Sam Youse’s testimony can save your life
Busta Brown’s Person of the Week
By Busta Brown
Sam Youse took off his glasses, wiped his tears, and said, “I don’t deserve what God did for me.” He went on to say, “I feel like I took life from those I love, yet God still gave me back mine.”
Youse was born and raised in Walnut Cove, N.C., where he started young joining gangs, selling drugs and eventually using drugs. “I remember thinking, I need a mental escape. I was going through it, man, and I noticed my customers used my product to escape, so I thought, let me try it.” Sam tried what all of his customers were doing: free-basing.
“When I realized I was an addict, I felt worthless. I didn’t think it could get any worse, but it did. I stole from every family member and friend I had, and even stole from my kids. I lied on my kids to get money, I even stole their toys so I could sell them,” Youse said.
“Busta, I became addicted to the same drug I was selling,” Youse continued. “I didn’t’ think I would get hooked. It got to the point I didn’t have anybody. Everybody stopped talking to me, answering my calls and when I would visit, no one came to the door.”
Years later, Youse was diagnosed with high blood pressure. “Busta every black man needs to get checked for high blood pressure, and I pray my story encourages somebody to do so.” The doctor told him his high blood pressure was life threatening, yet he continued using drugs.
Not long afterward, he was on dialysis. I asked him if that’s why he stopped using drugs, and his response blew me away.
“I still used, until one day I had to go cold turkey. I thought everyone I hurt would forgive me, but nobody visited me while I was in the hospital getting my dialysis treatments. I wanted to die, Busta. I couldn’t take it.
“At one time, I was homeless and living in a shelter. I was standing on a corner hungry, and said to God, ‘If you’re real, put a little something in my stomach.’ This homeless woman came up to me and offered me one of her chicken nuggets.” He looked at me and began laughing out loud. “That was the best chicken nugget I ever tasted,” he said, and then we both laughed so hard I had to grab my stomach. This is a man that told me “ I went through hell and took everyone with me.” Yet he had a beautiful spirit. I couldn’t imagine him as the addict that stole from his own children.
Go to the Winstonsalem Chronicle YouTube channel to see the rest of my interview with Sam Youse, and listen to his powerful testimony about how he was able to give someone another chance to live, as God gave him.
