“In LifeChange, I really discovered who I was intended to be…it was about uncovering God’s plan.”
Carl Parsons is looking back at four years of hard work, joy, fellowship, depression and everything in between. Ready to graduate from Union Gospel Mission’s LifeChange addiction recovery program this March, a future he might not have imagined four years ago in March 2005 as he stood in line for a sack lunch from the Mission. (Carl, pictured at right, the day he stood in line for a sack lunch and joined LifeChange)
“I was at the end of the line, I was out of money, had burned all my bridges and had no more money stay in this hotel on Sandy Boulevard where I had been living. I knew about Missions, so I came downtown looking for help. I saw about 250 people in line for a sack lunch. I came to the door, and I asked about help, and was told to come back later to apply for LifeChange,” Carl recalls.
Carl’s road to the sack lunch line at the Mission in 2005 was filled with battles with alcohol and painkillers and a life of struggle to find his way.
Carl was born and raised in New Hampshire by a single mom. His mom was a nurse working long hours, so Carl’s grandparents stepped in and help raise Carl and they were a major influence in his life.
“When I was 12, my grandma died. She was the matriarch, she held things together. When she died it was hard on my Grandpa, and things fell apart. I moved out of my home at age 12 and stayed with cousins and friends and struggled my way through High School and graduated in 1991.”
Carl then enlisted in the Marines, but because of a bad car accident Carl was discharged and unable to serve.
“Serving in the Marines had become something to hang on to, an identity, somewhere to belong. Things went downhill, I started drinking heavily and taking painkillers and then I got involved in criminal activity.”
Facing criminal charges, Carl fled New Hampshire for New York. He was doing day labor, living in some bad places and drinking heavily. Things appeared to turn around for Carl when he became involved at St. Paul’s House a Christian organization, where Carl worked for several years.
Carl was estranged from his family, but received a call from his mom that his stepfather was ill. Carl decided to go back to New Hampshire and face his legal issues.
He was able to get a job, a car, an apartment and he and a girlfriend were expecting a baby. After their daughter Saydi was born, Carl’s girlfriend left, and Carl was a single father for several years, until Saydi’s mom came back into her daughter’s life. At this time Carl was going back to a life of drinking, and late nights. Carl’s parents confronted him, which lead to a huge blow up.
“I flipped out. I left and stayed with friends, and I bottomed out, I burned all these bridges. I had a friend who lived in Portland and he encouraged me to come here. When I arrived I realized he was in worse shape than I was, he had a serious drug problem.”
Within a few months of arriving in Portland, Carl was in LifeChange. His experience in LifeChange was filled opportunities to grow and many hard challenges.
“I had a love/hate relationship with LifeChange at times. LifeChange was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it was the most rewarding.”
Today, Carl is attending community college and seeking an Associates degree in business.
For the future Carl plans to marry, hopefully have a job in a ministry that impacts people’s lives, and live a simple life. Carl is working to build a relationship with his daughter Saydi.“LifeChange changed my values. I used to look at temporary material things, now I see the eternal and the value of working for God’s Kingdom.” (Carl today, pictured at left)
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