I went to academy, the academy at Auburn. I believed in God and stuff but, I don't know if anything actually became real in my life, when I was younger I heard the stories of Jonah and all the famous ones in the Bible. I didn't deny that there was a God, but I just thought I'm not good enough for God, I've prayed and asked Him to be good before and straighten me out, but it just never happened. I got addicted to alcohol and pain pills, and I liked drinking and it was fun at first.
I had a surgery on my neck, they fused a couple vertebrae together, they gave me a big bottle of these Vicodin, and I noticed they just made me feel wonderful, so I started eating those. I found this girl finally, and she would call me, and we had a good thing going, it's hard to get hooked up with pills, but she did a good job. About a week later she OD'd, and she died, and I thought, "Wow."
I thought it was pretty much my turn, but I prayed to God, and said, "God, help me." and I haven't prayed to God for 30 years. I told my sisters, and a week later both my sisters and my brothers packed me in the car. Anyway, they ended up taking me to a treatment facility. I was at treatment center for about a week, and then on Friday night I opened up my suitcase and there was a book in there my sister had put. It was called The Big Prayer book, I don't know who wrote it or anything, and along with it I found a note my mom had written me, it said, "Brad, God's big enough to handle anything, just ask Him, He'll help you." so I did, I prayed to God, said, "If You're real, show me." and I started reading the Bible, and in doing this I got to Isaiah 65 and it says, "God chose you, you weren't looking for God, but He chose you."
Of all the drugs I've done, of all the exciting things I've done, I would have never thought that that could come from reading the Bible, it's beyond anything I've ever read.
My name is Brad Agnew, and I've reclaimed my faith.