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- Feb 9, 2004
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Testimony of Wendy Walker
I have been a Christian for 26 years and, until two years ago, was an alcoholic for 28 years. I started drinking at the age of 15 or 16, and by the age of 18 I was a registered alcoholic.
In the year 2001 I began to have wake-up calls. I was a care assistant and sometimes I would have to go on training courses, but I knew that I could only go without a drink for a couple of hours so I would have to phone in sick, or say that I had one of my children at home sick. I also had signs of liver damage. My husband and I had marriage and financial problems, but for me the biggest wake-up call was the thought I had of stealing, and being a Christian this ashamed me.
I shared with a Christian friend my problem with alcohol addiction, which I found really hard to do, but God's word says 'Confess your sins to one another.' It was now in the open and God could now begin to work in my life.
Over the months, my decision to quit drinking was on and off because of the deep fear I had of lifestyle change; and the thought of going through 'cold turkey' terrified me. However, deep down I knew that I no longer wanted alcohol to control my life and in June 2002 I put my trust in the Lord and had my first detox and my journey to freedom began.
The past two years have not been easy at all. When I stopped drinking, to me, it was like a loss or bereavement and doing things for the first time without a drink were pretty awful. The first birthday and holiday, the first Christmas and New Year without a drink were not easy.
It has been hard trying to unlearn 28 years of having an addiction and learning how to renew my mind. God gave me the scripture which says 'Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind'. This was not to be my one and only detox. I faced another two failed detoxification treatments and it would have been so easy to give up but again God gave me another scripture which says 'Forget those things that are left behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead'. God gave me the strength to move forward once more.
I look back and don't regret going though four detoxification treatments however unpleasant they were, because each time I went through detox I grew and went from strength to strength. I also learnt the importance of reading God's word and to use it as my chief weapon against my struggles, and that God has given me the authority to overcome them. I thank God that he is now enlarging my territories and restoring me the many years that the locusts have eaten. I thank God for my little car and my job which I believe are God given.
I have been on study days and have gained certificates which I could not do before because of all my drinking.
I give God all the Glory, Honour and Praise for the things that he has brought me through.
"BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHO GIVES US THE VICTORY THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST".
I have been a Christian for 26 years and, until two years ago, was an alcoholic for 28 years. I started drinking at the age of 15 or 16, and by the age of 18 I was a registered alcoholic.
In the year 2001 I began to have wake-up calls. I was a care assistant and sometimes I would have to go on training courses, but I knew that I could only go without a drink for a couple of hours so I would have to phone in sick, or say that I had one of my children at home sick. I also had signs of liver damage. My husband and I had marriage and financial problems, but for me the biggest wake-up call was the thought I had of stealing, and being a Christian this ashamed me.
I shared with a Christian friend my problem with alcohol addiction, which I found really hard to do, but God's word says 'Confess your sins to one another.' It was now in the open and God could now begin to work in my life.
Over the months, my decision to quit drinking was on and off because of the deep fear I had of lifestyle change; and the thought of going through 'cold turkey' terrified me. However, deep down I knew that I no longer wanted alcohol to control my life and in June 2002 I put my trust in the Lord and had my first detox and my journey to freedom began.
The past two years have not been easy at all. When I stopped drinking, to me, it was like a loss or bereavement and doing things for the first time without a drink were pretty awful. The first birthday and holiday, the first Christmas and New Year without a drink were not easy.
It has been hard trying to unlearn 28 years of having an addiction and learning how to renew my mind. God gave me the scripture which says 'Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind'. This was not to be my one and only detox. I faced another two failed detoxification treatments and it would have been so easy to give up but again God gave me another scripture which says 'Forget those things that are left behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead'. God gave me the strength to move forward once more.
I look back and don't regret going though four detoxification treatments however unpleasant they were, because each time I went through detox I grew and went from strength to strength. I also learnt the importance of reading God's word and to use it as my chief weapon against my struggles, and that God has given me the authority to overcome them. I thank God that he is now enlarging my territories and restoring me the many years that the locusts have eaten. I thank God for my little car and my job which I believe are God given.
I have been on study days and have gained certificates which I could not do before because of all my drinking.
I give God all the Glory, Honour and Praise for the things that he has brought me through.
"BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHO GIVES US THE VICTORY THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST".
