Celebrate Recovery Testimony - Full Length - Chris Decker

I'm sharing my full testimony online for the first time.

Intro:

I was shattered and broken, beaten down and distressed, and suffering in silence. The great pain I endured in my past became my identity, and the very behaviors I learned to survive with became the weapons I used to lash out in grief, and while I cried out in my darkness, I longed with desperation for someone to rescue me. 

My name is Chris and I’m a grateful believer in Jesus Christ - I’m an adult child of family dysfunction in recovery for alcohol, sex/porn, the love of money and codependency.

Tonight, I invite you into a grand adventure. The world today is clouded by darkness. The water outside is choppy, and the thunderstorm is turbulent, but there is a warm, stable and peaceful ship that sails with confidence and bright light. With Jesus at the wheel of this ship, I surrender my story to the Captain of my life.

"Dear Heavenly Father, I pray with a humble vigilance, that we are protected by your love, guided by your light, and strengthened by your Holy Spirit. We surrender to Jesus Christ, our Captain, whose voice brings clarity and direction, purpose and passion back to our lives. Please do not let me attempt to take credit for the work you have done, and please use my story for your glory. It's in your name we pray, Amen." 

The trauma and circumstances of my youth were so painful that they distorted my sense of identity. I didn't have a good answer to the question: WHO AM I? As I learned to survive, I developed behaviors that kept me alive, but made it virtually impossible to trust anyone and develop healthy relationships. I struggled with the question: HOW DO I FIT IN? Without trust and healthy relationships, I developed an antisocial way of being. I turned inward to fantasy and pornography, I numbed the pain with alcohol, and forced significance through sex, money and prideful thinking. I couldn't give you an answer to the question: WHY AM I ALIVE? 

I was running headfirst into a jail cell, an early grave, or even worse, a love affair with the Devil leading to eternal suffering. 

But it is today through the POWER of Jesus Christ that I have found healing, hope and restoration. Earlier in March of this year I celebrated 4 years of sobriety from alcohol, 3 years of sexual sobriety as defined by Celebrate Recovery, and in later this month in June, 4 years of surrendering my finances and business to Jesus Christ by returning my tithe and engaging in ethical business practices. 

So will you join me on this grand adventure? 


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