“THEN SOMETHING REALLY GOOD HAPPENED” MY OWN STORY
PERSONALLY BY C.E. TAYLOR

I praise the name of the Lord on a daily basis for having delivered me from the depths of drug and alcohol addiction. I use caution in my speech and in writing my testimony, not to give Satan any glory for having allowed myself to be cast down to the very pit of destruction.

Raised in a Pentecostal home and in a mainstream Pentecostal Church, I grew up sleeping under the same pews and in the same Church as my children today. I grew up knowing the truth, the plan of salvation, the oneness of the Godhead and the delivering power of the Lord.

I was born the third of four children who, all but myself, seemed to grow up directing themselves toward the things of God. My brothers and sister could only shake their heads at my chosen direction. In the early 1970’s, I found myself in high school doing nothing and going nowhere. Running with the wrong bunch of “friends”, I seemed to find my niche, a place I could really fit. All of my “friends” had one thing in common, drugs.

In the beginning it seemed so harmless. I could smoke “pot” and come into the house with no one the wiser. I used drugs every chance I got, usually at school or school functions. My parents could not fathom that I was smoking, not to mention the fact that I was involved in any drug activity. However from this point on, I caused my parents unrelenting misery and financial hardships.

I began having legal problems. At first they were very small things like tickets for reckless driving. Next, I had my license suspended and numerous tickets for driving on a suspended license. “Failure to appear” was a frequent problem, along with shoplifting. Many times I was put in jail for an overnight stay and then I was charged with a dangerous drug violation. Because of the amount of the drug involved, the courts began to get serious about my charges. To all of the problems I brought on myself, my parents responded in the only way they could, they got me a “pricey” lawyer.

I couldn’t keep a decent vehicle, not because of mechanical problems but driver problems. Of course, I always had a ready excuse like, “Someone ran me off the road,” or “I was so tired from working all day and I didn’t see the stop sign.” Through all of this I am so thankful the Lord kept His hand on me.

It should have dawned on all concerned that I had an alcohol and drug problem. Through the barrage of court costs, lawyer fees and one violation after another, no one seemed to link drug and alcohol usage with the problems at hand. At first, I didn’t even see the connection. Satan had me completely bound!

Due to the increasing number of unexcused absences at work, I was told, by my employer, to obtain the services of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic in order to keep my job. This was to become the first of several attempts at rehabilitation. There is no true deliverance outside of the power of Jesus Christ.

In my mid 30’s, I made a meager attempt to “live the Christian life”. I thought I could do it my way. I didn’t want to stay away from any of my old “friends”. They were my link to the past and of course, without these changes disaster loomed on the horizon.

At 38, I found a job at a local factory and then went to driving a tractor-trailer coast to coast. My income wasn’t as good as in the factory, so I thought I could increase my income by venturing into
illicit endeavors. My income soared and so did my own level of drug use. I was using up to $500 worth of cocaine a day and sometimes used up to $1,000 a day, depending on how many “friends” were around.

Every “buzz” required a higher and higher dose and each one took me closer and closer to the edge.

I was out of control. My life was in shambles. I had lost all hope of ever living a normal life. I had fumed my back on all that was good and surrounded myself with an evil that was destroying me. I was lost, undone and without hope…I was in utter darkness and then something really good happened.

When I returned home on my last night out, my wife handed me Brother Fred Hyde’s tape, “Raised From The Ruins”. She told me she spoke with Brother Hyde on the telephone and he was praying with her for me.

I listened to Brother Hyde’s tape and it was a reminder to me that the power of God could deliver me. I thank God for a Spirit-filled wife, family and in-laws who persevered and stood in the gap for me and I thank God for the tape, “Raised From The Ruins”. This tape helped change my life.

It’s been three and a half years. Today I’m anchored in the Lord Jesus. I faithfully attend the Calvary Tabernacle Church of Indianapolis, where I was raised. My life is no longer controlled by fear. The Lord has placed a “call” on my life and I’m not looking back. I praise God for my pastor, Reverend Paul D. Mooney, and the saints who prayed for me and I praise the Lord for the beautiful changes in my life. When I surrendered all to the Lord, it was then something good really happened!

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