Before 7 Springs Ministries, I was really distraught. I was in a really hopeless place, using and selling hard drugs. Even though I grew up in a great family, I decided to be rebellious. I wanted to be one of the “cool kids.”
I got charged with a felony and the courts were pretty much done with me. They knew I was going to die before I got help, so they ordered me to 7 Springs in August 2020.
I woke up in a bunk bed at rehab and wondered, “Where am I? Why am I here?” because I was so incoherent when I got sent to the program that I couldn’t remember what happened. When I woke up, I was so mad, but I was also relieved.
I had been to 7 Springs before when I was younger, but this time was different. My granddad was really sick, and I made a promise to him during the first week of recovery that this time I would get it together.
I had to let go of any plans I had and say, “Ok, God: You’re gonna have to do what you do because I don’t know what to do.” I went from having lots of money and a nice car (everything the world gave me was really nice) to sleeping on a top bunk with only a pillow to my name.
I vividly remember thinking, “I’ve got to do something different. I never want to experience this feeling again.”
7 Springs taught me how to love myself and how to be responsible. It taught me how to relate to others and show them compassion, empathy and grace.
I am now on staff at 7 Springs, and it’s an amazing feeling. It feels like I’m home. It’s definitely interesting to look at the progression from the first time I entered the program to the second, and now as an employee.
I am going to school full-time to be a social worker, and I work for the ministry that helped save my life, so that’s just really awesome.
If you are just coming into this program, the message I have for you is, “hope, hold on, pain ends.” It will definitely get better if you just sit back and allow God to control everything.
Watch Hayden’s Video Testimony:
