Actor Dennis Quaid said he is “grateful to be alive” after enduring his fight against substance abuse during an interview with People Magazine.

“I’m grateful to still be here, I’m grateful to be alive really every day,” Quaid told the outlet. “It’s important to really enjoy your ride in life as much as you can, because there’s a lot of challenges and stuff to knock it down.” Quaid battled with cocaine addiction after finding huge success in entertainment from 1979 through to the mid 1990s.

“I remember going home and having kind of a white light experience that I saw myself either dead or in jail or losing everything I had, and I didn’t want that,” he continued. (LEARN MORE: ‘The Chosen’ Creator Addresses Pride Flag Controversy)

God Saved Dennis Quaid

Quaid credits his recovery to his faith. “When you’re done with the addiction, you need something to fill that hole, something that really works, right?” So he started reading the Bible, and started developing his “personal relationship” with Christ. (LEARN MORE: Actor Pushes Hollywood To Promote Faith Instead Of Evil)

“We’re all looking for the joy of life, and drugs give that to you and alcohol and whatever it is for anybody give that to you really quick. Then they’re fun and then they’re fun with problems, and then they’re just problems after a while. That’s really what we’re looking for, the joy of life, which is our gift, actually, the relationship with God that we all have. It’s at the bottom of it, the joy of being alive.”

Faith Saves, And So Can You

Most of the problems facing America today come from a fallen relationship with faith. Christian programs and rehabilitation services work, but only if your government officials allow them to.

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