gut. To come so close, only to start over again was a hard pill to swallow. Finally in January I was offered a position of a lifetime with benefits which cover all of my family’s needs. At the same time I was offered another job in San Diego which paid nearly $120,000 a year. All of 2013 hand built up to this moment where I had to make the right choice for my family and not just myself. Working with Sony in San Diego would have been a career opportunity of a lifetime but it was only a contract position for no more than 12 months. I was left with a choice, stability or money, which would it be?
Stability. All of the joy and suffering of 2013 had purpose. God had led me to decision where I chose family over personal satisfaction. Little did I know that accepting the position in Atlanta would push aside all of those fears and leave me with a peace of mind I never knew existed. My wife was right. God was in the details. When I made the decision to move to Atlanta. Everything started falling in place all at once. When I needed money it was there, almost like magic. Deposits paid, movers paid, new furniture and a new beautiful condo near the river here in Roswell, GA. My first morning was one of true contentment and peace for I remember seeing deer in the back which brought a smile to my face.
When we stop trying to force our will and accept where we are, life becomes well, life. The love of a beautiful wife and a smile from my son fill my life with joy but sometimes life needs a frown and stern words of honesty from that same wife as well as the seemingly endless cries from a frightened child in the middle of the night. It is at these times I find the true measure of who I am. Life is not meant to be wonderful all of the time. This is the folly of all those with addiction issues. I believe that now some measure of suffering is necessary to bring us a closer appreciation of what joy and happiness truly mean. In hindsight, losing everything again was necessary to begin a new life. And what a wonderful new life it is.
And I have known true joy, love and hope.
God bless you all and thank you Rocky for your friendship and brotherly love.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Wilson
