James Dycus

The story of Jim Dycus reveals the strength of God's nudges to overcome great obstacles to grace. In many ways Jim had a good start in life, but later addiction to alcohol was complicated by an addiction to drugs and a devastating sense of guilt. He reached the depths of despair before he was touched by a simple kind act and began turning his life around.

As a young boy, living in a small town in Tennessee, Jim had a loving relationship with his father. When he was three years old the family moved to Chicago, first to the North Side and then to South Chicago, to "Little Italy." Each day before dinner, father and son played catch on the front lawn. Jim learned how to throw curved balls and soon became a good baseball player.

In the eighth grade, Jim felt proud to be member of the safety patrol. The coach often praised him for doing a good job, but when the time came to appoint a new captain of the safety patrol, Jim was passed by. Jim vowed he would get revenge. He and some friends broke into the school and stole all the athletic equipment they could carry. Someone told on Jim and he was not allowed to participate in his eighth grade graduation. His mother shook her finger at him saying, "Someday, Jimmy, someday you're going to be sorry for the things you do!" This was the beginning of his downward slide. Those words of his mother haunted him and overpowered him with guilt as he sank into alcohol, drugs, and scams to support his drug habit.

The change in his relationship with his father also influenced his downfall. His father began drinking heavily and lost all interest in Jim. Jim was disgusted at his father's behavior and felt betrayed. He loved his father but also came to hate him.

When Jim was sixteen, a friend introduced him to drugs. At first they smoked marijuana but soon began experimenting with all kinds of pills. They found doctors who would write prescriptions for them to get drugs that would make them high.

By the time Jim was seventeen, he was part of the drug culture --he was already an addict. He met Jill, also involved in drugs, and they were married in a few months when she said she was pregnant. When Jim discovered she was not really pregnant he left her.

Jim's parents moved back to Tennessee and Jim joined them, hoping to break his drug habit by getting away from his sources. His father was no longer drinking but had developed mental problems--hearing voices and seeing an eye in the sky watching him. He became so bad that he was committed to the state hospital. Jim thought he had driven his father crazy and took upon himself the guilt of his father's condition.

One day Jim's mother left home to walk into town along the railroad tracks. She had done this many times but this day she walked directly into the path of the oncoming train and was killed instantly. Her death became another load of guilt for Jim to try to smother with drugs. When he moved back to Chicago, his second wife, Carolyn, refused to join him even though he had a job and was making some attempts to stay free from drugs.

At work, Jim met Joan and again, after just a few months, he married. This was another marriage that lasted just a short time as Jim spent his nights drinking and sharing drugs with his friends. Shortly after his divorce from Joan, he married Connie, his fourth wife.

Jim was in and out of jail and finally, completely broke and homeless, he went to the Salvation Army. He had been there so often in the past, however, that now he was refused shelter. Seeing his desperation, a social worker suggested he go to Teen Challenge. Doctors, hospitals, and other programs had all failed so he had no hope that it would make a difference. He went to Teen Challenge, however, to get off the streets in Chicago's sub-zero weather.

A big rough man, Stan, opened the door. Jim noticed immediately the tattoos and old tracks from shooting drugs running up and down the Stan's arms. Jim was surprised to discover that Stan was married and had two sons. Stan told him, "I was a heroin addict for twelve years. But I've been clean for five years now. Jim, Jesus could do the same thing for you."

God was trying to reach Jim but he was too depressed and hopeless to hear the message that Jesus would help him. He was curious about Stan, however, for Stan was the first ex-addict that Jim had ever met.

The next person Jim met at Teen Challenge was a little old lady who approached him and shyly handed him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich saying simply, "You must be hungry." Jim was deeply touched. It had been years since anyone had cared what happened to him. Again God had reached out to him.

The next day Jim was invited to go to chapel with the other residents and this time he responded positively to God. He was startled when one man prayed aloud, "God, I thank you for forgiving me what I did to my mama." For the first time Jim felt hope that God would forgive him too. He tells of his experience:

I sat up intently, and my spirit grabbed his words for all its worth. I felt tears well up inside. This Spanish guy had touched my heart with words that gave me hope--something I thought I'd lost forever. For the first time in years I thought of Mom without seeing her finger pointing accusingly at me, without hearing her voice accuse me of my guilt. If God had forgiven that Spanish guy for whatever it was, maybe--just maybe— there was hope for me.

Ken, the director of Teen Challenge encourage Jim to look at his life and let God take away what was bad and replace it with what was good. That sounded simple enough but Jim had to admit:

I didn't know how to put good things in. I had no moral system, no value system, nothing valid within myself to guide me. So I became a `watcher.' I observed everybody. I wanted to see if this Jesus stuff really worked. I had to find out how to make it work. . . . I found out that Jesus could take a broken, rotten addict and change that man into something good.

Jim began cooperating with God's touches. He started going to the Salvation Army lecture and prayer services. One Sunday, the officer in charge announced that Captain Barbara Cramer would address the group. As they got acquainted Jim realized that Barb was the first Christian woman he had ever met. He confided in Barb what his past life had been and how his greatest desire was to marry a good woman, and have a happy family life. This had been his ideal of happiness even when he was high on drugs. He treated Barb with the greatest respect, very different from the way he had treated other women in his life.

Barb encouraged Jim to take courses in Scripture and he developed a great desire to minister to others. He and Barb married and after two miscarriages had children. Jim tried several times to become a licensed minister but each time was rejected because of his four divorces.

Together Jim and Barb began giving "Divorce Recovery Seminars." As separated and divorced people heard what God had done for Jim they found hope to be reconciled with their past and begin a new life. Jim was reconciled to his son by his first marriage and tried to contact children from his other marriages without much success.

He and Barb moved to Winter Park, Florida where Jim ministers to single adults. Barb has written curricula for single-parent families and a book, Children of Divorce. Together they authored the Divorce Recovery Program Guide

God never gave up on Jim even when others saw only the homeless bum walking the streets of Chicago looking for his next fix. In utter desperation Jim turned to God, and then, like so many modern converts, he wanted to help others. What better way, than to use what he had learned through his many sad experiences of divorce? As he helped others, his experiences took on some value and he was healed of his own bitter feelings.

(See Not Guilty by Jim and Barbara Dycus)

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