Faith Filled Family Magazine August 2016 | Page 81

Victory Over Addictions: An Ex- Addict’s Testimony
By Chris Benton

W

hen many people
think about addictions they mostly
think about the
person dealing with them, but
that is not the whole story.
Addictions affect every person
involved with the addiction. It
doesn’t matter who deals with
the person, they will be affected
too.
I went through 19 years of addictions that started at age 17. At
that point it affected my parents
because they bailed me out of
jail so many times. I almost bankrupted them because they spent
so much money on me trying to
bail me out of things that I got

myself into.

tions won again. I ended up
cheating on her and mentally
I eventually married my first wife abusing her until the last day we
when I was 25 and we were mar- were together.
ried for only 3 years because my
addictions took over there too. That last night I was drunk and
I put her through hell and back she was really upset. I took it out
trying to deal with me. There on her and tried to push her to
were so many times she tried to leave because I thought I wanted
bow to me because she didn’t to be free. I mentally and a little
know what to do. All she knew bit physically abused her that
was to just let me be but I wasn’t night. I was determined that I
willing to change.
was going to push her away that
night. I think the last year of our
I found some business people marriage I was subconsciously
that helped me find God during trying to get her to leave by treatthat marriage but it was short- ing her badly. It was not her at
lived because my addictions all. My mind was so corr upt from
completely controlled me. I the drugs and alcohol that I was
never really gave my all to God. not in my right mind during this
All I did was stay half in with God time.
and of course then the addic-