Elizabeth's Story
I spent my life expecting “curses” – now I receive blessings!
My name is Elizabeth. I had a very dysfunctional childhood, including being raised in a broken home and enduring sexual abuse. There was also a lot of drug use in my home, so I learned early on that drugs were an acceptable way to deal with pain. So I turned to drugs to medicate the pain, then prostitution. I reasoned that since sex was being taken from me any way against my will, why not take control and use it to get the drugs I felt I needed?
I became a mother to 4 wonderful kids, the oldest of whom was raised by my mother. I was in and out of Kalamazoo Gospel Mission at various times, never really ready to make the commitment it takes for my life to truly change. One day my sons, who were young teens, came to the Mission and visited with Rev. Brown, the executive director. He took a picture of himself with the boys and sent it home to me. In my sons’ young faces I saw great sadness and pain, and that was the turning point. I knew it was time for me to get my life pulled together and stop being such a bad example to my kids during their teen years.
I am a child of God!
I returned to the Mission for the final time, and enrolled in the Family Hope program. There I discovered, and finally really accepted, the fact that I am a child of God. I’m no longer waiting for disaster to be around the next corner, as I once did. I’d always expected curses, and I’ve learned to expect blessings from God. The biggest one of these is a restored relationship with my children. We are truly relating as a family now,
I will soon graduate from the Family Hope program and my kids and I will move into Mission-owned transitional housing. I now live life overwhelmed by God’s amazing love, and that of His people. I often think, “If this Mission weren’t here, what would I have done?” Thank you for making such a difference in my life, and that of my kids. Without your giving, I would still be lost.
