Before Mercy, I dealt with depression, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, and sexual abuse. My life was a struggle. I felt like I couldn’t stay sober; I found no reason to live anymore. Every day was a battle to not overdose on drugs.
One day I went to church and one of the staff there helped me get connected in different life groups. My family told me that I needed treatment and I got accepted into a secular treatment center, but I knew that it would not help me because I’d already tried that before. I shared that with the lady at the church that helped me, and she introduced me to Mercy Multiplied. She gave me a couple of books that helped me understand what the program was about. I applied to Mercy because I knew that if I didn’t there was no hope for me to live. I told God that if this Mercy place didn’t work, I was going to die. When I arrived at Mercy I struggled because I was not used to people being so nice to me. It was hard to get used to, but it helped me open up to the program later on.
My first several months I was not willing to open up about my struggles because I was afraid of others judging me. I think my turning point was a month after Christmas break. I ended up relapsing during Christmas time, and when I came back, I thought I was going to get discharged. I was preparing to leave and go back to my old lifestyle. A month after coming back from break I asked to leave the program because I felt like I couldn’t heal from my addictions. I told the Holy Spirit that if He wanted me to stay He needed to speak to me that night because I was leaving the next day if He didn’t. During the teaching that night, the Pastor mentioned a verse, and I felt that the Holy Spirit wanted me to read more. I read 2 Peter 2:20, and the Holy Spirit warned me that if I did leave, I would be worse off than when I came to Mercy. Since that night, I made a battle plan to fight against my flesh and become the person who God created me to be. After that night, I was able to heal from events I thought I would never heal from. I am grateful for opening my heart enough to allow the Holy Spirit to work in me.
God taught me how to overcome life’s struggles by developing a personal, intimate relationship with Him. He showed me His love by healing my past and replacing the hurt with good things. When I look back on my past, I don’t get frustrated anymore. I learned different tools to help me in different seasons of life. I also learned that my favorite place to be is in the prayer closet with Jesus. Most of all, He doesn’t have to be restricted to just the prayer closet. He is with me everywhere and knowing that is going to help me in my day to day life.
After graduation my plans are to go to school and become a Paramedic. That has been my dream job since elementary school, and now I feel like I can actually achieve that job. Eventually, I would like to help teach other believers that there is more to Christianity than just religion and rules. I want to study and become a Pastor.
To the donors, I would like to thank you personally for your generous giving. Your donations helped me find freedom and healing. I am now able to live the life God called me to live because Mercy Multiplied accepted me into their program. Thank you so much.