“I Couldn’t Sleep or Do Anything Unless I Drank”

Read Azalea's Impactful Story

I was in an abusive relationship. One boyfriend I had. He tried to kill me. And when he came to my house, I was coming down the block, going to the store, and he saw me, and he just pulled out the gun, and I just started running because I was with my friends. And I just started running. And basically, they thought I was running with a bullet in my back because of how close it was.

I had a good childhood. My mother is a nurse. She always had 2 or 3 jobs. My father was addicted to heroin. So that led my mother to have to work. She was a single parent. It didn’t work out with her and my father, obviously, because he was a heroin addict.

So, we eventually had a stepfather, and he was abusive. He beat me so badly one time I had bruises and black eyes. And then, my mother put him out.

When I was in fifth grade, that’s when I had my first cigarette. And in junior high school, I had my first drink, my first 40-ounce. I didn’t start with drinking liquor. I started with beer. I would say that’s what turned me on to drinking. I drank every day, all the time. It became a habit. It was something I had to have. As soon as I got off work, I would go straight to the bars to hang out every day, all night, and then get up for work the next morning.

I had sniffed coke a few times. I did ecstasy a few times. After I had kids, I didn’t stop drinking. I really couldn’t sleep or do anything unless I drank. I was depressed and couldn’t be alone. I had no self-esteem. I needed something, and I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know what I needed.

My brother came to The Universal Church first. I saw how he changed. He was doing things differently, and at that point, I had already decided I wanted to change. I wanted to come to God. I was trying to find a church, and he told me about The Universal Church.

The first time I came to The Universal Church, I knew I was home. I’ve been to a lot of churches. What made me stay is that the pastor was honest. He didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear to make me stay or to tithe in that church. He told me what I needed to hear to progress spiritually.

I surrendered everything to God, meaning myself. I’ve even put my children to the side and put God first. So once I put God ahead of my children, then that’s when I received the Holy Spirit.

I no longer have any more addictions to alcohol or anything. I don’t do any drugs. I don’t do anything anymore. I’ve been alcohol-free for three years now. Depression? No. Before, I couldn’t be alone, but now, I push the kids out the door.

Azalea today is a lot nicer and friendlier. I’m a better mother, a better friend. Now, my kids and I have a good relationship. My kids come to talk to me about everything. I speak to them about everything. My daughter is a volunteer assistant in the church now. My son is an auxiliary pastor in training. God has blessed my family tremendously.

Now, all I want to do is save souls. I want people to experience what I have. I want them to experience what I’m going through, and receiving the Holy Spirit is the most important.

—Azalea Latimore