Craig was raised in a small coastal town called Westport, WA. His childhood was filled with ocean breezes and fishing adventures. He was surrounded by three sisters and deeply rooted in the traditions of being a Jehovah's Witness. However, his father grew tired of the constant rain in Washington State. When he retired, the family relocated to Tucson, Arizona. Life there seemed promising.

Craig built a successful career at an air museum, rising from a painter's assistant to managing the entire restoration shop. But beneath the surface, the pain was brewing. His father's battle with Alzheimer's and his mother's terminal cancer diagnosis and subsequent battle shattered Craig's world.

Grief became a monster that Craig tried to drown in alcohol. Life turned into a daily struggle with the bottle. He lost his dream job and his sense of stability, eventually finding himself homeless, parking in hospital lots, and contemplating whether to drink himself to death.

In a pivotal moment of desperation, Craig chose to embrace life. He sought help and went through detox and rehabilitation programs.

As Craig neared the end of his time at Los Altos, a staff member recommended Gospel Rescue Mission to him. Having once volunteered there, she recognized its profound impact on people's lives, so she drove him to the mission so that he could enter the addiction recovery program.

Craig arrived at GRM on December 8th. Daily chapel services, the Genesis program, and constant prayer began to heal the wounds he had long ignored. Craig explained, "I still felt like there was this emptiness, this void on the inside," until I came to Gospel Rescue Mission.

Craig was being reborn, he learned about compassion, discovered the power of vulnerability, and found a community that saw his potential beyond his struggles. He's now filled with purpose, faith, and hope.

Today, Craig has been sober for over a year.

Gospel Rescue Mission didn't just give him a program; it gave him a new life, proving that with faith, support, and personal commitment, no story is beyond redemption.

To read more our programs and stories like Craig's visit www.grmtucson.com

#testimonytuesday

#sundayscripture

We are continuing in the month of June to look at what God thinks about us and to learn to renew our minds. We want to look at the common lies we have told ourselves, see what the Word says about it, and how we can turn that lie into the truth.

One of the lies we are addressing this week is “no one understands me; no one sees me for who I am.”

As we look in Psalm 139, we see that God sees exactly who we are and knows us intimately.

1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

Not only does our God understand us, He SEES us. He knows every detail about us and still loves us. It is very comforting to know that He is always watching me. He knows everything I do. He knows my thoughts. He prepares me ahead of time to face whatever comes my way because He sees it.

He not only sees it, but He sees how I will respond because He KNOWS me.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

It is also refreshing to understand that the Lord is always thinking about me! When I think that no one understands, I need to remember that Jesus loves me.

He sees every detail of my life and is constantly thinking about me.