My Name is Tim Burrows and this is my story:

The changes in my life are straight from my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My

relationships have changed dramatically with truth, honesty and fellowship. I use to be a

liar sometimes not even knowing I was doing it and hurting and disappointing the most

important people in my life. The nights of boozing at the bars and with the people I

called friends are gone. Waking up with a hangover or in other cases not even going bed

at night are gone. I know longer call into work because I was sick or to high in the

morning. Everyday I wake up with a prayer and ask God how I can be a MAN of God

today. And what I can do for him. I attend church three times a week and am

continuously working on myself to be the best Christian MAN I can be and walk how

God wants me to.

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I am in Recovery for Alcohol and Cocaine

Addiction. I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. I’m the son of Dorna Burrows and my

late father Robert Burrows. I am the youngest of three brothers. Both my parents are

Alcoholics and both sets of Grandparents are Alcoholics. I was normal kid growing up

playing every sport I could football, baseball, karate, and soccer. Riding BMX and

scraping my knees and breaking body parts. The first taste of Alcohol was when I was

around eight years old. My dad use to have beer in the car nowadays they call them

“roadies” he use to let me have a sip hear and there. My father was what you would call a

happy drunk. He would always be happy now that I look back on it because he was

usually drunk. My family use to go to Lake Roosevelt camping and boating and those

were some of the best times in my childhood. As we would drive to the lake I was the

official beer pourer in the car into red plastic cups for my parents and I would sip the cup

before I would pass it to the front. At the age of 10 I could pour a beer with absolutely no

foam in a moving vehicle. Now that’s something to brag about. The first time I got drunk

was when I was 12 years old at my brothers keg party that was held at our house when

our parents were at the lake. I remembering being so sick I was throwing up all night.

When I went to middle school is when things starting intensifying by drinking and

smoking marijuana on the weekends. I was now very active playing soccer competivley

and traveling all over the west coast. Soccer became my life. When I went to high school

is when things went down hill. I was hanging around the bad kids and became one

myself. I lost my virginity at the age of 15 to a girl I had just met at a party. I made the

varsity soccer team as a freshman and was still playing for my club team. I started

smoking cigarettes and was smoking marijuana everyday before school at lunch and even

before my soccer practice and games. During my freshman year I was using LSD and a

few times were during school. This continued throughout high school and by my senior

year I was using Mushrooms also. All the while my parents didn’t have a clue. I was not

attending school but still turning in my work to get a passing grade so I could play soccer.

During my high school years my house was always the place to go. We would have half

day parties and just pretty much raised trouble. My mother worked two jobs and my Dad

didn’t get home till late because he worked in Sells, AZ which was a 1 ½ commute one

way to work. I always respected my father and mother on that front because they taught

me a good work ethic, but in return I was very lost and hurt because they were never

there for me for homework or attending my soccer games. I can remember so many times

I made a crucial goal or play and would look up into the stands to find no one. I held this

against my parents for some time and till recently I have found forgiveness through my

lord Jesus Christ. After feeling this way for sometime during my senior year I started

giving up completely and not going to class and became ineligible to play. All the while

my team was hurting for me as they were heading to the State Finals. I still remember a

friend and teammate I grew up with since preschool saying “Burrows you gotta get help

and pull it together we need you”. That didn’t help I didn’t care and just wanted to play

my bass in my rock band and smoke marijuana. The result of this was loosing a

scholarship to attend a few major universities. I barely graduated high school and had to

literally cheat on one of my final exams just to walk with my class. The night of my

Graduation after leaving a party I got into my car and drove home. I was upset because a

girl I had liked wasn’t paying attention to me. I started driving very fast through some

windy roads and end up going off the road and into the desert missing a concrete wall on

my right and a giant electrical box on my left. I made it home and after I woke up the

next morning not even remembering what had happened until I walked out to my car to

see two flat tires and tree limbs still hanging in my front grill. It all came back to me and

returned to where the accident was and saw how close I was to loosing my life. There

wasn’t much room for me to escape but some how I did. I believe Jesus was in my seat

right next to me and saved me from an early death.

