Never Give Up
Hi! I’m Kelly and this is my story…
My life started out bad. My mother was an alcoholic, so I was raised in bars. She and her boyfriends were physically and mentally abusive to me and the older I grew the worse it got. I was out of control and was put in many mental hospitals as well as jail.
I grew up saying I would never be like my mom, but I ended up being ten times worse. I started drinking and using drugs as a teenager. I got pregnant and the guy I was with was very abusive and choked me so bad one day that it broke my water. I put my daughter up for adoption—I was scared for her life and my own. After this, my whole world turned upside-down. I started using drugs and drinking which led me to become very suicidal. I had my stomach pumped at least three times as a result of overdosing; I didn’t want to live anymore.
The years passed by and my mother died as a result of her addiction. At that time I had gotten married and had two kids. The marriage ended quickly and after the divorce I was worse than ever. I then started using drugs heavily, which lead to me losing everything including my two children. I ended up living on the streets and not having a way to support my drug habit, I started prostituting. Before I knew it, six years had passed by, I was living in hell! I had been raped and beaten many times and I was ready to give up and die.
There is a lot I don’t remember other than getting on my knees, begging God to save me; for Him to please help me. One day God sent me an angel. I ended up waking up in a hospital bed, surrounded by family that I hadn’t seen in years. They were sitting by my side, and with their support I went into a women’s Christian sobriety home. From there, I was taught that God loves you no matter what! He forgives all sins!
I am happy to say I have not had a drink or any drug in two years! I have a wonderful job at Angelic Resale with my true sisters and brothers in Christ. I know He put me here for a reason. They help keep me strong and make sure that God comes first. I also now have a car and my own place, but, the most important thing is that I have my children back!
I wake up every morning thanking God for everything He has done for me, and for everything He is still doing! If you ever think that your life is not worth living, just ask God to come into your life and save you. He will do it, I am living proof!
Thank You Jesus and thanks to all my family and friends that help me and never gave up on me!
More Than a Store
I have shopped at Angelic Resale since they opened. They are like a huge family to me. Each time I visit I get so many hugs, they have always been willing to pray for my friends and family and many health issues have been resolved as a result!
My sister and my friends are blessed as well as I am because of this ministry!
Pain into Purpose
New Life Women's Center
For most of my life, I have dealt with the feeling of emptiness in my heart. My mom died when I was five years old and my father turned to alcohol. He soon signed over his parental rights to both sets of grandparents. My sister and I spent time living between our grandparents growing closer together. Yet at the same time, I could not tell her about the sexual abuse I was experiencing. She was younger and I was ‘supposed’ to be older and stronger. Because my sister made better grades and had classy friends, I never felt good enough.
Although I didn’t turn to drugs, I did act out with a rebellious and selfish heart. I was left feeling lonely, abandoned and rejected by those who were supposed to love me. So I started looking for love and acceptance wherever I could find it.
I became too much for my grandmother to handle so I went to live with the other grandparents. I soon got pregnant and was forced to have an abortion. I ran away from home at 17 and got pregnant again with a beautiful baby girl named Nicole. I came back home to live and get my life back on track.
I was in school and working but still looking for that one to love me. Finally in 1997, I thought I met the one who would love me forever. It wasn’t long before he isolated me from my family and introduced me to drugs. I was completely brainwashed and my self-esteem was at an all-time low. I indulged in buying Nicole and myself whatever we wanted in order to make us feel better. Being raised in a religious family, I thought I knew GOD’S Word on divorce and didn’t think it was an option.
In 2003, my daughter became pregnant and was forced to have an abortion; not by me. In 2004, she became pregnant again and I finally started to see the pattern in our lives. With the help and prayers of my family, I got a divorce. I thought it was all going to get better, but it took me into a tailspin of deep depression. I had become my daughter's best friend, not a mother, which was very unhealthy.
A tragic night, in 2005, changed our lives forever. I went to jail and was told I would never see my daughter or granddaughter again. This forced me to take a good look at my life. Upon release, after 3 months, my aunt told me about New Life Women’s Center in Montgomery, Texas.
I wasn’t sure about living in a dorm with other women, but I knew something had to change in order for me to get my family back. In June of 2005, I began my journey there. New Life was a faith-based program taught with structure, discipline and true dependence on GOD. The program helped me turn my pain into purpose! One thing I appreciated most was the one-on-one counseling which showed me the reasons I hurt. It allowed me to get to the root of my issues and empowered me to crawl out from under the guilt and shame.
When I understood that God loved me just as I was and He forgave me, I was finally able to forgive myself and love again. This also taught me how unforgiveness affects us by holding us in bondage. The power of forgiveness frees us from things that have us bound. New Life taught me many Biblical principles that I have implemented in my daily life today.
Something that changed my life forever was discovering that the love I was looking for was always with me through a relationship with Jesus Christ. I no longer felt empty and void. Life is about the choices we make and the easy road is only filled with temporary satisfaction.
New Life was a huge challenge and took me 18 months to graduate. Because my daughter saw the change in me, she went to New Life in 2007, where she also graduated in 18 months.
Today, I am remarried to a wonderful man of GOD. Nicole is living at home with us. GOD doesn’t waste your pain - He turns your pain into purpose. We now live our lives for GOD on purpose with a purpose.
Renewed Hope
Emergency Assistance Program
"I went to Creative Outreach Ministries to see if I could get help with food and a bed for me and my husband since we have been sleeping on the floor for almost a year. I explained to Mrs. Linda that I have a bad back. She went and looked for me and came back telling me that God has blessed me because she had one available. All I could say to myself was, "Thank you, God". I couldn’t believe it; each step we took that day, COM just kept blessing me and my family. When I handed Mrs. Linda my paperwork, she said, "Congratulations!" and I told her, "Thank you" and asked, "Why?" She explained to me that I was the only person that day that had received everything I needed. God kept blessing us. We talked about what we needed help with, and Mrs. Linda called my landlord, who then explained that I needed help with my light bill since it was tied to my rent. I was blessed with a $150 pledge towards my rent and electricity bill. Not only that, but we were blessed with a bed, food and clothes!
However, I must say that the thing that blessed me most of all was the encouraging conversations about the Lord; reminding me that I was put here for a purpose, and that someone loves me so much that He knows how many hairs I have on my head.
I was there for two hours but it never seemed that long; Mrs. Linda is a very sweet person. She took her time to minister to me and let me know about a church in my area since we are new here. I would say, by the time I left, I felt uplifted! It was if I had just left church and was ready for anything that came my way that day. I would like to say thanks again. You are heaven sent."