A Prayer of Desperation

Client testimony by Brent Basiletti

I arrived at the New Destiny Treatment Center when I was 39 years old.

I had just served six months in the county jail for my seventh DUI (Driving Under the Influence). I knew I was a beaten, broken man. Those six months were the longest period of sobriety I had experienced since the age of 16.

I do not remember a time in my life when I felt like I fit in until the day I found “courage” in a can of beer.

By the age of 20 I was an alcoholic, although no one knew. I didn’t think of myself as an alcoholic. “After all,” I thought, “alcoholics are skid row bums and I’m certainly not anyone like that.”

It’s a shame that most people do not look for help or even recognize their need until they are buried in the consequences of their choices.

The only way I knew how to deal with consequences was to get drunk, which led to more even more trouble. It was an endless cycle.

I could write pages about my drunken experiences and their consequences. I went through divorces from two very fine people and the loss of good-paying jobs, my house, my retirement account and every other valuable thing in my life.

Today I would gladly trade it all in order to enjoy the kind of life I’ve had at the treatment center.

I have spent hours reading, studying, praying and undergoing counseling at the New Destiny Treatment Center. I’ve had the opportunity to fellowship with the best group of people I’ve ever known.

Today I know what it feels like to have the peace in my soul that only God can provide.

I also have the opportunity to help in various ways in the treatment center’s maintenance shop. I am extremely thankful that God has given me the ability and desire to fix things. I know that God is helping me. Most of the time I don’t have experience with objects I work on, but somehow they always turn out right.

I believe there are many things God has done in my life. First and foremost, He has given me a relationship with Him. I wouldn’t know how to live without Him.

I also am able to cope with different situations and people with more wisdom and understanding than ever before. Through prayer, I can accept people and circumstances just as they are.

Finally—and most importantly—I have been able to forgive myself. I once prayed a prayer of desperation for God to show me how to forgive myself. I told Him I couldn’t go on torturing myself. When I woke up the next day, I knew that part of my life would never be the same.

I thank God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit for the change in my life. Thank you, New Destiny Treatment Center staff. Because of your efforts and God’s grace, I now have a new destiny.

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