I was now 18 and instead of going straight to college like most of my friends I started

working full-time at woodworking shop, and I loved it. By now I was mostly away from

the marijuana and went straight to alcohol full time. I would have the older guys at work

by me a six pack everyday as they were doing the same. This is when I started drinking

heavily. My Grandparents came to me when they found out and talked me into AA. I

attended my first AA meeting when I was 19 while also attending to support my father

who started going after his Doctor told him any more alcohol would take his life as he

was diagnosed with siroccos of the liver. My stint at AA only worked a few weeks and I

was back drinking everyday. By this time I had a fake ID and was able to by liquor

myself. I continued drinking and using mushrooms all the while as I was working full

time. My family had a trailer stationed at Lake Roosevelt and my friends and I would use

it every weekend during the summer without adult supervision. Drinking all day and

smoking marijuana throughout the night. My parents never cared as they thought that’s

what kids my age did. My dad continued to struggle with his alcohol addiction which

would later take his life. He knew he had to quit but he couldn’t. When I was 20 yrs old I

started dating a bartender and was turned on to cocaine. She was a couple years older

then me. At the time I thought I had the life. Drinking every night for free and using my

money to by drugs. Little did I know that this was the start of something that almost took

my life. After that relationship was over I had found a dealer that lived right down the

road from where I was living. And he was always in full supply. This went on for a

couple years using just about everyday which led to backed up credit card and car

payments and selling all my woodworking tools that I bought with hard earned money. I

finally had to tell my Mom what had happened after loosing my job and was literally

broke. My family decided I should go stay with my brother in Columbus, OH for the

summer. I stayed with my brother and his wife while being a nanny for my 6 month old

niece. It was amazing time taking care of this beautiful child during the day. I was not

using drugs that summer but was still drinking. While I was getting clean from the drugs

my father lost his job due to his closet drinking and lost his company a lot of money.

After 34 years of marriage he left a note to my mother saying he left town and felt useless

and hopeless and said he was unqualified to be my mother’s husband. So when I returned

from Columbus my mother and I were left with a mortgage payment she couldn’t afford

and hidden credit card bills my dad had in there name from staying at hotels and other

activities. We later found out he was still drinking, and a huge debt. My Mom filed for

divorce sometime later. This is when my drinking came out of control and was very

violent abusively towards my Mom and physically breaking things in the house we were

trying to sell. After we sold our house I moved to an apartment on the eastside in 2002. I

received my first DUI in February of 2003, spent sometime in jail and was on probation.

This did not stop me from drinking as it became heavier.

My father was back in town and moved into the same apartment complex as me and had

some income from an investment he made. He had some real losers living off him and

later on I found out they were meth addicts. All the while I was still there for my father

any way I could. I tried the nice way, the loving way, the tough love way but nothing

ever got through to him. There was one night I was drinking and went over to his

apartment to talk to him and found him very drunk which made me upset. I poured a full

beer on his head and said you ruined your life and mine and left. That was the last time I

spoke to my father. Two weeks later he drowned in the apartment complex pool and had

alcohol content of .33 and was in a coma. He died May 10th of 2003. I couldn’t bear to

see him trying to breathe off the respirator as it broke my heart. I went to the bar and got

drunk during the last breaths he took. I’m still learning to forgive myself for that which I

have found great comfort in Jesus.

