All is not lost

Steph Macleod who was an alcoholic and drug addict nine years ago turned his life around and is a born-again Christian. Aged just 33 and does song writing for a living he inspires many people that all is not lost even when you feel that it is.

It is never too late to turn your life around.

He came to be free of his addiction after being caught in a vicious circle, which can overtake anyone’s life. Steph was a very talented classical guitarist and felt broken-hearted when his parents split up when he was just 15.

It happens to most people: you turn to alcohol and drugs to forget about reality. After many years of drug abuse and arriving at college he found himself worsening his dosage and turned to Class A drugs and drinking more alcohol than ever.

After losing his mind at college and failing the system, his ambition to become a classical guitarist as his career deteriorated. Living his life in fear he felt there was no light at the end of his tunnel, and coping with life was becoming unbearable. He became homeless and helpless – just to say the least.

It reached the point for Steph where he knew he needed a silver lining but he didn’t know where to look. There was nothing positive in his life as he lived in despair, anxiety, shame and disappointment.

The turning point:

One day Steph noticed a sign on a doctors’ noticeboard, which said: Bethany Christin Centre. After realising it was a homeless hostel and a treatment centre he felt keen to join, and got accepted in after his interview.

They made him come off the alcohol completely, which proved very difficult for Steph, but eventually his body went back to functioning normally again.

He didn’t really feel connected to God until he met a special minister who he related to in a scary way. They exchanged stories and experience and realised how similar they were, and Steph no longer felt alone. It was quite an enlightening time for him.

The minister explained how he’d found freedom in Christ and the strength to break walls that were a big bulk of his life. He broke the chains that had been killing him, so Steph prayed to God and asked to do the same thing. He asked God for his forgiveness and said that he would follow Jesus all the way and hope to feel free.

After praying, Steph felt peace and belief race over him, which was quite an overwhelming, yet relieving feeling. He didn’t realise how blurred his life had become and how harsh he had been towards himself. He felt free.

Everything started to fall into place to Steph and things began to make real sense. When he found Jesus he showed him that he was worth a lot more than he thought of himself. God gave him the strength he needed when he had hit rock bottom.

“God has never let me down. He’s so faithful. It doesn’t matter how hard it gets, we seem to come through it and we still rejoice. The fact we’re alive and got a family and a roof over our heads and a bed to sleep in, these are little things but it’s a lot more than some people.” Says Steph Macleod.

Addictions are self-destructive and it can take a lot of courage for someone to reach out away from them and to find the inner-strength in becoming a recovered and better person.

Now he shares his inspiring testimony with thousands – through songs and through speaking. He gets invited to many churches and festivals and feels so thankful to God for giving him a new start to a whole new journey. It really is truly touching and any one of us can pull ourselves out from a dark hole, because God will serve us with light and brightness, happiness and answers. All will be revealed to you by giving yourself to Jesus Christ.

Shining light on the generation of today

Being the observant individual that I am, I noticed some rare behaviour on the national railway the other day.

A group of young teenagers – they were no older than 16 years old – were conversing out loud about drugs as a conversation, bringing the topic to life in a positive mannerism.

You could see the expressions on other people’s faces change when they could overhear it, and it makes you realise just how quickly the generations are growing up now and getting to grips with society and all of the bad stuff within it. Quite scary really.

Having never experienced a bad train journey before I was quite shocked at the language of this ‘youth’ generation. I also have a young sister myself who is 12 years old, and it shuns light on the possible conversations she may be having with her friends now or in the future, and just how important education is for these young teens in today’s world about such topics.

Parents can desperately try and wrap their children up in cotton wool, but does this really prohibit what happens outside of the house? Too much discipline and strict rules can make children rebel and want to be mischievous even more, so I think a good balance is needed in freedom and education/awareness.

To top off my journey there was a group of young boys of a similar age who decided to torment a couple as they tried to leave the train. A young mum with her child in her arms decided to raise her voice, swear and pull angry expressions at this group which only caused a heap more of problems. One thing lead to the next and the verbal language continued to stir the carriage. Horrific is the best way to describe it.

So don’t be vulnerable and don’t shut your eyes to the evident issues in the modern age. It will happen inevitably – completely out of our control – and all we can do is lead by example. Be the change you want to see in the world said a wise man – Gandhi.