Booby Trapped: The Chad Melton Story

From the time he was seven, Chad Melton’s life was booby trapped. Or so he felt. Why else would most everyone he loved, die? And himself almost die—twice? To cope with the pain, he turned to drugs. But when the consequences finally caught up with him, a judge gave him a choice: Door #1 or Door #2.  Chad didn’t have to think twice. He knew behind which door lay the winning prize: the prize of a happy, fulfilling life. That’s what he really wanted, and that’s what he had fervently prayed for.

You’re seven years old. You’ve recently been uprooted from Louisiana to California, only for your mother to marry a man so filled with rage, you and your siblings set booby traps just so you’ll know when he’s coming up the path. Because you don’t want to be there when he comes through that door.

This makes you constantly anxious, torn between wanting to remain to protect your mother (though at seven, you can’t do much) and bolting out the back to escape the mayhem.

Two years later, you would move back to Louisiana—thankfully, without the stepfather. You’d pick two million alligators over him, anytime. Because the devil you know isn’t always better than the devil you don’t.  Of that, you’re sure.

As it turned out, life would set booby traps of its own for Chad Melton, who in his 43 years, has experienced the devastating loss of those closest to him: his biological dad, a beloved father figure, his two brothers, and a sister. He almost kicked off himself when a logging accident cost him his left eye and then months later when his car rolled over an embankment.

Nothing happens by accident, even accidents, it seems.  But that facile saying offers little comfort when almost everyone you loved has been taken from you. That level of loss feels like a shattered mirror that nothing and no one can put together again. “It made me realize how quickly things could—bam—just be over”! remarks Chad.

Not surprisingly, Chad lived the next few decades as though his life was already over—throwing caution to the wind while suppressing the pain of grief and abandonment with meth…along with all the other numbing agents out there for the picking.  

The Meth That Took His Mojo

“Meth took a lot away from me,” says Chad. “It caused me to be  irresponsible.  I broke  promises to my family, and there were years I wouldn’t work because of my addiction.”

There were others things meth took from him, including his looks. Chad is a handsome man with a likeable and engaging personality. But back when he was using drugs, he wasn’t looking so good. He had lost some of his mojo. “Meth messed up my appearance,” says Chad. “It made me skinnier; it took my teeth. It gave me a bad name and I hung out with a bad crowd to get the drugs. So yeah, you could say overall it was a bad time in my life.”

Losing his eye in the logging accident only added to his depression. “That took away my confidence,” says Chad. “Not to mention, I had to get used to an altered depth perception.”

“Jesus, Take the Wheel”

When his prescription pain meds ran out after his numerous surgeries, Chad turned to street opiates and other chemical concoctions. To function, he’d prescribe himself an “anti-zombie” cocktail. “When I’d take opiates, I’d start nodding off,” says Chad. “So, then I’d use meth to give me the energy to get stuff done.”

Apparently, “getting stuff done” did not include getting help for his underlying issues. His unresolved trauma festered inside his soul and abusing substances was his coping mechanism. After all, it’s easier to snort, smoke or swallow than face your demons.

It would take many more years for Chad to have that showdown with the devil… to finally allow God to be in the driving seat. Unfortunately, he would experience a series of unfortunate events before he made that switch. In the second mishap, he had to roll over and die—almost literally—before he saw the light.

“I had been logging in the woods and just got off a long shift,” says Chad. “While driving home, I started to nod off and the next thing you know, I wake up and the car is flipping over and over”!

While it was miraculous he survived, the real miracle began several months later—after he was arrested for selling drugs. By his own admission, it was the best thing that could have happened to him. “I went through withdrawals in jail and man, it was tough. And that’s when I said to myself, ‘Hey, this isn’t how I want to be!’” says Chad.

The Next Chapter

But self-realization is only the beginning. There are plenty of addicts who make promises, “write” their first chapter and that’s it: their book ends there.  In Chad’s case, he was given some added motivation after being given an ultimatum by a judge.

“I had been talking to God in jail, just trying to find an answer to this mess of a life and the next day I went to court and I was given that choice: prison or an addiction recovery program,” says Chad.

To Chad, it was a no-brainer: he chose Door #2: the Mission’s Recovery Program.  Somewhere in the back of his head, he knew he needed the faith-based component, But it was hardly a ”Get Out of Jail Free” card. It was work—hard work, as facing one’s demons invariably is. For one, rules didn’t sit too well with this rebel without a cause. “I had the record for having the longest blackout period,” admits Chad. “But after I started ‘getting with the program’—literally—I was offered the position of Program Assistant. And it wasn’t because I was ‘Mr. Tow the Line,’ but because when I did screw up, I didn’t hide it.”

