FREEDOM FRIDAY: Celeste Johnson

NICEVILLE, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Newschannel 7 highlights an overcomer of addiction in the Freedom Friday segment.

If you’ve ever been in a bad romance, you might relate to this week’s overcomer.

“I went to prison for him,” Celeste Johnson says using meth to be more intimate with her partner turned into a host of unexpected things, including “the pain people stealing, people hurting you, lying.”

She says it was a relationship she barely recognized that ended a decade of codependency on drugs and abuse.

“His hand was on me the whole time and I didn’t even know it. “Johnson explains, “My downfall every time my man, my man, my man, my man now is Jesus Christ.”

She says this relationship changed in how she thinks of herself.

“I realized that I am enough and being just a daughter in Christ,” Celeste said.

She describes asking followers of Christ why they were so happy, then says people now ask the same to her.

“People are coming up to me... Why are you so happy? So, I say, because I got Jesus in my heart now.”

She celebrates each day of sobriety at Freedom House in Niceville.

It’s a freedom she wants others to feel.

“I just want to tell everybody!” she exclaims.

If you’re fighting addiction or think you can’t leave an abusive relationship, Johnson encourages, “You can do it and you are enough and if you aren’t, call me and I’ll let you know how awesome you are.”

No matter your age, the President of Freedom House and Freedom Life Compass says help isn’t far.

“The Celebrate Recovery app, you can type in your ZIP code, and it will show you all the ones in your area and then they also have teen and celebration place.” said Stephanie Wedel.

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