I had lunch today with a young guy I know from out at the boy’s home. I haven’t seen him for awhile, but he’s a guy I was pretty tight with. I’ve written about him in the past. Before moving to the boy’s home (where I volunteer), he had one of the worst drug/alcohol problems I’ve ever heard of. He told me once, that he was high or drunk pretty much every day. His mom finally called Social Services and asked for help, since she had no idea what to do. They placed in Nacer (the boy’s home) almost exactly two years ago.

Not long after he arrived, I started planning a new Bible study with some of the guys, about experiencing spiritual freedom. Many of the guys are trapped in a never ending cycle of issues and bondages in their lives, as a result of their past experiences. I’ve said this before, but many of them can be off the streets (and drugs and alcohol) for two, three years (or more) and end up going back. Even though they see how destructive it is, that lifestyle still has incredible control over them.

Anyhow, back to this friend of mine. I was thinking about who I was going to ask to be a part of this study with me. I was mostly considering guys who’d been at the home for awhile, and who seemed a bit more stable. But God kept leading me back to my friend. I didn’t even know his name at the time, but I had a strong sense that I should ask him if he was interested. He said that he was, and he joined myself and four other guys in getting together each week.

He was a constant surprise to me. I have never seen someone grow and change so quickly. He ate up everything I threw at him and wanted more. He had questions that made me take a step back and think for a moment. Some days the other guys would be busy, but we’d still get together, just him and I, because he had so many questions.

I knew he was having problems out at the home. He was getting frustrated living there, and at one point left and then came back a couple of days later. He was in his last semester of high school, so I just kept trying to encourage him to stick it out until he finished. But then in August I heard that he’d left. I was pretty sad to hear that. As much as he’d matured over the past year and a half, I wasn’t convinced that he was ready to go back and face the temptations and issues from his past that would no doubt surface once he was home.

I was excited to hear his voice on the phone last week, asking if we could get together. I said for sure we could. So we made plans to get together for lunch. As soon as I saw him, I knew that things weren’t great. I could tell that he wasn’t on the streets or anything (he never had been a street kid), but his “look” said that he was back into the partying and drug scene.

It didn’t take long to jump into a conversation about what was happening in his life. I’m not one to shy away from that, and he seemed to want to talk about what was happening. My first impressions were confirmed, as he talked about returning to drug and alcohol use. Maybe not as deeply as before, but still…obviously not what God wants for this young man’s life.

And that was the interesting thing that came up fairly quickly. It was obvious that this is not the lifestyle that my friend desires either. I asked him, at one point, if he was happy, and his quick and unthinking shake of his head and reply of “No…” spoke volumes. He told me how, when he uses drugs or gets drunk, it’s almost always a negative experience. He feels attacked and depressed. He feels like he’s losing something. His family is again stressed and upset. His mom is getting older (he’s the youngest) and they’re the only two left at home. Him coming back drunk or high is not helping her health. He said that the only time he feels at peace is when he tries to read his Bible or pray. He felt strongly that when he became a Christian, God placed on his heart a desire to go into ministry. He’s wanted to go to seminary for much of the past year and half. That desire is still strong in him, although I think he’d mostly given up on the idea.

So we had the opportunity to talk and pray together. I talked about who he is, as a Son of God, a Child of Light. I assured him that his position with Christ hasn’t changed, and that God’s call and purpose for his life is still there. But he has some choices to make. He has responsibilities as well. He can’t just blame his friends for the temptations they put in front of him, and his inability to stand against that.

And we talked about his future. That there’s hope. That there’s still a place for him with us in the house, if he starts making better decisions. We’d often talked about the future and him living with us and studying at Bible college. But I told him I wasn’t willing to rush into anything. I wanted to see that he was serious about the desire to sort things out in his life. And I told him that for sure, he wasn’t alone anymore. That there were people who were willing to help him.

So next Saturday we’re going to get together again. He’s going to stay overnight with us and then go to church the next morning. He lives a couple of hours outside of the city, so coming in on Sunday morning isn’t really an option. And hopefully it’ll be a good way for him to become more a part of us, and feel comfortable with the guys.

Please pray for this fellow. He has a ways to go. There’s no doubt in my mind that drug and alcohol addictions will always be a temptation for him. But that doesn’t mean he has to live his life in bondage to them.

I really appreciate this guy…he’s a lot of fun and very gifted. The compassion he has for others is very evident in his life. I can see the call that God has placed on him. My prayer is that he’s taken a step back from the edge, and a step towards the abundant life that Christ offers us.