No doubt his transparency helped move Chad further down the road to recovery. In time, he acclimated to the rules, even if he wasn’t in complete agreement. But as he would soon discover, God’s not looking for our approval of His methodologies to get us where we need to be: he’s looking for our surrender.

Chad’s life today is a compelling turnaround story. But he hasn’t just turned his own life around; at least one  riveting chapter in his “book” includes helping his fellow recovery students as well.  Students like Hal.

His Pal, Hal

A good looking, personable, and smart-as-a-whip 20-something, Hal possessed all the right attributes to be a success. Except he wasn’t: there was a crack in his core. And that identity problem manifested in his doing drugs and living on the streets.

When he came to the Recovery Program, Hal became Chad’s buddy.  They trusted each other, which in the world of addiction, is saying a lot.  So when Hal, after a skirmish with another student, upped and left the program without a word to anyone, including his friend, Chad, it was a downer day.

But Chad’s work wasn’t done. Several days later, while walking down the street, Chad spied a familiar figure. It was Hal. “I walked up to him and I said, ‘Hey, buddy, what’s going on?’, says Chad. “ I heard you left the program, but why would you leave? You are one of the best workers I’ve seen…and so great with the guys!”

Chad didn’t stop there. He wanted his pal to know that he wasn’t just a “good worker” and “great with the guys,” but that he was loved just for himself. “You are worth so much to me and to God,” Chad told him. “’And you’re  worth so much to this place. You’re a good man and you’re going to go places…so come back and keep on!”

Chad didn’t expect Hal’s reaction.“The next thing I knew, he teared up. He was crying, and then he grabbed me and we hugged,” says Chad. “And then he said, ‘Thank you, man…I really needed to hear that!’”

Hal went back that day. Eight months later he is still here—set to graduate next month. And all it took was a little encouragement. “I’m glad I was there to help him,” says Chad. “And he’s been ‘kicking butt’ ever since!  And that’s a really good feeling.”

Chad is only giving what he’s received, which is a boatload of encouragement when he was struggling in those early days of the Program. If you ask him what has helped turn his life around, he’ll quickly tell you. Partly, he says, it was the volunteers who spent time with them—talking to him and others about their problems and just listening.

 “They genuinely cared,” says Chad. “They didn’t come in there with an agenda, read a little bit out of the Bible and leave. Instead, they’d stick around awhile and ask sincerely, ‘Hey, how’s it going with you’? How’s your day going’? And that spoke volumes to me.”

Chad credits one particular man, a 90-something volunteer named Gary, as his biggest inspiration. “Gary taught our Bible class. Just his energy and his always wanting to help us—man, to be as old as he was, and give so much of himself, that changed how I Iooked at people. It gave me compassion.  He didn’t just teach about mercy and grace—he instilled those things in our hearts.”

Hi Kids, Goofy’s Home!

Chad’s transformation has been profound. Because it’s real. Just ask his children. As the saying goes, “You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”  And you can never fool your children.  Because they know. They’re the litmus test of whether that man that walks through the door at night is their real dad—or an imposter.

They were, and are, Chad’s greatest motivation to be a better man.

Ranging from ages 9 through 18, their biggest accolade for their “new dad” is to see him happy, and involved in their life in a way he had never been during his addiction.

“They tell me they’re happy to have me back around,” says Chad.” They’re happy to have me show up for all of their events. And they even tell me they’re happy to have me be a goofball again! It’s true. I laugh and play with them a lot more now that I’m sober. I’m giving them my good time.”

This is Chad’s only real ambition. To be a sober and unapologetic goofball who is giving his kids “his good time.” They’ve experienced their dad’s “bad time” and the difference is night and day.  Even his children’s mother sees the difference and likes it—she likes it very much. In time…well, anything can happen, and already has for Chad in the most important ways. He’s enjoying a rekindled relationship with his Lord and his family. He is thankful every day God answered his prayer and brought him to the Mission.

“This program changed my life,” says Chad. “And working here has made me realize there’s a lot of people out there who need our help. That’s what the Mission is for: to help people get back on their feet and to help those who can’t get on their feet…the ones who have a hard time standing at all.  But we need to help them, too. We need to help them the way God, in His infinite mercy and grace, has helped me.”

About the Author:

Jenni Keast is our marketing content coordinator and a lover of jean jackets, the Great Outdoors, photography and all things mid-century.  Her favorite authors are Holy Spirit (the Bible) G.K. Chesterson, C.S. Lewis, Leif Enger and Walter Isaacson, to name just a few.

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