It hadn't been an easy life and by no choice of his own. Steven was born the oldest child of missionaries. The mission field is tough for anyone, but especially the children. Born into a lifestyle that required them to grow up in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language, and constantly scrutinized by everyone who knew how missionary children should act. 

The other children had handled it better than Steven. He hated the things required of him.   Most of all, he hated singing in church. He had a beautiful voice and it was noted by many. He knew he sang well, but hated being forced to use his talent whenever his parents decided. 

 When Steven was twelve, his parents--rather his mother, decided that the mission field was no place for kids and the entire family returned to the United States. Steven was happy to be home, although he knew very little about it. He knew he was where he belonged. 

The transition to American education wasn't difficult because his parents enrolled him in a Christian school. Public school would have been too much. 

Steven was allowed to transfer to public school when he started high school. There Steven was introduced to all kinds of wonderful things. For the first time Steven saw how people lived when they had money. He liked what he saw and determined to one day live like that.

He was introduced to drugs, 

Rebecca's less than sunny mood had started on Monday and steadily declined with each passing day until by Thursday storm clouds were looming over the entire family. Saturday was their wedding anniversary. They were young with two small children and one large mortgage which seemed more impossible to pay
every month. Going out to celebrate their anniversary was so out of the question it hadn't even been discussed. There seemed no end to their financial Titanic.