When this journey started, it was completely between me and God. However, He quickly revealed that I needed to be in community with other believers. This made me pretty nervous.

For one, I had been in isolation for a long time; so to walk into a church on my own was intimidating in itself. And second, I had my guard up with Christians still. I know that sounds contradictory, but think of a 5-year-old’s reaction to being sent to school on their own for the first time.

You trust and love the mother/father dropping you off, but aren’t sure about the strangers inside, even though - really - they’re all just like you. That was how I felt, on top of living in a world that is so quick to shame and pick apart christians - myself included at one point.

All I can say, is despite living down the road from so many huge churches, He led me to this one - Vizion Church. A church which has helped guide, sharpen and embolden my faith beyond what I could have imagined in this short time so far. And the friends I’ve made just a few months in, are friendships that I know will last a life time.

P.S. - a pretty insane coincidence (…not coincidence, but God’s perfect ways):

When I first walked into Vizion, I remember having a fleeting feeling like I had been there before. Which I didn’t hold onto, because there was just NO chance. I could count on one hand how many times I had been inside of a church in the last decade of my life. Plus - there are TONS of churches all over Charlotte.

A few months into attending Vizion, I ended up passing by a hallway with photos of what the building looked like before they renovated it. When I actually looked at them, I felt an instant shockwave throughout my body.

Years prior, early on in my addiction, I worked at a restaurant. I had met a guy who had his own film company and told him I had some experience with film and video editing, as it was a big passion of mine growing up. He told me he had a video project he was asked to do and needed an extra hand, so I offered to help.

He then told me it was for a church service.

I remember feeling slightly let down, and even thinking I would burn up if I walked through those doors. But I did it anyways.

It was this church building.

The same one God would lead me back to years later, fully sober and free of my addiction.