- It felt like it was Groundhog's Day.

It just continued,

you woke up if you sleptand it was the same thing

over and over again, butyou're still searching for,

oh, that, you know, maybethis time it'll be different

and more fun or more of an event,

but it became to me, it wasjust a very hollow life.

- [Narrator] John Humphrey says

he had a normal childhood in the Midwest.

But in high school, he startedexperimenting with drugs

to fit in.

- When I got into high school,

I started experimenting with alcohol,

I believe first and started smoking weed.

I think I you know, like every other kid,

you're trying to figure out who you are.

And I just my perception of myself was

I liked myself better, when I was using

or maybe I had more self confidence.

- [Narrator] -John'sfamily tried to intervene,

but he dropped out ofhigh school and left town.

He started sleeping on friends' couches,

and worked menial jobs,while his drug use increased.

- A few times a week, we'dhave a bunch of people over,

snore some coke, drinksome Crown Royal shots,

and just have a full blown party,

wasn't sleeping very often.

And at this point, I'mpretty sure that I had

a dependency to it.

If I didn't before, this was the season

where I just did kindof turned a lot uglier,

and I realized that I wasagitated when I couldn't get it.

And I was it was all I could think about.

- [Narrator] John continuedto pursue new highs

and found it in pharmaceuticals.

- But I found out that Ireally liked methadone,

and fentanyl.

So those were like my preferred drugs.

And I was starting to usethose on a regular basis.

If I wanted to clean thehouse, I'd snort an Adderall.

If I wanted to relax or get some sleep,

I would take Klonop and Xanax.

- [Narrator] He continued partying

and had a baby with his girlfriend,

which made him thinkabout who he had become.

- There was a little ray of hope and light

in a dark world for me when she was born.

But I also remember holdingher just thinking like,

I am not a good enoughperson to raise a child.

- [Narrator] They hadanother child together.

And john started using even more drugs

to cope with parenting responsibilities.

With his relationship in turmoil,

John faced a tough decision.

- Things at home weren'tgetting any better,

and I knew that I had to go.

But in order for me togo and try to get sober

and find my freedom,

I had to leave the placewhere my girls were at.

And it was the mostheartbreaking moment of my life.

- [Narrator] Feelinglike there was no hope,

his brother invited him to church.

And John started reading the Bible.

- I started to read in Matthew

and I got past all thebegottens and all that stuff.

And I was reading about Jesus,

and I thought it was a cool story.

But I realized when Iwas reading this book,

that I just felt peace.

And I thought maybe itwas just 'cause I was so

focused on the book.

But it was a supernatural piece

whenever I would get into it, and read it.

- [Narrator] John sortrefuge with extended family

and had friends texting him scripture

when he found his faith.

- I started to hear testimonies.

Actually, I heard one on the 700 Club.

And this guy said that he was so tired of,

I believe it was a heroin addiction

that he just threw his hands out,

and he cried out to Jesus,

and Jesus took his addiction away.

And I thought it was themost ridiculous thing

I've ever heard in my life.

I was like, well, wheredid they find these people?

And I caught another testimony about

somebody getting freed from addiction.

And then I thought, well, youknow, maybe that's happened.

But it wasn't, they weren't as bad as me.

But God was working onmy heart in that time.

So I was reading the Bible,

and I happen to have thisthing on TV saying, you know,

there is freedom, whenyou call out to Christ.

I knew that,

I didn't know how to handlethis hopeless feeling

inside of me or thisbrokenness inside of me,

or the uncertainty ofwhat was about to happen.

And I was like, Youknow what, Jesus Christ,

I wanna believe and,

I would love to believe thisis real, but I just don't

but I've tried everythingelse, and if you're real,

and I put my hands out,

I'm just like, if you'rereal, I need you now.

And boom,

I was facedown on the carpet

in the presence of Jesus Christ.

I just remember trying to tell Him like,

you don't know how bad I am.

You don't know the stuff that I've done.

And every time I would bring up a thought

or anything like that, Ijust felt Him reach into me

and just grab that out.

And you know, like, this is mine now.

And I was just, I had neverexperienced a love like that

and a piece like that and all of that,

anxiety and worry andbrokenness and heartbreak

was just a healing right in front of me.

- [Narrator] John says hestopped using all drugs

and miraculously has had no withdrawals.

- Never touched the methadone again.

Pretty I was off everything.

Started going to church,went to a Celebrate Recovery,

the Friday you know, threeor four days after that.

- [Narrator] Today, John hasreunited with his daughters

and now ministers to drug addicts.

- I have custody of my daughters.

I have a job where I actuallyhelp other people in recovery

and trying to find sobriety.

Jesus Christ is my Savior.

He's my rock.

And it's not that I've been perfect

and every time something comes up,

I find myself running back to Him.

He is a good father.

He shows us our identity

and He still is doingmiracles in this world

and there is not a morepowerful force in this world

than experiencing him.

He came down when I hadnothing to offer Him.

I've never had less inmy life to offer anybody

and He said I'm gonna take this one,

and I'm gonna do something with this one.

And I was the one thatHe left the herd for.

And that's the kind of father He is.

He is love

He is perfect love.

(gentle music)