Former “Flip or Flop” star Izzy Battres revealed his faith in God helped him overcome the depths of drug addiction.
The HGTV star opened up about his addiction to PCP and methamphetamine during the May 13 episode of the “We’re Out Of Time” podcast hosted by Richard Taite. He recalled how visiting an old “movie theater converted to a church” made him feel he “needed to get forgiveness.”
He recalled contacting his religious aunt for help, saying “I just need to make peace with God.” She told him to meet her at what turned out to be the church, which he said he did.
“I thought I was just going to confess, have another few days of getting high and then die — that was it. And then hopefully I make it into purgatory. And when I got there, I just felt something there,” he said.
“I just started walking towards the cross. It was dark, no church service. It was just her and I. And the minute I got to the front of the altar, I just broke,” Battres said.
Battres said that singular moment put things in perspective for him in a way that he had never experienced before.
“I never felt bad about doing people wrong and I didn’t feel guilt about stuff. But [in] that moment, I just felt all the heaviness of all the madness and dirt that I did. And I felt remorseful. And I felt like I just needed to get forgiveness,” he said.
Calling this his “redemption story,” Battres said that moment inside the church sparked “an immediate transformation” in his life.
“I got up. I felt lighter. I felt delivered. And from that day on, no more meth, no more madness. It was just a miracle,” he said.
Elsewhere in the interview Battres admitted that he began drinking and using marijuana at a young age. He said he was “dropping mushrooms and acid” in his youth and turned to PCP.
“Back in the hood, it was so inexpensive and that’s what you did. You know, you’d drop PCP. Put joints in PCPs, they’d call them lovelies, and that’s what we did,” he said.
Battres wanted others struggling on the wrong path to know that “there is hope.”
“That’s why I’m here. That’s why we’re here,” he said.
“There’s a lot of people out there that find themselves in that place and think they’re never going to get out.”
Taite asked him if there was any advice he’d give his younger self. After a moment of reflection, Battres said, “I would say, ‘I see you. You matter. You have purpose …’ I think that that’s everybody’s innate desire, to be seen.” (RELATED: Some Of Hollywood’s Biggest Names Are Turning Away From Depravity, Towards Jesus)
Battres starred on “Izzy Does It” after appearing as a contractor on “Flip or Flop.”
This article was originally published at dailycaller.com
