James Browne

     Take hope today! God is still in the life changing business through His son Jesus Christ. I grew up in upstate New York with a Roman Catholic Church upbringing and a decent home with the blessing of great schooling and opportunities through my parents hard work. In 2005 I moved to the southern Indiana area and more recently have made my home here at Chad's Hope Teen Challenge, at least for this season of my life. My intention is to reside in southern Indiana after my stay here is completed.

     As I grew up in the Catholic Church I was able to learn so much about religion and theology which I am grateful for today but I missed out of the relationship part due to a rebellious heart. I had religion not relationship.  At a very young age I had a sense of longing and emptiness, I was missing something inside of me. I used drugs and alcohol to try and fill that void in my life. I became consumed with the party lifestyle and all the lies it gets you to believe. I loved the game, feeling larger than life and important, I was cool and everybody liked me. You see I didn't like myself so I used all these things to get "OK" with myself, the masks we wear, the fronts we portray. I found my worth in others and in the partying lifestyle and escaped the reality that I didn't like. I should mention but it really goes without needing to be said that the partying lifestyle is only glamorous for a season. My teenage and young adult years were plagued with jails, institutions, judges, lawyers, debt and an incredible amount of pain for my family, friends and loved ones.

     During my late teens and early twenties I was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous and was able to achieve certain levels of sobriety but I never experienced complete and true long-lasting happiness, peace and joy. Through short lengths of sobriety I was even able to get married and have two wonderful children. I did have, at times, some level of success in worldly terms but I still had a hurting inside me that no secular program, teaching, meeting, or counseling program could fix. I had sin in my life and I was battling a life controlling problem that was taking me to a place of utter despair. It was progressively getting worse. Most of the time its only fellow addicts or alcoholics that can truly relate to the darkness, pain, sorrow, hurt, guilt, shame, remorse, and insanity that this lifestyle brings about.

     As time went on the marriage went south and divorce soon followed. I got jobs and lost them and spent years trying to solve my problems through self-will and other worldly avenues devised to address my problems but eventually it always ended up in failure. Little did I know that all this time the Lord was working on my heart and trying to draw me closer to him. At this point my ex-wife and two children were living in mid-state New York while I was in southern Indiana trying to get a handle on what my life had become. I found a church home who discipled me in Christianity and worked very hard to show me how to be set free from the strongholds in my life but I just wasn't able to break through. It got to a point where I was getting very sick. I had nothing left but a daughter from another failed relationship and my physical struggle for my life was starting to put her in danger. It was at this point that I finally gave up. Thanks to God working through other people, I accepted absolute defeat and I surrendered my whole life to the Lord. I gave everything to Him; my house, my car, my children, and my finances. I committed to addressing my addictions for good. I put all my affairs in order and was accepted to Chad's Hope Teen Challenge where I have started pealing back the layers and looking at myself for who I really am.

     What is my life like today? I am building a relationship with Jesus Christ my personal Lord and Savior; an intimate "best friend" relationship. I am learning to work on the character defects in my life and all the things that keep me from being completely free. I am being taught Christ-like behavior and how to live it. I am learning to have peace, joy, and contentment no matter what the circumstances in my life are. I am learning how to deal with temptation and how to resist it. I am beginning to trust the Word of God which is truth not my feelings which can deceive. Today there is hope in my life and I can say that I am delivered (not just recovering) and restored back to the life God planned for me. I have purpose and direction and that alone is a great feeling. I have found a solid foundation for my life, not in myself or others, but in Jesus Christ and I am now physical proof that God can change anyone.