Hey, I'm Justin from the band I Am They, and this is my story. 

I grew up in the Church and became a Christian during summer camp when I was in the sixth grade. During high school, I stopped going to church. I was only interested in trying to fit in with the people around me. I got in with the wrong crowd, started abusing pain killers, and by my senior year, I was addicted to oxycontin. It got so bad I was stealing from my friends and family. All of my musical instruments ended up in pawn shops to pay for drugs. 

By my 19th birthday, my pill addiction had turned into a full-blown heroin addiction. I had gotten so desperate for money, I felt like I had no choice but to start selling drugs to support my habit. I felt like a lost cause. 

During the lowest season in my life, I remember my mom (who is a single mother) coming into my room. She was aware of my situation but didn't know what to do with me. She just put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Son, one day God is going to use all of these things that you are going through now, and you are going to use your testimony to help other people who are in need, and it will be powerful. God is going to rescue you, and no matter how many times you break his heart and my heart, in the end everything is going to be OK. You are going to be OK. I pray for you all the time. I love you, son."

I didn't understand back then, but now I see she was right the whole time. I wouldn't change a thing. 

On October 3rd, 2008, the police finally broke down my front door. I heard them knocking and ran into my mom's bathroom to try and flush about 100 balloons of drugs. All of them went down except for 1, which was enough to be caught. 

After they arrested me, I was standing in the booking cell staring through this little window, waiting for my mom to come bail me out like she always did. When I finally saw her, I felt so relieved. Then she walked in, and I noticed that she was in handcuffs. My mom is a nurse and was arrested in front of her colleagues because of me. That was my rock bottom. I broke down. 

That was the first time I had prayed in years. The only thing I could think to say was, "I'm sorry." I felt peace for the first time in a long time, and that set in motion a new life walking with Jesus and being healed and freed. 

On October 3rd, 2015, I got to celebrate my seventh year heroin free. 

Now I get to travel all over the country with some of my best friends playing music and ministering to people. I get to share my story with anyone who will listen. Many people, including myself, thought that I was unsalvageable. I was taught that once I became an addict, I would always be one; but I believe that my God is bigger than any addiction. I believe that I'm living proof that nobody is hopeless. 

Luke 1:37: "For nothing is impossible with God."