The Time We Can't Get Back:
A Journey of Faith and Recovery from Michael Young,
Cofounder of Healing Rock Recovery
My story of addiction, faith, and family healing
I’ve seen addiction from both sides. I’ve seen it steal everything from someone I loved. And I’ve seen the long, painful fight to climb out of it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, one truth burned deep into my soul, it’s this:
Time is the one thing you can never earn back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
When Addiction Breaks Families: Growing Up in the Silence
Addiction doesn’t just steal from the person using. It robs the people who love them too. It takes birthdays, family dinners, school plays, and quiet nights at home and replaces them with empty chairs and aching silence. It takes conversations that should’ve happened and turns them into years of wondering why they didn’t.
I know, because I grew up in it.
My dad wasn’t the dad I needed him to be. Sometimes he was there but not really there; locked away in the garage or passed out on the couch. If it wasn’t silence, it was yelling at my mom, at us, at the world. We didn’t take family vacations. We didn’t go on outings like other kids’ families. Most of my childhood was spent in my room, trying to stay invisible, praying I wouldn’t give him a reason to get angry. I can still see the nights when my mom would throw us in the car, tears streaming, and drive off while my dad chased us into the dark. My heart would pound so hard I thought it might break through my chest. Then the next morning, I’d walk into school like nothing happened.
Striving for Love Only God Could Give
Living like that changes you. It makes you build walls so high that no one can climb them—not even the people who want to. For years, I didn’t trust anyone. If my own father couldn’t be trusted to stay sober, who could? So I buried myself in achievement: straight A’s, working harder than anyone, trying to be the best at everything. I thought if I was good enough, maybe he’d see me. Maybe he’d choose recovery. He didn’t. And under all that achievement, I was still that little boy wondering if he was worth fighting for.
But God…
Everything started to change the night I realized my own daughters didn’t know who Jesus was. I was on the treadmill, and the thought hit me so hard it stole my breath. I knew something had to change. I had to change. I made a decision that night: I was going to lead my family in faith. What I didn’t expect was that God wasn’t just after my girls; He was after me. Little by little, He started tearing down the walls I’d built my whole life. He showed me I wasn’t too far gone. That my past didn’t define me. That I could love without fear of losing everything.
Building a Recovery Center That Puts Families First
Somewhere in that process, He brought Kolby Hartman into my life. What started as helping an employee get mental health support transformed into a brotherhood. A friendship that seemed like we had known each other our whole lives; and that friendship became the seed of something much bigger than I could have imagined. I never planned on owning a recovery center.
Founding Healing Rock Recovery wasn’t a business decision; it was a calling. Kolby and I didn’t want another substance abuse treatment facility that focused only on census. We wanted to flip the script: put people first. Create a place where the hurting could find hope, where families could heal, and where faith could be restored. We didn’t just want to treat addiction; we wanted to fight for families still hanging on by a thread.
God Broke My Walls So I Could Help Others Heal
I used to hate letting people in. I kept my interactions shallow, my guard high, my heart closed. But God broke that in me. Now, connecting with people is my life’s work. And if you’re reading this, I want you to hear me: it’s never too late to fight for your family.
If you’re the one struggling with addiction, your kids don’t need a perfect parent—they need a present one. They need you sober. They need you to fight for them like their future depends on it, because it does.
If it’s your child who’s struggling, don’t wait. Don’t hope it will fix itself. Seek professional addiction treatment. Call our team at Healing Rock Recovery. Ask questions. Get resources. Every day you wait is a day you’ll never get back.
Fighting for Recovery Means Fighting for the Ones You Love
I’ve seen families reunited. I’ve seen children wrap their arms around parents they thought they’d lost forever. I’ve seen God take the most hopeless situations and breathe life into them. But I’ve also seen what happens when people wait too long. I’ve been to the funerals. I’ve heard the sobs of the “what ifs” and “if only’s.”
Recovery is not easy. It’s not quick. But it’s worth every fight, every tear, every sleepless night.
My own father, the same man who once wasn’t there for me, is now a man I’m proud to call Dad. Years of depression and denial didn’t get the final word—God did.
Time is the one thing you can’t buy, borrow, or replace. Don’t waste it. Fight now. Choose recovery. Love them enough to never give up. One day, you’ll look back with either gratitude that you fought for your family, or regret that you didn’t.
And I promise you… the fight is worth it.
