Manuel Bradley was a hurting man. With a $1,000-a-day cocaine habit, he stayed
on drugs 24 hours a day to dull the pain he felt. While living
on the street, someone invited him to Dallas Leadership Foundation's weekly "Thursday Night Thrive" fellowship for the previously
incarcerated at Smokey John’s Restaurant. Once he learned that the meal was free,
he jumped at the chance to attend. During that visit, he met our Church Prison Collaborative Director James
Reed for the first time and enjoyed the entire evening. Although he still used drugs and was in and
out of jail, Manuel continued to visit TNT at Smokey
John’s BBQ restaurant and stated, “James always made me feel
welcome.”
While at a crack
house, Manuel met Grace, a woman who was trying to dull her own pain. Prior to meeting Manuel, she was living with an abusive man. Life with him was so awful that she turned to drugs to escape. Grace later explained her mindset this way,
“I tried to cope with my depression by getting high…I just
wanted the pain to go away.” Manuel felt an instant connection to Grace, and they
began to see a lot of each other. Over the years, he would refer to her as
being his “angel,” and credit her for keeping him alive. One day while Manuel and Grace were driving, they were
stopped by the police, charged with drug possession and arrested.
Upon their release from jail, they both decided to make some changes to their lives. They relocated to a neighborhood not known for drug traffic and started attending a local church. It was at this church that Manuel heard God tell him, “if you stop, you’ll be delivered." Manuel stopped using drugs that very day. According to Manuel, “when I really believed that God had delivered me, I started to live better.” Manuel and Grace stopped using drugs and spending time with people who used drugs. They also started volunteering at their church and made new friends. They became radical about not falling back into their former lifestyles. Instead of spending their paychecks on drugs, they would go shopping for other things. And the couple took pride in paying all of their bills early and developing a good credit score.
Upon their release from jail, they both decided to make some changes to their lives. They relocated to a neighborhood not known for drug traffic and started attending a local church. It was at this church that Manuel heard God tell him, “if you stop, you’ll be delivered." Manuel stopped using drugs that very day. According to Manuel, “when I really believed that God had delivered me, I started to live better.” Manuel and Grace stopped using drugs and spending time with people who used drugs. They also started volunteering at their church and made new friends. They became radical about not falling back into their former lifestyles. Instead of spending their paychecks on drugs, they would go shopping for other things. And the couple took pride in paying all of their bills early and developing a good credit score.
Manuel deepened his
association with James by not only attending the fellowship at Smokey John’s,
but also serving at our faith-based dorms at
Hutchins State Jail. It was during that time that James advised Manual to marry Grace. Within a month, the couple got married and James officiated at a small ceremony at Dallas Leadership Foundation.
The Bradleys have been off drugs for four years and LEAD CHANGE in the lives of other hurting people. They serve with Dallas Leadership Foundation at our faith-based dorms at Hutchins State Jail and our weekly TNT fellowship at Smokey John’s. Individuals who once said “I got tired of hurting” are no
longer in pain.
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