I Claim the Victory
The Tyrone Thomas Story
“Drugs and alcohol don’t care who you are, your race, education, economic status, or gender. I’ve learned that the only thing that can overcome the power of addiction is constant, conscious, contact with God. It took me a long time to learn that, but that is getting ahead of my self.”
Nothing in Tyrone’s background would lead you to think that he would become a crack addict. He grew up in York, Pennsylvania, in a stable middle-class home with seven brothers and sisters. Both of his parents worked and stressed education.
When his father died right before Tyrone’s first-year medical school finals, he was given a choice – take his finals or go home for the funeral. He went home for the funeral. “My father was injured in WWII. He wasn’t supposed to walk again, but he did. There were times when he was in so much pain – he would be up all night. But he still went to work in the morning because he was determined to take care of his family. Here was the greatest man I ever knew . . . I just lost it.”
“I had joined the Army to help pay for medical school and when I didn’t go back to school after my father’s death, I was activated. One day I was a civilian and the next day, ready or not, I was in officer training. Altogether, I spent 24 years in the Service between Active Duty, Army Reserves, and the National Guard. When I ended Active Duty, I returned to York and began working in community and economic development.
I got married, had children, bought a house – and had all the things that say ‘success.’ Eventually, I got a job in Harrisburg doing community and economic development on the state level. From the outside, life looked good.”
The inside story was somewhat different. “I never had a DUI or a drug charge, but that was only because God was looking out for me. Back then, the truth was that the only time I ever had problems was when I was drinking.” In 1984, an altercation in a bar led to an attempted murder charge against Tyrone. When the charge was finally dismissed, he went to York to let his family and friends know that he had been cleared. While he was there, a friend told him about something that would make him feel good – so good, that nothing would compare. It was his introduction to crack and from that first experience he was hooked. “Some people can try it and go about their business, others try it once and they are done. I was one of the unfortunate ones. It brought me to my knees. It ruined my family. I was no longer employable, and I didn’t want to go to work anyway. I just wanted to smoke crack all day.”
Three years later, with a round of rehab behind him, he and his family moved to Philadelphia and started over. “I was willing to do anything – the gift of desperation will do that for you.” But six months later his mother died. “My sponsor and my support group helped me through it. I cried so much. Every meeting I went to I cried about my mother. Eventually, my disease told me that people were tired of hearing me cry at meetings. I started working two jobs to replace the material things we had lost and started slacking off on attending meetings. Within a few months I used again and my first wife had enough and divorced me. After that I spent a year homeless on the streets of Philadelphia, even though I was working, I just smoked it all up as soon as I got paid.” He got fed up with the way he was living and got back into recovery. Tyrone stayed clean for five years that time.
“Then I got lonely. I met a woman at a bar. We got together and after we had been drinking for a little bit . . . she had some crack. I used for about a month that time, but I knew it wasn’t right for me and I got clean again.” They ended up getting married and it lasted about six years. After the divorce, Tyrone returned to York, and within six months he was using again. This time he realized he couldn’t blame his ex-wife and he got back into recovery and got a job.
“I met a woman in recovery that I also worked with and fell in love with her. I was willing to do anything to be with her. She was married and my friends and sponsor all said I was crazy. She divorced her husband and right when we were making plans to live together, she just walked away. That put me in a tailspin. I used again to relieve the pain. It didn’t relieve the pain, but I kept on using anyway.”
In 2006, Tyrone decided that he had had enough. “I didn’t plan to come to the Mission. I had seen the green cross in front of the building before, but I had no idea what it was all about. My life was in shambles . . . I was sleeping on the floor at a crack house. I had to do something. Somebody suggested that I come to Bethesda Mission. Walking up the steps, I thought I would try it for a couple of days. I got here on a Wednesday, and Friday morning Pastor Irving prayed for a group of us. As he prayed for me, I decided to apply for the long-term, Helmsman Program.”
“This time, whatever it took, I was determined to get some help and have my life change. I came in broken. I had exhausted every excuse for using. I realize now that there is nothing that can go on in my life today, that will make it worth using again. My old lady may leave me, I may get fired tomorrow, and my children might act up. But none of those things would give me a reason to use because I am still responsible for my life and the choices I make.”
“Only through God’s grace and mercy did I get to this point. Bethesda saved my life. The beauty of this program is that it gave me a safe place to find out what God wants and to help me get lined up with that. Grace and mercy are undeserved gifts. This is where I learned to be in constant, conscious contact with God. I know that this is the only way that I will make it! If I got what I deserved, I’d be burning in Hell. I’ve learned that I can ask for forgiveness. Because I gave my life to Jesus, I know that He has forgiven my sins.”
“I’m 54 years old now and I work with homeless vets for the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg. Before I got this job I went through the employment-counseling program at the Y. They watched me work at UPS at a job that was below my educational background, but I used that to make the next step. I did taxes last year and at the end of tax season they hired me to do this veterans outreach.”
“Now I try to help people. My vision of life today is to reach out and be of service to others. As I reach out to others it makes my life better. I have my own apartment. I have a car, and I’m taking off from here. I’ve seen amazing things happen and I expect amazing things to continue to happen. God has always been faithful and now I can claim the victory! I am so very thankful that they taught me to claim the victory at Bethesda Mission!”