Pawned Dad's tools, rare coins, and heirlooms, but he believed in me.

I had a lot of years of progression in my addiction. So eventually I started stealing things. Time and time again I would pawn stuff from my Dad, from our house. I would steal money from his wallet, I would steal his checkbook. I would steal his stereo speakers, his stereo, tools, and stuff that his Father had left him. He had all kinds of rare coins. I took them and sold them. All kinds of things that were irreplaceable like his music collection. I was just un-trustable. But yet, in my Dad’s patience, he would try to help me. Eventually, it got to the point where he started calling the cops and letting them deal with me because he was unable to. I had gotten to the point where he didn’t know what to do and he felt that I was safer in custody from harming myself. He was fearful of a drug overdose or me hurting somebody while I was driving or hurting myself. I would wake up at red lights in Chattanooga, not knowing where I was with cars going around me. I was sixteen years old when he checked me into an alcohol and drug rehabilitation secular program. I didn’t last. As soon as I got out of there, I relapsed pretty quick. I know that being a single father that things were tight financially but he was willing to put me back into another one or do whatever was necessary financially to stand behind me. He repeatedly did that for years and years until finally, he said; “Matt I can’t help you anymore.” He said; “The Lord has told me that I have got to surrender you to Him.” And that’s what he did. I have a very long criminal record from in and out of the county jail. I have been to prison twice. I was in jail and I kinda looked in the mirror and it was like the spirit of God said; “ Is this who you want Matthew Thompson to be?” I was already reading in the word and studying in my devotionals while I was there. I didn’t, I did not want, at thirty-four years of age, Matthew Thompson to be known as somebody who was in jail. Now I’m six years clean and sober. I had a Dad who brought me up as a Christian man. So many times he showed me the love of Jesus when he could have disowned me, he could have abandoned me, but he didn’t. No possible way that he was able to do that except through the Holy Spirit that was living in him because the things that I had said to him and the way that I had pushed his buttons, the times that I had stolen from him, it wasn’t possible for a human to continue to express that type of love. So, I thank God so many times for giving me an earthly Father that represented my Heavenly Father.