Mercy Graduate Catherine Shares Her Story with Nashville Residents

2014 Mercy graduate Catherine Comes recently visited the Nashville home to share her story, life experiences, and advice for life after Mercy with the current residents. She is currently on the marketing team at Lakewood Church in Houston, TX while working towards getting a degree in biblical studies.

Catherine’s authenticity shined through as she shared the depths of her story and touched on a variety of impactful topics that each resident could relate to.

From a young age, Catherine began to form a perfectionistic mindset. She began striving and working hard to earn God’s love. She fell into traps of comparison and by the time she was ten years old, she struggled with depression. This led her to walk through a season of an eating disorder and self-harm, which caused her depression to get worse. Catherine said, Through someone the Lord sent me, I knew I needed help. I knew the spiritual aspect of my story had to be addressed, so I knew Mercy was right for me.

During Catherine’s time at Mercy, she experienced God’s real love. He met her in the difficult places and in her moments of brokenness He revealed to her that she just needed to say “yes” to His love. She began walking in a new sense of God’s authority and peace. She said, That’s what makes Mercy truly unique, addressing the heart issue. It was about healing the root issue. Catherine’s time at Mercy was filled with love and the grace of God. The Lord was so real, it was like He put on flesh and bones. He was real to me, I knew I could depend on His love, she said. She encouraged the residents not to give up before it’s their time to graduate, adding, in due season there will be a harvest, Galatians 6:9. Even five years later I am seeing what God planted at Mercy come to harvest now.

Catherine told the girls that God continues the healing process even after graduation. She explained that real life doesn’t go away, that when a graduate goes back to their reality, they have to learn how to live in it. She shared four important things not to forget as you graduate.

1. First, get an accountability partner. She shared that one of the most crucial parts of life after Mercy was getting a strong support system.
2. Second, she advised, be lonely rather than be around the people that drag you down.
3. Third, when you mess up, don’t quit! Repent and return to the Lord. There is grace when you walk in your freedom.
4. Fourth, she said, Find a church, get plugged in, and serve. Catherine closed her time with the residents by saying, There is nothing else like Mercy; it is such a gift.

We are incredibly thankful Catherine came to share her story and her time with our Nashville residents. Afterwards, she enjoyed lunch with the residents and recorded a video testimony that will be coming soon!

Fun fact: Catherine’s favorite book she read at Mercy—and still reads at least once a year—is Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend.