Stories of Hope

 “During those dark moments, I prayed to God, asking for His help, and He delivered.” I was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1962, and from the earliest memories I can recall, moving was a constant. My mom, my sisters, and I seemed to always be packing up, heading to a

“I turned to alcohol to numb the pain of isolation. Eventually it became an addiction.” From a young age, Emma was on her own. “My dad was always working and my mom struggled with mental health. Basically, I raised myself,” she says. “I liked to be in the streets, just

“They’ve shown me the love of God.” Raised by a single dad, Nash knew his father loved him and worked hard to provide for the family. But as a child of divorce whose mother was hospitalized due to alcoholism, he knows that trauma had an effect on him growing up.

“I have found happiness around people that I know love me.” I grew up with both parents in active addiction, and they were abusive towards each other. My Dad suffered from Type 1 diabetes, and the drugs quickly shut his body and his organs down. Before I knew it, I

“I felt empty inside because I had no love in my life.” As a child, Kevin struggled with a learning disability and was bullied by his grade school classmates. Things were even worse at home. “My mother called me names and abused me because I was slow in school,” he

“I felt like I had nothing left to give.” After finding my daddy deceased on the bathroom floor from an accidental drug overdose, I blamed myself. I didn’t know Jesus and formed a hateful resentment and distorted view of Him. I felt like I was not deserving of love, and

“There was more going on that I couldn’t see” I had a good childhood until I was 16, when my mom and dad divorced. My family went through negative changes because of it. I chose to stay with my father, where I was less supervised. I started making small compromises

“Now, I’m a disciple of Christ.” Matthew grew up in a loving, Christian home and taught Sunday school for 18 years, sharing his faith with others. But he felt like a fraud. “I was wearing a mask. I said that I had my priorities right – Jesus, then family, then

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I grew up around addiction. Both of my parents were addicts, and because of that, I had to grow up fast. At 12 years old, I started smoking and sneaking out of my house. I have been my family’s caregiver

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. I grew up in a religious household with a good environment free from any direct contact with addiction. As I got older and into my college years, drinking became a regular part