A little over six years ago I was brought to Restoration Ranch by my long time boss who knew I needed help, and that I did. With thirty years of active addiction, I had a problem. I had defects and most of all, I had a relationship with God that needed reviving.

I had gotten saved in 1980, but in 1988 a divorce sent me seeking solace. Instead of finding solace in the Lord, I found it in methamphetamine. It made me feel better, elevated my mood, but most of all, it allowed me to forget all the pain I was feeling. It became for me an all encompassing panacea for what ever was ailing me. The problem was, while seemingly providing relief, it also stole from me. It became so important that everything else was secondary. My ambition, motivation and thoughts of the future were gone. The life I could have had was stolen by the drug I thought was helping me cope.

By the time I arrived at Restoration Ranch, I had become a liability to my boss and his business and to myself. For the longest time I had been denying I had a problem and that I needed help. I just thank God that there was a place where I could not only get the help I needed, but I could also reconnect with Jesus Christ. I knew I was running away from God and I figured I would reconnect “someday”, I just didn’t know when. Restoration Ranch, being a faith based recovery program, made it possible for me to do so. Jesus is preached at the Ranch so much so that within the first week I was feeling the burden of conviction on my heart and I knew that I had to get back into fellowship with Jesus. One night I just said, “Lord I have been running for too long and I am tired of running.” Like the prodigal son spoken of in Luke 15, I came to my senses and ran back to the Father. And just as in Luke, the Father was there with arms wide open to accept me back. He was just waiting for me with love and I will be eternally grateful.

Was life at the Ranch easy? Not at first. I had a lot of issues to work through and things to learn that in the long term would benefit me greatly. Discarding old habits and developing new ones is never a walk in the park. I had lived so long in my addiction that I didn’t know how I could or would be able to live a sober lifestyle. Thankfully, Brian, Danny, Miss T, Kenny and a plethora of volunteer teachers and mentors are there to provide guidance, structure and biblical teaching so that anyone could, if they desire it, can get sober and learn how to live a life in sobriety and recovery. Had it not been for the Ranch, frankly, I don’t know where I would be today. The Ranch utilizes the 12 Steps applied biblically to provide the basis and course for recovery for every man that walks in the doors of the Ranch. You learn that you are powerless over your addiction and become victorious over it. Philippians 4:13 says,” I can do all thing through Christ who strengthens me.” Without Jesus in us and working through us recovery can be difficult in my opinion. I know if I were trying to stay sober in my own strength, I would be having a harder time staying sober. We humans are born with a sinful nature and a desire to satisfy the fleshly lusts. Without Christ the flesh usually wins. But if you deny yourself and pick up your cross and follow Jesus, staying sober becomes a lot easier.

There is a saying in recovery that goes like this, “if you want what you never had you have to what you never did.” In my addiction, I didn’t have any structure so I was never able to get what I wanted. So at the Ranch, I learned you need structure in your life. Accountability, integrity, dependability and trust were things that I learned and earned at the Ranch. I have been doing better in life in the last six years than I had been-doing in the 30 years of my addiction. We all want to have nice things, be respected and enjoy life, but we can’t have those things and continue down a path of self-destruction. The world calls it self-destruction, but in reality it is Satan, the devil behind it all. Satan wants us dead without Christ in our lives so we too will be in hell with him.

Restoration Ranch is not only a drug and alcohol recovery home, it is a place where you can meet Jesus Christ, the savior and be saved not only from and out of your addiction, but be born again to new life in Christ and have eternal life and the promise of heaven when you die. The answers to the question of why am I here, what is my purpose and where do I go when I die are all answered in Jesus. Since being at the Ranch, I have also become involved with our Church Calvary Chapel of Ramona. I have found great fellowship, community, and most importantly family. That is something I didn’t have at my other church, since I only went to services every Sunday and didn’t get involved, as I should have. Had I been more involved in my previous church , the chances of me getting into dope would not have existed. The Ranch is my family as well, I am there at least once a week to talk with current residents, answer any questions and pray with those who need prayer. I also spend holidays at the Ranch as well and I will be forever grateful for the work they do and the help they provide to guys with the problem of addiction. Philippians 1:6 says, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” The Ranch has helped me to realize the above scripture. God is never far away from the broken hearted. Even in the pain, guilt and shame of our addiction, God can and does reach down to lift us up and set us on our feet again. The value of a life or person can be determined by what someone is willing to pay for it. God gave his only son to die on a cross, paying the dept of sin that We owe for Us, so that by putting our faith and belief in Him, He can give US a gift! Forgiveness of our sin AND eternal life in heaven with Him! Plus He will give us the strength to do this thing we call sobriety and recovery. Proverbs 3:5 says, “ Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.

Is recovery hard? Yes, at times it is, but anything that is WORTH having is worth the work. It does get easier though. Learning and practicing the 12 steps and your bible and applying them to your life makes life easier to negotiate and knowing we have a loving Father in heaven who cares for us gives me hope and great joy.

Thank you Resstoration Ranch for the life I have today.

Love you all,

Joe Klun