2 minute read
Graduate finds new life as business owner
Matt Morehead, Lifeline graduate
Nearly half a lifetime ago, Matt Morehead thought his future was all set.
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As a student at Marshall County High School, he was on track to be a rodeo star. He won the state title in bull riding and competed at the National High School Rodeo Association, earning more than one college scholarship.
Literally, atop that bull, he was riding high. Until the bull stepped on him.
His injuries - broken hands and ribs, collapsed lungs - healed soon enough; but the damage to his dreams had just begun.
“The doctor gave me pain pills,” he said, “and that led to a 12-year battle in and out of addiction.”
Matt, now 33, said the pills helped at first with the physical pain and then with the stress resulting from disappointment and failed dreams. “I needed reassurance and approval,” he said. “When things went south, I turned to drugs.”
By 21, he was in full addiction; by 25, he was a heroin IV user. At 27, he faced his first criminal charges, landing in jail eight months for credit card fraud to afford his habit. Various charges followed over the next several years, as well as attempts at rehab.
He tried the 12-step AA program, outpatient rehab, a 28-day residential program – all court-ordered. Finally, in August 2019, while in jail again, he heard about Lifeline.
“Lifeline was different,” he said. “I didn’t know anything about it, but I quickly realized that God was at work here, and people really cared for me.”
The three-phased nine-month program, based in Christ, gave him the time and support he needed to heal.
“Lifeline got me to the point where I can enjoy my life,” he said. “Staying sober is like a day job – you’ve got to put in the work. God has just been blessing me, giving me what I need, not necessarily what I think I want. I’ve learned to quit asking Him for things and just started thanking Him for my sobriety.”
A year since he first heard of Lifeline, Matt is now a sober graduate who still volunteers at the center. He also works at Jim Smith Contracting and is starting his own business – United Excavating – on the side.
“My family is restored,” he said, “and I have peace and a joy for life.”
And a new future.
