{"id":1749,"date":"2022-04-29T14:54:59","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T14:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/?p=1749"},"modified":"2022-04-29T19:29:24","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T19:29:24","slug":"marty-neal-blessed-beyond-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/2022\/04\/29\/marty-neal-blessed-beyond-measure\/","title":{"rendered":"Marty Neal: Blessed Beyond Measure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Marty Neal: Blessed Beyond Measure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Marty Neal is a busy man.  As CORE\u2019s intake specialist at our Branson location, he\u2019s always in his office \u2013 dutifully answering phone calls, meeting with clients, and updating important files on his computer screen.  After regular office hours, he teaches classes.  Finding a free hour to talk to Marty is harder than making Will Smith behave at the Oscars!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not that he minds.\u00a0 In fact, Marty thrives on activity.\u00a0 Recovery has given him a second wind in life, and he doesn’t want to miss out on a single moment.\u00a0 While at CORE, Marty not only manages the men\u2019s intake house, but he also teaches classes for 12 Step recovery, spirituality, and CSR presenter training.\u00a0 He\u2019s an EDGE advocate for our younger clients, too, and he\u2019s doing all this in addition to<\/em> spending eight hours a day at the office.\u00a0 On top of this, Marty is recently married, and busy putting together a new household with his lovely wife Alyssa.\u00a0 Whew \u2013 just thinking about it all leaves us breathless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marty is just hitting his stride, however, and an active schedule suits him just fine.  When finally we were able to corner him, all he wants to talk about are God’s miracles and blessings.  It\u2019s a miracle that he\u2019s even here at CORE, he says, and he\u2019s genuinely grateful for his new life in recovery:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It blows my mind, every day.  Every day is a blessing.  It doesn’t make sense, and I’m still baffled by it, but I shouldn’t even be here.  So I don’t take this for granted.  If God never did another thing for me, this would be enough.  Recovery\u2019s a miracle.  That’s what it is. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help the Reader understand where Marty\u2019s coming from, please consider his background.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marty ran wild as a kid, first landing in state custody at the age of 13.  He spent the rest of his youth under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, and he missed out on a normal high school experience completely.  There were no \u201chigh school proms, class trips, sports, or school dances<\/em>\u201d for Marty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not surprisingly, as an adult he also got into legal troubles, consisting almost entirely of possession charges.  He’s had so many that you can\u2019t stir them with a stick, and he was never able to string many months of sobriety together.  He spent much of his adult life in custody.  How far gone was he in addiction?   \u201cI once spent four days in ICU<\/em>,\u201d he says, \u201cI overdosed on fentanyl \u2013 practically dead.  I flatlined twice in the ambulance and once at the hospital<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marty was fortunate then, in 2020, when a court granted his conditional release to CORE.  It took a while for him to get here, and Marty gives his probation officer due credit for making this happen.  \u201cMy PO is why I’m not locked up again.  When I got out [of jail], she could have violated my parole any time she wanted to.  I asked her, why haven’t you locked me up?  And she said, because I see potential in you; I’m not willing to throw you away again<\/em>.\u201d  With her encouragement, Marty came to CORE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the pandemic raging outside, Marty made progress on his sobriety within our recovery community.  Here he found people who took a daily interest in his welfare, and there was real accountability too.  Whereupon, Marty threw himself into his Big Book studies and committed himself to actual recovery.  Big changes happened almost immediately.  \u201cWhen I decided to get my heart and my head right, that’s when my circumstances changed<\/em>,\u201d he tells us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accordingly, Marty began accepting additional responsibilities within his recovery house and spoke with newcomers about the 12 Steps.  In time, he began teaching CSR classes for clients.  He was popular with them because he\u2019s authentic; he\u2019s really been there.  (He\u2019s personable and likeable too!)  Whereupon, one day last autumn CORE\u2019s principals inquired whether he might be interested in working for our organization.  Marty didn\u2019t need to be asked twice \u2013 he jumped at the opportunity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, good things were happening for Marty, but there was still one more big challenge to address: another prior, outstanding possession charge to answer for.  By now, however, Marty was recovered in mind and body.  He was willing to accept life on life’s terms, and he\u2019d lost his fear of today, tomorrow and the hereafter: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of God is amazing.  After all that had happened, what mountain wasn’t He going to move for me?  As long as I kept my heart right and continued to do what He asked me to do, I wasn’t going to worry.  In fact, it would have been a sin for me to worry.  At that point my doubt would have been like calling Him a liar.  Because He’d been faithful, and always would be.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just last February Marty went to court and was permitted to plead to a lesser charge.  Nobody insisted that he take a rap for possession that would have landed him in jail again.  Thus, as of today, there are no more legal entanglements hanging over his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the personal side, Marty has other good news too.\u00a0 When he first got to CORE, Marty began regular church attendance here in Branson.\u00a0 There he met Alyssa who, as of a month ago, is now his wife!\u00a0 She\u2019s a bona fide<\/em> believer, Marty tells us.\u00a0 \u201cI never understood that God might put someone in my life as an instrument of sanctification<\/em>,\u201d he says, \u201cbut that’s what she is.\u00a0 She prunes me, really.\u00a0 She’s an absolute blessing<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marty readily sees blessings everywhere he looks these days: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s blessed me in every way \u2013 my relationships, finances, everything.  I have a career today and love coming to work.  I’m a husband, father, son, and friend, in all the roles I’ve never been.  There’s nothing about my life that’s recognizable from before.  People I know from behind bars and on the streets think I’ve lost my mind when I talk about Jesus or the Steps.  Maybe I have lost my mind.  But I’ve got a new one.  And a new life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presently, Marty and Alyssa are busy building their life together as husband and wife.\u00a0 Domestic life brings new challenges, but Marty looks forward to them.\u00a0 As to CORE, Marty says \u201cThis is where God wants me to be.\u00a0 I’m thinking I’ll be part of this place for a long time<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marty Neal: Blessed Beyond Measure Marty Neal is a busy man.  As CORE\u2019s intake specialist at our Branson location, he\u2019s always in his office \u2013 dutifully answering phone calls, meeting with clients, and updating important files on his computer screen.  After regular office hours, he teaches classes.  Finding a free hour to talk to Marty…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1749\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}