David Drew

I never had a Christian upbringing, but I felt a need for Jesus when I was a teen and asked Him to come into my heart. I attended church for a short time, but ended up walking away and getting into the “party scene,” which led to all kinds of trouble. It was at that time, I believe, when I had my first manic episode and, as a result, I ended up going to jail for willful damage.

In my life, I had problems with depression and alcoholism, which cost me my family and left me separated from my son. Later on in life, I got married and had two more children. The alcoholism escalated into abuse, which cost me my marriage and left me separated from my daughters.

The drug abuse raged on. I was in a very dark place and getting myself into more trouble. I was a slave to drugs and used almost every day for 3 years. I was a mess and depression loomed over me.

One day, I was on my way to the place I was staying- a barn in east Langley- when I walked by Christian Life Assembly. I came across some building materials around the back of the church. I was drawn to the cross on the roof. I climbed up a plank and onto the roof. At the top of the roof, I placed my hand on the cross and cried out to God for help- I had hit rock bottom.

Shortly thereafter, things started coming together rapidly. With God’s help, I soon got into King Haven Treatment Centre and completed their 12-step program. And I have not looked back since.

God was with me every step of the way and always had been. I just had to ask Him for help. He picked me up out of the pit I had dug for myself, dusted me off, and put me on the path I was to take.

Along that path, I was diagnosed with Bi Polar Disorder. Through God’s grace, I was provided with the help I needed to manage it, but it was not going to be easy. For many years, I had to deal with the low end of bipolar disorder. I found myself in a state of deep, dark, black depression, which I thought would never go away. The anxiety was brutal and Dark Forces were trying to get the upper hand.

One evening, a few years ago, I had just finished watching a movie about a predator who lured and murdered children. I turned the TV off and was deeply saddened by my thoughts of what evil things man is capable of. I cried like a baby and then something, not short of a miracle, happened. I call it “the quickening.”

While I was still sitting there, TV off, I felt the enormous weight of all the negative things I had experienced in my life leave my body, including the dark depression that had been crippling me for so long. I was instantaneously being filled with the love of God. He had removed the blackness, negativity, and the grip of the Evil One, and replaced it with His love and the Holy Spirit of Truth. I was elated and elevated and guided to an understanding that God loves me unconditionally. He will be there every step of the way to salvation in the Name of Jesus and for His glory.

I realize that it won’t be easy, but I completely trust in Him to pick me up if I should stumble. He will always be there, He will always love me, and He will always help me, up until the day when I see His shining greatness, face to face. I will stand before Him, blameless, pure, and holy because of the blood of Jesus- the sacrifice He made for us: His crucifixion, death, and resurrection. He bore the wrath of God for our sins, an ultimate demonstration of the pure, holy love He has for us.

I will give thanks and praise Him, forever, for the glory of God.

-David