As time went by I saw I was becoming my father and I attempted AA again in 2004 but it

never worked. I was only using cocaine here and there and nothing to heavy. In July of

2005 I had my first overdose and was hospitalized due to the fact that I thought I could do

as much as I used to and my body couldn’t handle it. I attempted to get sober again and

again. This kept up for sometime as I knew what I had to do. By this time I had the most

wonderful, beautiful, amazing women in my life that would encourage me to stop

drinking and using drugs. I met her in my community service I had to do for my DUI and

she was a non-drinker and a Christian. Everything I wanted but my drinking was still

getting the best of me and I couldn’t stay sober for more than a week. She always saw

what God saw in me and kept encouraging me to get clean, but she told me she wouldn’t

stick around if I kept up my behavior. We started going to church at Christ Community

and I liked it. I went to church and thought that it was enough just walking through the

motions and became what I call a “make believer”. And my behavior didn’t change and I

didn’t think I had to change. I kept telling her I would stop drinking or only have a one

here and there. I ended up lying about my behavior every chance I got. We finally called

it quits because I said she didn’t love me for me and I shouldn’t have to change who I

was. Life became more miserable and lonely and started using cocaine more frequently

and calling in to work. I started coming to CR in March of 2006 after a reaching out from

a pastor at Christ Community. I kept trying to stay sober, but I was doing it my way, and

not God’s way. I would come and tell my brothers at CR I was clean when I wasn’t. I

felt ashamed that I let them down and kept slipping up. In June of 2006 I had finally hit

rock bottom doing to much cocaine and coming close to killing myself each time I used

(2 Peter Ch 2: Verse 20 says “If they have escaped corruption of the world by knowing

Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, then they are worse off in the

end than at the beginning” I find this true as every time I would relapse I was 7 times

worse then before. It continues saying in verses 21 “It would have been better off to not

the known the way of righteousness then to have known it and turn there backs on the

sacred command that was passed on to them. As said in proverbs “A dog returns to its

vomit” or “a pig returns to the mud”. My mud and vomit was my addiction. I called on

one of my CR brothers (who has become a good friend) one early morning and he and

another brother came to my house and from there I knew this was the end. I couldn’t live

my life this way anymore.

I knew I needed help and I found a very special treatment center called Calvary Ranch in

Lakeside, CA. I had no money and but knew that this was life or death. I went to Calvary

Ranch and the minute I set foot there it felt like my feet never touched the ground. I soon

as I opened the bible and really started reading I could feel God whispering in my ear

every word I read. I was able to walk everyday with God there and he started guiding me

on the right path. My investment in Jesus was the best decision I will ever make. When I

left Calvary Ranch I was able to really feel our Lords love for me. I came to God a

broken man with a broken soul and I could feel Jesus’ love for me and accepted me as I

was. I came back to CR with a whole new look on things. I finally knew what it was like

to live for God just like the rest of our brothers and sisters here at CR. My brothers and

worship band here have been everything I need for continued recovery. I don’t know

where I would be if Jesus didn’t come into my life. I’m back with my girlfriend and I

walk for and with God everyday I arise. And as I continue in my Recovery things aren’t

always smooth. I still haven’t cried over my fathers death and still find myself angry that

he left this life the way he did and the way I acted during our last conversation, and I

learned I have a paranoia problem along with obsessive compulsive behavior . I’m

excited and ever so grateful for my brothers and sisters here at CR when I see how

powerful God works in there lives. It’s so much easier when I listen to God and walk his

path. I look back on all the times I relapsed and noticed I turned my back on God each

time it happened. Reading my bible, studying Gods word, and coming to CR are what

keep me alive and healthy for this journey. I will every be so grateful for CR and the

everybody involved to know I have a place to go, people who care, and whenever the

devil tries to throw rocks in my path.

For a long time I walked around with a victims mentality. I thought about all the bad

things that have happened to me until I realized that it is a part of life. God never told us

it would easy; but he does say he will always stand by us. I also realized I have a chance

to break this cycle of alcoholism in my family. I have an opportunity to not let this

disease carry down to my children and there children. In Jeremiah Chapter 1 verse 5 it

says “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I

set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world”. I see it as Jeremiah

telling us we were delt a hand of cards that we can not return if we don’t like what we

see. I see that God put what we have in our life to use for his Glory. Just standing here

tonight is proof that God works in miraculous ways. Where I am today I wouldn’t change

for the world.

Thank you and God Bless