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By Glen Doss, Major
I hit rock bottom when three dope dealers beat me at gunpoint,” recalls Dy-Ann. “Stability in my life began the day I found Christ.”
“Drugs stole my life from me, leading to 10 rehabs, state hospitals, and jail,” says David. “After I accepted Christ as my Savior, worries and burdens lifted, and I found inner peace….Today I am a responsible, productive member of society.”
David’s and Dy-Ann’s stories—and others like them—make up the little volume Every Sober Day is a Miracle, an inspiring book. Within it, editor John Cheydleur (with Ed Forster) gives voice to some of the thousands who pass through The Salvation Army’s 125 Adult Rehabilitation Centers (ARCs), the nation’s largest residential rehabilitation program. Men and women enter broken, but exit exalting Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The volume, published by Crest Books and available on Amazon, can serve as a powerful aid to recovery for anyone seeking freedom from enslavement to drugs and alcohol. It will give others a chilling, yet encouraging, glimpse into the minds of those who check into the various ARC programs.
Following lonely souls along “the low road of addiction,” whether “beginning at the bottom” or “starting at the top,” Cheydleur and Forster show us what their victorious journeys are like.
Ronald spent most of his childhood in a reformatory, then as an adult served 15 years behind bars for armed robbery. However, after checking into the ARC, he says, “My life began when I submitted my will and began to live by his will.”
The authors designed the book as a devotional tool. Each of the 99 segments contains a brief, true account of one person’s journey. Every story is followed by a powerful, biblically-based meditation and prayer. Cheydleur and Forster recommend the following approach: Each day read one story, then the meditation and prayer that follow. On the 100th day, write down your own personal story; review your favorite Bible verses; then write out a prayer to go along with your story. When you have completed the book, you will have completed 100 days of sobriety, one story at a time, one day at a time. Praise God!
