Colton found freedom from addiction through Jesus

He was hopelessly addicted to drugs. Now he writes songs about how God redeemed Him.

For the first time, I experienced peace and knew that I needed God because I couldn’t do anything on my own.

For the most part, I grew up in a pretty good family. My parents had steady jobs, never really struggled financially, and they loved me a lot. But things changed when I turned either 14 or 15 years old. I can’t remember exactly what age I was, but that is when I took my very first pill, an oxycodone. I took it because there were things about myself that I wasn’t okay with; things that I didn’t like talking about with other people, which included my parents.

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I tried to quit a bunch of times, but I never seemed to be able to shake this addiction. It’s simply because I always was trying to do it out of my strength and never asked for help from anyone. I didn’t want to turn to God because I thought if you needed Him, that made you weak. In all my efforts to quit, I ended up switching from oxy, to Xanax.

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Senior year was a low point for me. I was pretty decent at baseball, and I knew that I was going to have a few opportunities to play in college. So I was trying as hard as I could to put down these pain pills. To stay off pills, I would smoke weed and drink beer more than anybody. I stopped going to parties because I would go home and take pills instead.

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Despite everything that had been going on, I ended up going to a junior college to play baseball my freshman year. I remember telling myself I was going to do everything I could to quit pills, but after an hour after I moved into my apartment, I took a Xanax. It’s when I started taking this my parents began to notice the changes. So, to compensate for my drowsiness, I would do cocaine to stay awake. It was a cycle.

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It was during this time, I got arrested for the first time for a DUI. I passed out in jail, so they knew it was more than just alcohol. I had taken six or seven Xanax that night. My coach was the first to confront me on this, which made me angry. I remember getting hot and wanting to cuss him out, but I knew he was right. When I got home, within 10 minutes, I had taken yet another Xanax to calm down. I knew I had a problem. We were going to New York the next week for a game, and I decided I wasn’t going to take any substances with me. For the first time, I experienced withdrawals. I thought I was going to die.

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I transferred schools to play baseball with my brother but quit a week before I moved because I knew I wouldn’t pass a drug test. This was one of the worst decisions I’ve made. I had more time to get into trouble now. I started stealing to buy drugs, which is something I never thought I would ever do. When I was younger, I used to look down on those who stole. Now I found myself doing it.

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My drug use reached a point where there was nothing worth living for anymore.  I prayed and asked God to kill me or make a change in my life. Then, something happened.

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I don’t remember much of that day, but the next morning I woke up in jail again and had no clue how I got there. So I asked the officer what had happened, and he told me I was caught stealing jackets. My parents got me out and told me I was going to rehab at Greenwood Oaks Recovery Center. I hated it at first, but I came to the realization that if I went home, I would go right back to drugs. Part of the rehab program was to spend time talking to a God of your understanding. I prayed for over an hour and felt like I was on a rollercoaster; like at an awesome amusement park. For the first time, I experienced peace and knew that I needed God because I couldn’t do anything on my own.

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Two weeks after I got home, I remember sitting my parents down and telling them that I did not sober up to have no friends and hate life. Funny thing: The next day, some of my friends that I used to hang out with when I was younger and went to church with, texted me. I was confused because I had not talked to them in years. We ended up hanging out that afternoon, and it was great. And I just remember going to bed that night thinking how crazy it was that God comes through every time I need something.

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He’s the only one that can fill those voids in my heart now, and he is replacing those old desires. Every time I run to God, it’s like I’m chasing a high. He’s given me all these things in my life to keep me focused on him, like music. I love music and writing songs about how God redeemed me. 

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I know God has allowed me to help people who struggle with what I used to struggle with. Whenever I am talking with someone and they reach the point where they can grasp the idea of God who can help them stop doing drugs, it’s like the light bulb finally flicks on. I can see their heart smile for the first time, and that’s something that puts me on fire. I want to do that forever. I want to do ministry, but I am not sure what that looks like for me yet. But, I’m trusting God to open doors up and show me what to do.