Tonight was one of the more emotional nights I’ve had in a long time.
Dustin came to Breakthrough. After the service he came up for prayer and indicated that he had to go to detox tonight or he would have a warrant put out on him. He was such a sweet kid. 28 but had spent years as an alcoholic. All he really wanted was to be reunited with his son and he seemed so sincere and ready. After I prayed with him I tried to give him directions to the detox. “Go to Marquette, get on the green line, get off at the capital stop and walk almost a mile.” Oh my gosh...what the heck?? Get in my car and I’ll take you to detox. So that’s what we did. I grabbed one of the guys and we got Dustin in the car.
All the way over he talked about his life. He’d lost his entire family in the last 6 months. Mother, sister, brother. All he had left was his son. Questioning God. Questioning whether life was even worth living any more.
And all I could do was tell him that God sees him. That he was created for a purpose. That his name Dustin Thunder had significance. That he was a warrior and that he had to fight for this. He’s already shaking and sweating because it’s been awhile since he had his last drink.
So we get to the detox and I help him get up to the place he needs to go to check in. We have one final chance to sit and talk about spiritual things before the tech comes out to bring him back. And once again I have that last chance to tell him how much God loves him.
He looked back at me and said, “I will never forget this night.” And then he was gone. And I broke down and sobbed.
I will most likely never see Dustin again in this life. And I am certain it was no accident that he walked in to Breakthrough this evening.
I pray that it was enough. I pray I said the things God wanted me to say. I pray Dustin finds forever sobriety and is reunited with his child. I pray that Dustin will finally be set free.