It's truly amazing to hear stories of transformation because of God, and Missy Robertson from "Duck Dynasty" was able to talk to one of these persons whose life was changed for the better after she became a Christian.
Erica tearfully shared her story with Robertson in "The Overcomers" podcast. Erica revealed that she had a miserable childhood since she saw her father abusing their mother. Even after he died, things did not get better for Erica as she dropped out of school at the age of 15 and ran away.
"I ran away, and, of course, when you run away ... you've got to survive, you've got to make it," she said, adding that she started bunking in at friends' houses. "It wasn't a good neighborhood at all."
She already went to jail and a group home before her mother reported that she ran away, according to Faith Wire. In the end, Erica stayed with one of her aunts until she headed back to the streets again. "I was exposed to the drug life, selling drugs. I was exposed to crack houses. ... seeing people use drugs," she said. "I smoked weed and I took Ecstasy pills at the time."
Eventually, she learned how to deal with drugs and she got pregnant with a little girl. Things appeared to be looking up because she was earning a lot of money and even ran a successful home daycare, but an addiction to Xanax took hold. "Xanax was a really bad downfall for me," she said. "I never knew that something could take over me so fast."
Sure, Erica was making more money. But her body couldn't handle the substance abuse. Looking back, Erica is surprised how she managed to survive. "I'm very lucky to be alive," she said. "[I would be] out of my mind on cocaine and Xanax, I'm riding around with my child in the car, a 40-caliber under my seat, drugs everywhere."
The law finally caught up to her since she was later arrested and faced 20 years in jail for dealing drugs. There, a "little old lady" with a Bible came up to her and shared with her some good news. "God has something in store for you," she was told.
The words really resonated with Erica because she began attending church meetings in jail. At the age of 32, she started reading the Bible. "The first thing I've ever done in my life that was just the right thing for me is I picked the Bible up," she said.
She was released on March 24, 2016, and Erica has been sober ever since. She found a job in Robertson's jewelry business, Laminin, and she is thankful that God watched over her the entire time. "I'm a whole different person now," she said. "I can see people on drugs and my heart goes out to them."
