Always an Alcoholic?

Serenity…. Calmness…. “It is well with my soul…..” That is what you’ll likely notice exuding from Scott Edwards’ presence when you meet him. Scott is clean-cut, friendly and very pleasant to be around. Scott has a peace about him that is genuine and sincere.

You would never know upon meeting Scott that his life was once drastically different. How different was his life before learning to remove emotional pain in the SFT Awareness program? In Scott’s own words, “I had just lost my house, which was after I lost my job, which was after I had lost my family, through divorce. In between those events I had racked up 3 DUI’s and was looking at some jail time…obviously. So I was about as low as a man can go. No hope, no real future. I was thinking of taking my life.” Two of Scott’s DUI’s involved accidents in which he received injuries, but thankfully no one else was hurt. Scott was suffering from moderate to severe depression, and as you might guess, a drinking problem. He had somehow managed to be a functioning alcoholic for 30 something years, but when his wife and children left him he hit rock bottom.

Thankfully, God was at work in Scott’s life. Barry, a good friend, offered to let Scott stay with him until he could get back on his feet. At the time, Scott thought he would never honestly get back on his feet. But something happened one day….. Ron Wilkins, the founder of SFT Awareness, touched Scott’s heart in a television commercial. Scott felt as though Ron was speaking directly to him. He was so intrigued that he took action and called Ron.

As he went through the SFT Awareness course, Scott learned how to remove the emotional pain in his life using the attitudes and skills Ron taught him. Scott soon found himself wanting to be like Ron because of how he mastered the teaching and helped others. Now Scott is working on doing just that. He feels compelled to share this message with others who are in such great need of it so he is beginning a local jail ministry using the SFT Awareness teaching.

After Scott’s completion of the program in the beginning of 2006, he had the best year of his life, even though he spent the summer in jail. Between Ron and Barry’s influence and teaching, his life was making positive turns. Scott recalls how that “if you stay at Barry’s you go to church three times a week.” He was literally surrounded by all kinds of positive influences. In April of ’06 Scott was baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of his sins.

What about Scott’s drinking problem and job loss situation? In Scott’s own words, “Learning the skills of processing pain with accurate thinking made quitting drinking a reality in my life, which I did not think possible. …Even made it easy, I’ve been sober going on 4 years now. After I did my jail time I was able to get my job back.”

“That’s what this program does,” Scott notes. “It lets you start living. No stress, no depression, no worry, you don’t panic. There’s no reason for escape behaviors. It’s a great program, one that everyone can learn from. It’s for everyone I think because of the communication aspect. You learn how to listen…then think accurately….then communicate effectively. Like Ron said, ‘It’s about getting your needs met without offending others.’ As we also learn from Jesus in the gospel accounts, live at peace with yourself and others, helping everyone.”

Scott leaves us with this:

“I think this program not only helps individuals but it will also help the church. If more deacons and elders went through the program, and I’m sure they will, they would see the benefits as well. Like I said before…communication, listening, accurate thinking these are skills I use everyday, at work, at home, it’s automatic once you learn them!”

“We (SFT) need to grow also. I can’t say enough about Gary and his staff. They are doing great work and have BIG plans! I see great things ahead for SFT. I’m very proud to be a part of the young and rapidly growing organization.  If you’d like to join us please let us know! We need Trainers!”