Telephone: (618) 9245-2297; FAX: (618) 9245-2020; Internet: mallee@pdo.net.au
My name is Charles Slack (good name for an American). You see me read this. That’s my testimony. I’m standing up. It’s a miracle. There’s nobody sicker than a sick psychologist.
I was an alcoholic and drug addict. I fell over all the time. I’m two meters tall (6’8"). Timber! I didn’t fall alone. When I passed out I tried to take a few with me. It was hell on my friends. In the finish I had no friends. I lost everything through drugs and booze - wife, children, career (reverse career - starting at the top, I worked my way down). Alcohol is a great remover: removes your house, your car, your bank account. I lost all self respect. I even lost my pornography collection: my ex-wife took it to show the judge. I had a degree in Clinical Psychology. No help there! Nobody is sicker than a sick psychologist. I went to jail for drunk driving. I prayed, `God please get me out of the drunk-tank and I’ll be good - I’ll quit tomorrow.’ God said, `I’ll get you out but you’re a liar.’ God was right: on the day of release, I drank again.
God can do anything, take the needle out of the arm, take drugs out of the blood stream, restore sanity in a flash. But that’s not my story. My recovery was slow. Maybe slow is best. I repented four years before I was able to hear His word. Faith comes from hearing, and I couldn’t hear until I could hear. I still had the compulsion, the urge to use. Life was hell, dry hell. I was still insane. Still running the show Charles’ way, not God’s. A second marriage on the rocks, a new career in shambles, I lived in anxiety (the Spirit of Fear), an insane psychologist, a frightened failure, a dry drunk.
Finally, September 1980, I surrendered. At the end of my rope, on my knees at five AM, I asked God to take it all, my life, everything. I resigned as General Manager of Myself. I said the sinners prayer incoherently, but the Lord knew my heart. Unconditional capitulation was the only way for me. `All to Him I freely give. I surrender all.’
Within weeks I was led to my Saviour, Jesus Christ, by a born-again Christian who took me to baptism, total immersion. (The tank was quite small. The pastor thought they might have to do me in sections.) Rising from the waters, I received the Holy Spirit, spoke in another tongue. Joy, freedom, peace - my whole being was flooded with the love of the Lord. I have not looked back since. God straightened out all my affairs. Took away my fears and anxieties. The compulsion to drink was removed on that day, 2 November 1980. Removed by Jesus. God gave me a sound mind. He meets all my needs. I am the happiest of men - and perfectly upstanding. Praise His Name.
There is no one too sick to be healed, no one too vile to be saved. Jesus rescued me, the sickest psychologist, and He will do the same for anyone who surrenders. Thank you for reading my story. Bless Lord Jesus!
Copyright © 1997, harles W. Slack. All Rights Reserved.