Safe At Home

The goal of baseball is to make it home safely… and this weekend Charles’ family has experienced just that!

Charles, is the most recent House2Home beneficiary. But it’s been a long journey to get there.  

Charles’ life took a wrong turn during his fraternity days at college. His father was an alcoholic and not really a part of his life. His mother was a loving influence on his life who never gave up on him.

Time and time again Charles attempted to get his life on track but he always found a way to fall back into his addiction. He even tried sobering up to impress a girl who attended church regularly. It lasted long enough to get married but those old habits kept finding ways back into his life. Instead of overcoming his addiction, Charles actually led his wife into a drug habit of her own.

He tried three more times to kick his addiction at the birth of each of his children. He even tried some abbreviated rehab programs. However, those attempts were all short-lived.  

Eventually his wife grew worse and left the family to pursue the drug culture. Even his loving mother reluctantly withdrew her support realizing she was only enabling him to continue his demise. Instead of rescuing him, his mother started pointing him to the Orange County Rescue Mission as a place to receive the help he desperately needed. Yet his pride was still too strong and he was determined to do things his way.

Due to his homeless lifestyle, his children were eventually taken away from him by the foster system. He was devastated and humiliated. God finally broke him, and he remembered the Christian Rescue Mission his mother told him about in Orange County. 

Charles, swallowed his pride, and entered the recovery program. After hearing about God’s love and forgiveness Charles surrendered his pride once again and gave his life to Jesus. Charles started growing in his faith taking advantage of every opportunity the mission offered. He took bible classes, parenting classes, financial classes. He had become a new man in Christ.  

It was then, that God brought his children back to him. They lived at the mission for a number of years so Charles could save up a nest egg for future success. After about a five year recovery Charles and his three children moved into their first apartment together.  

Charles recognizes that God uses his people to be the expression of his love. He saw that from the Rescue Mission staff but he really credits his current employer, John Patterson, for giving him real hope for the future. Charles said, “John Patterson has been there every step of my journey at the mission.” 

John owns four car dealerships and has been mentoring Charles in the business. He hired him initially to do odd jobs and administrative tasks until Charles could get his driving record cleaned up. John helped him through that process with the goal of helping him on a career path as a salesman.

Charles rode his bike to work every day for five months until his record was finally cleared. John, fulfilled his promise, and Charles became a salesman. God has been enabling him to make good on John’s confidence in him. John told me, “He is a wonderful guy, a great team member, and an amazing dad. ( I am) SO excited for him to move into his new place.”

This past weekend, two Deed and Truth teams combined, on separate days due to the weather, to transform Charles’ new apartment into a home. He and his three children FINALLY have a space of their own they can call home.

Charles has a transformed life. And now he has a transformed apartment. In both cases, what was empty has become filled with the evidence of God’s love. The analogy is precious … the goal of baseball is to make it home safely… and this weekend Charles’ family has experienced just that… they are SAFE AT HOME!