He Was Too Ashamed to Call Home | Chris's Story
Chris spent years working all the time. He was trying to prove to the world that he was worth something, and to give his family a life he never had. But the thoughts in his head told him he would never amount to anything, and he drank to numb those thoughts and the pain of his past.
A Second OWI and a Call He Almost Didn’t Make
Eventually, Chris received a second OWI and was arrested. He was too ashamed to even call his wife. By the time she reached him, her first words were not what he expected: “Chris, I love you. I know the man you are when you’re not drinking.”
She asked if he would be willing to go to Teen Challenge. Chris fought it with everything he had. In his mind, he was the provider, and providing meant working, not stepping away for a year. His wife’s answer was simple: God will provide.
Chris says he can tell you, a full year later, that God has done exactly that.
Seeing God Work in Every Life
During his time at Western Michigan Adult & Teen Challenge (WMATC), Chris has watched God work in his own life and in the lives of the men around him. He has seen families restored and healing take place. He has also learned that forgiveness runs in two directions: receiving it, and extending it to the people who needed it from him.
Learning to Trust God and People
Through prayer and worship, Chris’s relationship with God has deepened, and he has learned to trust God with every area of his life, something he always struggled to do before. The classes and the community also taught him something about himself. He can trust people, and he is worth something.
He describes the staff as supportive and ready to help with any problem, and as people who will pray with you. That habit of prayer, with the men rallying together and the staff joining in, is what turned a group of strangers into a family.
A Marriage Restored, and a New Granddaughter
Chris’s marriage has been restored, and trust is being rebuilt. On one of his passes, his son and daughter-in-law invited him over to hold his brand-new granddaughter, a significant step for a man who knows what his past has cost his family.
What Comes Next
After graduation, Chris plans to keep working, but this time without neglecting his family or his spiritual life. He wants to get return to the community, share God’s word, and pray for people in need. His ultimate goal is to do ministry alongside his wife, wherever and however God leads.
He plans to keep growing through church and Bible study, and he would love to return to WMATC to volunteer, pour back into the ministry, and help others find the freedom in Christ he found.
His message to anyone watching: there is hope, and there is freedom. It is not just the people or the building, but the God who is in it. He says he is living proof, along with thousands of others. The thing that nearly kept him from coming, the belief that he had to provide, is the very thing God took care of for him and his family.
Why Chris's Story Matters
For donors, Chris’s story is a picture of a working man who nearly lost everything trying to hold it all together, and found that his family was provided for while he got well.
For prospective students and families, especially those who feel they cannot step away from work or responsibilities, Chris’s story shows that a year of recovery can be the most important provision of all.
For the WMATC community, his wife’s words on that first phone call are a reminder of how much a loved one’s grace can matter at a person’s lowest moment.
If someone you love is working themselves to exhaustion while quietly drinking to cope, there is another way.
Help make stories like Chris's possible.
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