Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
[Excerpted from “Dave Daly” by Robert Thompson, Australian Herald 2024, Volume 2]
If I had to describe my old life as a song, I guess it would be “Highway to Hell,” and I mean it. It was a terrible existence. You would have no idea how shocking my life was. Can you imagine living with three words as your constant companions for 32 years…Shame, Regret, and Remorse. That was the old version of myself. My name is David Daly. I’m 53, and I am a recovering drug addict. I am not very big into numbers, but I’m told I’m part of a small number of crystal meth survivors, five percent to be exact.
If a song epitomizes my new life in recovery, it would be “Stairway to Heaven” because it is through God’s love and help that I can stand here today and share my story. I grew up in a loving and caring family, believe it or not. I had a great childhood, enjoyed school, loved sports, and was gifted with a strong athletic body. My Achilles heel was I wanted everyone to like me, and it was super important for me to feel like I was accepted. I wanted desperately to fit in.
As my life progressed, I found myself fitting in, but it was in the wrong places; time after time I just kept making poor choices. I believed that fitting in was more important than being my own person. It wasn’t long before my life incrementally was taking me along a pathway that was spiraling out of control. Looking back, I can see that my friends were not really friends; they were more like faces on a bus on a road to nowhere.
In the world of addiction, to survive you must develop survival skills. You need to know how to lie, cheat, and scam. It’s not very nice. On one level I knew I was a mess because I felt shame, so I hid part of myself as best I could. I was living a lie, pretending that I was functioning pretty well, but I was not. All my relationships were very toxic. Can you believe I lived like this for 32 years, yes, 32 years, in a black hole?
People often say you have to hit rock bottom before you can change. Well, I bottomed out fifty million times. I was just so lucky that some people kept trying to reach out to me. What was life changing for me was befriending some people at the Hope Centre who believed I could change. It was immersing myself in a community of “Christ-centered” people. It was me asking for help. It was me walking through the doors of AA.
I was baptized into Community of Christ through the Hope Centre, and the people at Brisbane Congregation started me on my journey with God. I now worship with the Salvation Army. I’m clean now for six years. I love my life. I can see my daughter again and start being the father to her that I would never have been able to be in my past life. I have good friends and a future, and thanks to my friends at Community of Christ and the Salvo’s, that future is looking pretty good.
Prayer Phrase
“We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Sea of Light
Quiet and center yourself. Ask for God’s healing and guidance as you enter this time of prayerful presence. Close your eyes, breathing deeply and calmly. Imagine that you are floating in a beautiful sea of light that rises and falls with each cycle of your breath. The golden light of this sea buoys you up, so you float effortlessly. Waves of light carry and wash over you, bringing wholeness and peace. Rest in the sea of God’s love, then offer a prayer of gratitude.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.