Life Above Reproach

By:  Timothy Stoffle

            I was born in Santa Clara, California.  Shortly after I was born my family moved back to Morro Bay where my dad was from.  I have a younger brother and older sister.  My dad got me and my sister into swimming at the young age of 9 years old.  I was so into pleasing my dad, so I did really good in swimming.  I had some of the fastest times in California.  My family took me all over for swim meets.  I loved swimming as well as pleasing my dad.  As I got older, I found myself swimming more for my dad then myself. 

            My family took me to a big swim meet down in Orange County.  I had some of the fastest times in California and I wanted to swim for me and have fun for a change.  So, I swam for myself to have fun.  I didn’t win any of my events and my dad was mad at me.  He knew me and knew I messed up the swim meet.  After that swim meet, he took me off the swim team.  I could tell I let him down and it hurt me, but I couldn’t change what happened that day.

            There were a few kids on the block that surfed.  I started hanging around them and started surfing myself.  Since I was such a good swimmer, I took to surfing fast.  Before long, I was “rippin” and all the older surfers took me under their wing.      

            I became a junior lifeguard.  The senior lifeguard also took me in.  She picked me up to go the beach and took me back home.  After about three months, she started taking advantage of me (molesting me).  All my friends found out as well as all the older surfers.  Now I became “cool”!  She didn’t care if anyone knew and she was way hot looking.  So, what the …!

            I started smoking pot and hanging around the older surfers.  I would be at the beach at dawn and surf all day long.  The older surfers would tell me, “Junior it’s in the glove box, roll one.”  So, I became a stoner.  I was never good at school, but all my friends were.  Shortly after starting to smoke pot, I started drinking and this was the beginning of the end for me. 

            At the age of 18, I went to jail for the first time.  After that, I was going to jail about once a month for small things like drunk in public, fighting, and disturbing the peace.  This is what landed me in prison. 

            I went to a program called C.R.A.S.H.  It was a behavior modification program.  It taught me about little premonitions.  Once you start breaking the small laws, you’ll start breaking the big laws which landed me here.  Now, I obey the law and don’t take my freedom for granted.  I found Jesus and found life to be beautiful.  I will get my freedom back shortly, but I’ve learned not to take my freedom for granted.

            Now my life is all about God.  I’m at peace with myself.  Yes, prison sucks, but I put myself here.  I’m lucky I’ve got a date unlike most of the people in here.  Finding Jesus has changed my life so much that I can’t believe I put my family and friends through this.  I see that the life I was living was not the life God wanted for me.  He gave us free will and that is what happened to me.  Now I see.  Too bad it took most of my life to see it.  Better late than never.  I’m now 51 years old and I’ve spent over 35 years of my life in places like this.  Don’t be hard-headed and take life for granted!  Love people and don’t be a hater.  Jesus sees everything.

God bless you!