He Almost Didn't Survive It | David's Story
- Western Michigan Adult & Teen Challenge
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
David is 49 years old and a father of two. Before coming to Adult & Teen Challenge, his life had been consumed by alcohol and drug addiction, day after day, for years. He describes reaching a point where he could no longer find any inspiration to work or even keep living, because the drinking was slowly killing him.
The physical toll became severe. David was hospitalized multiple times for complications from his alcoholism and drug use. Each time, healing felt further out of reach, and his body kept getting worse. He came close to dying.
Surrendering and Making the Call
David reached a breaking point where he admitted he couldn't fix his life on his own. He turned to prayer and reached out to his pastor at church, explaining what he was going through. His pastor gave him the direction and the phone number for Western Michigan Adult & Teen Challenge (WMATC), and that call became the turning point that changed his life.
A Hard Fight With Old Habits
Early in the program, David struggled with the pull of temptation and old patterns from a life built entirely around drinking. Staying away from that old life was difficult, and there were moments he wanted to walk back out to the streets. Instead, he kept turning to prayer, asking God daily for the strength to keep following him rather than giving up.
David points to 2 Corinthians 5:17, which describes anyone in Christ as a new creation, with the old life gone and a new one begun. He says that verse describes exactly what happened in his own life through this process.
Community That Helped Him Stay Strong
David credits the pastors, staff, and fellow students at WMATC with helping him stay grounded. Sharing life together and supporting one another made a real difference, and David has found purpose in encouraging newer students coming into the program, showing them what God is doing in the lives of the men already there.
Worship, Scripture, and a Daily Habit Worth Protecting
Worship has become David's primary way of connecting with God, a way of feeling God's presence restore his thoughts, his soul, and his heart. He reads his Bible every morning and before bed, treating that relationship with God as a habit worth protecting deliberately, because he knows old temptations are still waiting for anyone who lets their guard down.
What Comes Next
David's plan going forward centers on his two children: growing in faith alongside them, asking God for understanding and wisdom, and making sure his family follows God together. He believes that shared foundation is what will keep his family safe and happy moving forward.
He wants to keep serving his church, worshiping consistently, and reaching other people with the same message that changed his own life: that hope is available to anyone willing to seek God and open their heart to him.
Why David's Story Matters
For donors, David's story is a picture of what it looks like to pull someone back from the edge of a life-threatening addiction and give them years, not just sobriety, to build a future with their children.
For prospective students and families, especially fathers who feel they've already lost too much ground with their kids, David's story shows that recovery can restore not just a life, but a family's future together.
For the WMATC community, his story is a reminder that a single phone call, made at the point of surrender, can be the difference between losing everything and finding a new beginning.
If addiction has brought someone you love to the edge, there is still time to find help.
Help make stories like David's possible.
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