I was drinking myself in to total oblivion

I started drinking by the age of 14, I wanted to experiment and by 15 years of age I was drinking myself in to total oblivion, my parents had no control over me.

Many times I would drink so much that I would be sick and black out, I could pass for 18 at bottle shops so buying alcohol was not a problem, by the time I was 16 I was using marijuana and life just progressed into worse drugs and alcohol, where it became my lifestyle I would get wiped out on drugs and alcohol everyday I could not hold a job, in my young years I think I had hundreds of jobs, some jobs lasted months some jobs lasted hours.

By the time I was 22 years of age I had been in much trouble with the police, I had been in three serious car accidents, due to alcohol and drugs and fortunately no life was lost.

In my early 20,s I started selling drugs, I became well known by the police, they would raid my house for drugs quite often, smash the door in and come in with guns, by now I was using heroin and amphetamines with a needle, and anything that I could get my hands on, I tried to live life as though life was just a party, but quite obviously my life was a mess on a downward spiral towards hell.

I only knew criminals, so that was life. However through these years my sister became born again I mocked her she never said anything to me, but her and her friends were standing in the gap for me praying for my salvation, unbeknownst to me. In all these years my life became a nightmare, people dying around me, some of my closest friends have murdered people for drugs or because of drugs, and I have seen death pain suicide, nothing but a taste of hell came out of that life, and I ended living in a shed in someone’s backyard with nothing but the clothes on my back I had given up on life and I cared about nothing anymore, I wasn’t suicidal but I was a broken man.

The filthy wretchedness of a life of sin had caught up with me, one morning I went to a doctor in my area to try to get these pills called rohypnols I told him I was a heroin addict and I needed them.
This doctor told me about a church in my area and about Jesus and that the lifestyle that I was living was sending me to hell, it didn’t mean much to me at the moment as I didn’t believe in hell (how convenient) but I wanted to go to this church as I had enough of this life (I was broken). And so I was picked up one Sunday morning about two weeks later from my tin shed where I was living and taken to this church not knowing what to expect. My mind was so far gone because of drugs and alcohol I didn’t get much of the message, but the people were so friendly and they had much love in their midst, at the end of the service I was asked by a pastor there if I would like to accept Jesus Christ as my savior, I said yes not knowing what I was doing, I did not feel anything different but God had plans, from that day on seventh day of February 1993, 29 years of age I never touched drugs and alcohol again, my old friends finally thought I went mad, The following Thursday night I went to a healing service and for the first time in my life I felt Gods presence and knew that he was real, and that he set me free from alcohol and drug addiction, I cried for the first 12 months of knowing him I felt the lord had kept saying to me I have taken the drugs and alcohol the more he said that the more I just cried, my life changed dramatically the filthy language went almost straight away, my hunger for the word and for God and his presence and spending time with my Christian family was awesome. If not for a praying sister and her friends I believe I would not have changed. My heart now is for people that have come from this wretched lifestyle, I have shared with many of my old friends and have bought many of them to church many of them have now been touched by the Lord, but sadly have not turned yet, however I have seen many lives changed and been able to share with people off the street and so forth and help them in their walk with the Lord. Praise the Lord if God can change me he can change anyone. Without Jesus life is a whole lot of garbage. Today I have my own house which is a miracle I have worked fulltime for 6 years now, the walk with Jesus has been difficult but exciting, I love him with all of my heart, without Jesus life is a whole load of garbage.
Praise the Lord.

Peter Sweeney
Melbourne Australia
religionkills@hotmail.com