Redemption: How My Life Turned Around in One Weekend

I eloped at 17 to marry my high school sweetheart. We were on top of the world.

But sometimes life doesn’t go as planned.

In a few short years, we had seven children and a whole host of challenges.

By the time I was 35, I was working long hours, drinking heavily, and getting involved with other women. My life was spinning out of control.

My wife was at her wits’ end and asked me to move out. At 35 years old, I moved in with my mother.

My mother thought the best way for me to get my life back on track was to spend some time on retreat at Holy Family. So she gave me $65 (which was a large sum for her back then) and sent me away for the weekend.

That was back in 1975.

On retreat, I encountered a young Passionist priest, Fr. Vince, who preached a message of forgiveness and God’s invitation to wholeness.

Fr. Vince encouraged me to identify one big thing that I was terribly sorry for. I spent a lot of time with that question. I wept a lot.

Then, it was like a bolt of lightning seared my consciousness. The word ‘selfish’ came to mind, along with a whole lot of regret.

This was the first big step on my spiritual journey and my life of recovery.

I went back to work, but I was a different man — something had shifted inside me. I felt God’s presence, and looked for ways to align my life with God’s intention for me.

I sought counseling and was eventually invited to return home for a “trial run.” My wife and I began having honest conversations for the first time ever, really. And although our marriage had strong wounds, we worked hard to find opportunities to heal.

Holy Family saved my marriage and gave me my family back. It’s extraordinary what can happen when the door is open, and God’s work can begin.

And that’s just what happens to me when I’m at Holy Family — I get the message I need to from God.

On retreat in 1984, Holy Family even helped me hear God’s call to change my career and become a counselor. I still counsel adopted children to this day.

My life is completely different because of Holy Family. Today, I support others in addiction, counsel children, and share my story of redemption openly with others.

I’ve been attending retreats at Holy Family every year for forty-seven years, and I invite friends to “Come Away and Rest Awhile” with me. If they can’t pay, I will pay for them, just like my mom did for me.

I enjoy an extraordinary spiritual life. I participate in prayer in all forms. I pray with my family at home and with those struggling with addiction.

My story is not unique. I am sure there are others whose lives are engulfed in self-destructive behaviors even as I share my story with you.

I am so grateful that Holy Family continues to invite everyone who wishes to spend time with God and to get to know the person they were born to be.

Holy Family truly transforms lives, mends broken hearts, and restores relationships. I am living proof of that.

~ Jim