From drugs and depression to deliverance
Eddie now spends much of his time attempting to change the lives of those around him.
With 27 years of service to the SAPS, WO Eddie Botes (46) from the Brakpan Police Station has dedicated much of his life to fighting crime.
Unknown to his colleagues, and for many years, Eddie was also fighting other battles.
Today, he has overcome all these odds with his account of struggle, loss, addiction, depression and eventually, salvation.
Over the course of 13 years, Eddie and his wife Natasha (39), who are now both pastors at the Christian Family Church in Brakpan, battled with miscarriages, drug abuse and debilitating physical harm before finding absolution in the embrace of God.
The first hurdle in a series of unfortunate events took place in 2000 when Eddie was attending a party with Natasha, who was six months pregnant at the time.
The festivities began, the drinks flowed freely and the group lost themselves in the tide of liquor – it was a normal weekend for the pair.
Although she was not drinking, Natasha began to feel serious abdominal pain and started bleeding.
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“At the time, I was unable to recognise the danger to my wife,” said Eddie.
Shortly afterwards, Natasha was rushed to the hospital where she was immediately admitted.
When Eddie eventually joined her, he found that she had miscarried – they had lost their son.
Blaming himself for their misfortune, Eddie fell into a deep depression that would change his life forever.
Over the next five years, he dealt with his guilt in the only way he could find – at the bottom of a bottle.
Eddie managed to keep his drinking to a minimum during the week, but weekends were a time for drowning his sorrows.
This continued until a fateful day in 2005 when he was involved in a serious car crash.
The accident occurred as Eddie’s team responded to a hijacking call, and his leg, arms, head and fingers were all but destroyed.
He was temporarily confined to a wheelchair.
The doctors told him he would battle to walk again and cautioned he would have to spend the rest of his life on painkillers.
Angry with God for causing so much sorrow in his life, Eddie slipped into a heavy drug addiction and the second hurdle was placed, sending both Eddie and Natasha down a difficult and perilous road.
Between 2005 and 2013 Eddie and Natasha battled with a debilitating drug addiction.
Every aspect of their life was changing faster than they could control and very soon they had fallen into crushing debt.
In 2009, a short reprieve came when they received a payout from the Road Accident Fund.
They used this money to buy a car and return some of the debt they had amassed; they even managed to organise a wedding and pay off their house.
Things were finally looking up, but they still had to find a way to support their drug habit so they began to pawn their valuables in order to raise money for their next hit.
“We sold our laptops, phones, and Christmas presents – everything had to go to raise funds for our addiction,” admitted Eddie, and still the debt piled up until they eventually lost their home.
In an attempt to quell their tide of misfortune, Natasha admitted herself into rehab in December of 2011.
She stayed for the duration of her term, but upon returning home six weeks later she relapsed with Eddie.
Fortunately the first steps towards recovery had been taken and this was the beginning of a new and brighter path forward for the two of them.
Eddie followed her example in 2013 when he admitted himself into a rehabilitation centre.
Still physically weak from his accident and suffering from severe pains throughout his body, Eddie said he found himself “feeling isolated from the other patients” and struggled to make allies within the centre.
This was when Eddie’s personal miracle occurred.
Also read: Is someone you love addicted to over the counter painkillers?
On February 17, 2013, he ventured to the bathroom alone – a feat he was not usually capable of doing due to his lasting injuries.
Upon returning he noticed his Bible was open and after a moment of self-inspection, found that his injuries had all stopped paining him.
“My body had been healed,” he said with a smile.
Unfortunately, Eddie relapsed upon returning home, but his journey was far from over.
Now that his body was healed it was time to heal his mind and it was Natasha who helped him achieve this.
Once again in October 2013 Natasha was admitted to rehab.
This time Eddie realised if he wanted his wife to remain sober he would need to leave the drugs behind by the time she was released so they could brave this road together.
So, with a heart full of conviction Eddie began going to the Christian Family Church in Brakpan.
It was during this time that their house was sold at auction and this helped to solidify his belief that change was needed.
By the time Natasha left rehab, Eddie was completely sober and having forgiven himself of his past guilt, found that “God’s mercy changed my destiny”.
The pair have now been sober for six years.
Since their miraculous recovery, both have been ordained as pastors and are overseers of the congregation at the Christian Family Church.
Eddie spends much of his time attempting to change the lives of those around him, for as he so warmly stated, “If you can save one man, you can save his entire family as well.”
To this end, Eddie counsels those who suffer from addiction and encourages those with inner struggles to attend his sermons and seek the “merciful embrace of God”.
Meanwhile, Natasha leads an Emotional Restoration Course to aid all those who need her guidance.
Their daughter, Stacey Botes (21), works as a youth leader to help the young develop a relationship with God.
She is currently working on completing her studies at the CFCI Bible College in Brakpan.
Also read: Understanding substance abuse as a result of trauma
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or Miné Fourie (journalist) minev@caxton.co.za
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