Donny Rakes: 12 Steps to Jesus

Donny Rakes became an alcoholic and drug abuser before he even entered high school. He spent most of his life in the grip of his addictions, until his father made one last heroic effort to save his son.

“I was just a miserable human being, and I didn’t know how I got there, but I was there, and there was no way out,” says Donny.

By his thirtieth birthday, Donny Rakes knew his life was over. Behind him, were 20 years of broken relationships, lost jobs, and trouble with the law ... and it all started when he was only 12-years-old.

“I mainly drank to fit in. At first, this was the reason I started drinking and smoking marijuana and doing drugs," Donny remembers. "My escape was on the weekends. I did drugs and of course, smoked cigarettes. I was in the 'in crowd.' "

While partying might have made him popular, there was an unintended side affect.

“When you start using drugs and alcohol, you stop maturing … people who don’t do drugs, they mature, and they learn how to cope with conflict and anger, and how to have relationships and things like that.”

Continued poor choices resulted in Donny marrying at the age of 17, though the drinking continued.

"I didn’t know how to treat her [wife] and fulfill her needs. I didn’t know anything about that. I was selfish, and it was all about me, me, me," says Donny.

The marriage ended in divorce.

"Of course, you can’t have a marriage like that, and it fell apart. That same year, my mother died at a young age. She was 46, and it kind of pushed me over the edge. From that moment on, I just give up on life."

Donny might have given up, but his family was still fighting for him.

"I had a father and a brother that were saved, and they were praying for me, and they tried to get me to see what was going on in my life, but I was in denial," he says.

But the monster of addiction wouldn’t be satisfied until it had taken everything he had.

"I started drinking very heavily every day. I could not stand to stay sober ... I could not stand myself."

By his twenties, Donny was arrested multiple times for substance abuse.

"I would do a couple of nights in jail or five nights, but jail didn’t bother me because when I went to jail, the lifestyle that I was in -- I fit right in," he says.

Back on the outside, nothing changed.

"I hooked up with this lady, and we just went over the edge. We drank every day … until we passed out. We’d get up and do the same thing. Basically I lost everything I had eventually."

Before long, Donny called a broken down trailer without power, water or food—his home.

I’d been on probably seven months straight--drunk and drugs. And I was just lying on the floor, and I remember looking up and praying and saying, 'God, how did I get here [?], and help me, God. This is not the life I want.' I was looking up at the ceiling, and I was praying, and I heard a car coming down the driveway. I got up, and I looked out, and it was my father. I don’t know how he found me, why he'd come, but he was an answer to a prayer. And he said, ‘Come on, I got you some help.’ ”

Donny’s father got him into a 12 month recovery program, where he not only got clean, he found something else.

"I walked into this place, and there was a sign over the door that said, ‘At last there is hope.' ”

That hope was getting away from his destructive lifestyle, which led to an even bigger change several months later…

"I was in a church service, and I was standing at the altar. With tears rolling down my face, it felt like a load of bricks had just lifted off of me ... all that shame and guilt. It was a feeling I’d never felt before, and it was God,” remembers Donny.

Donny has been drug free now for more than eight years. In the meantime, he married Shawn, who is also a former drug abuser. Together, they have teamed to help other addicts break free through the power of Christ.

“I’m not ashamed of what I’ve been through because God is using it for his glory. I’ve been there, you know, I’ve done it. I’m no different than you ... you can be free too. If you can just peel back and just let a little bit of God’s light in, just a touch to your heart, your life will never be the same."