I am a twenty-six year old single mother of four. Growing up as a child, I was raised in an ordinary family environment. I felt like we had the same struggles as everyone else, but nothing we could not handle. As a teenager I was introduced to new friends, and with those friends came new habits. I began drinking and smoking at the age of fourteen, and by the age of seventeen I had experimented with all different kinds of drugs. Over the next six years I had four children; however, my commitment as a mother was always compromised by my drug use. I quickly began to slip and soon hit rock bottom. I ended up spending time in jail facing some serious drug charges. I had lost everything all because of my dependency on drugs and my inability to function with sobriety.

I was lost with no hope of a future, and I felt as though I was destined to live a life controlled by addiction. I reached the “end of my rope.” It was then that God intervened and He made the impossible possible. I came to Teen Challenge in October of 2007. Originally, I entered the program with my youngest daughter, Allyson. It was so hard for me to leave my other children to come into this program but God gave me peace shortly after I got here through Luke 18:29 which speaks of the promises of restoration to those who leave their family to become followers of Christ. God has fulfilled that promise to me. Over the next few months God blessed me with my other two daughters Ashley and Elizabeth. Now we are rebuilding our family together. In the year that I have been here, I have seen what the power of the blood of Jesus Christ can do. I have had doors opened and opportunities given to me that only God could have provided.

I used to be embarrassed of who I was, but now I am proud to be called a child of God! I have made a commitment to extend my stay at Teen Challenge further than graduation, continuing to be a faithful part of the Body of Christ. I hope to help change the lives of others, just as people have helped to change mine. I may not know the complete plan that God has for my life, but I know now that I have a hope and a future.