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FOLLOWING THE BEST EXAMPLE NOW
When Thomas was six years old, he watched his father walk out the door and his life was changed forever. With great admiration and respect for his mother, he is quick to say, "I dont like to say that Im from a broken home. My mother made sure we had a good home." But Thomas still needed a good example of what a man should be.
"I remember seeing men in my neighborhood with clean shirts and nice suits - men who were surrounded with friends and pretty ladies. I remember thinking that if I could succeed like them, then I would be okay." Not until later did Thomas realize that those men in his neighborhood were not good examples to follow.
"Being a little kid, I had no idea that those men were pimps. I only saw the outside, and it looked impressive to a little boy like me." Thomas did well in school and nurturing his mind. "I loved National Geographic, and enjoyed learning new things. I always wanted to be able to talk to a man from the streets as easily as I could talk to the man who lives in the White House." Listening to Thomas it is obvious that he placed a lot of importance on education and nurtured his mind. He is indeed well spoken.
But Thomas continued to place an unhealthy emphasis on being admired by people. "I realized that people who had drugs seemed to have friends, so I got in a position where I could have drugs. I didnt use much. In fact I gave away more than I used or sold. It meant a lot to me that people would want to be around me - be my friend - so drugs helped me have those rela¬tionships." In time, marijuana use turned Thomas into a different man, and as he said, "I had to quit using. I told my mother that I needed to get away because I didnt want to hurt her."
For a number of years Thomas stayed clean, but then came crack cocaine. "I had worked hard and had a really good job, but I started dealing again - and it doesnt take long when you deal until you use." Eventually Thomas was arrested and soon thereafter he joined the Recovery Program at the Ministry.
"At first I was just here to stay out of prison, but after about four months, God started to change me on the inside. He taught me that the man I had always wanted to be was the man He had made me to be from the start. That changed everything for me. The day I real¬ized that, I walked away from it all. I said goodbye to the old places - the places where I did my dirt. Now Im ready to share with people that if God can change me - I mean really change me - then Hes really real. I'm so thankful for the man God is making me to be. "
