Residents
Alexis
Rejoice in the hope, be patient in the tribulation. Romans 12:12
This verse encourages rejoicing in hope and being patient in tribulation, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a positive outlook even during difficult times.
When I think of this verse I think about how we should be joyful through struggles in life that we are facing because no matter what the trial we are going through God is with us through it all. He will not leave us or forsake us through any of the trials. When we hold on to the fact that God is holding on to us as if we were a newborn baby. He will not let us fall, we come to an understanding that we are never alone and that we have a Father that loves us no matter what. God sees what we go through and He just wants us to be patient in the waiting because everything is done in his timing. He has already written our stories and we cannot rush Him. We must learn to take our hands out of the situation and we must learn to let go and let God.
So many times I have tried to rush a situation or tried to take care of it myself just for it to either fall apart or for it to not happen. I have lived on self-will most of my life because I didn't have the patience to let God do the work that needed to be done in my life. In the end I found myself falling into a pit that I couldn't pull my own self out of. I had to reach a point of the end of myself. God had to help me learn to be still and put me in a place where all I could do was be patient. I had to let Him work it all out and it taught me that I had to come to the end of my own book I was writing and let God have the pen back so that he could do the writing for me. I had to be patient and just wait to see how each chapter was going to be written out. Fortunately I came to discover that the book I was writing for myself was a dark place that needed a lot of light in it so that I could finally see the truth of what I was blinded from through each chapter.
Now my story is looking a lot brighter and I can finally see what God has been trying to do in my life for so long. He never left me through everything I was going through, He was right there beside me the whole time. He was patient with me and He knew that one day I would come to His feet and become who I was meant to be. I know I still have a ways to go but I am closer to where He wants me to be. Each day I go through something whether it be something small or being patient waiting for the things I want and I have to remember to let God do the work. I myself cannot do it on my own and cannot rush what the Lord is working on. I must put myself aside and let Him do what He needs to do. Psalm 27:14 reminds me to wait patiently for the Lord, promising strength and courage in the waiting process.
Since I have come to Jesus I have found that patience has brought me to a stronger relationship with God because it helps me to know that I can not handle things on my own. Without Him I can do anything. I have found that as I grow closer to Him he has brought me closer to my children and my fiance. They have seen a side of me that shows them I am willing to do the work I have to do to be back with them.
I made the choice to go to true Vine Restoration because here I am able to work on myself. Jesus remains one of the top priorities as I learn to transition out into a secular world. Some of the best qualities that I have found with True Vine is that they treat the individual as a person not as a whole. What may be right to help me transition may be wrong for someone else's growth. The one on one is very helpful because then the staff knows how to help guide me into the next season of my life. Which being said also helps me step by step with my individual goals. My director helped me accomplish the things I needed to obtain and start my job and continues to ensure I am able to succeed. There is a closeness and friendship between the residents and staff and they want to see us succeed and learn how to become strong independent individuals. They make sure that we continue our walk with Jesus by our side and they keep us connected to recovery programs that are needed to continue in our sobriety.
Residents
Debbie
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ after you have suffered a little while will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. - 1 Peter 5:10
I grew up in Illinois and I have a younger and older sister, I am a middle child. My parents were divorced a few years after my youngest sister was born. From an early age I was mentally and physically abused by my mother. I spent a lot of time with my daddy's parents while growing up. My mother remarried when I was around the age of 12. Soon after sexual abuse came into my life along with depression, stress, and the complete feeling of being unloved. My mother was aware of the things that were being done to me and my siblings, but she chose to ignore it. I began experiencing nightmares and a feeling of being alone. As my teenage years came around drinking, weed, and sex became a large part of my life . At 16 and 1/2 my mother informed us we were moving to Missouri. I became very angry with her as I was being taken away from my Daddy and his parents. The sexual abuse had ended by this time, however I informed my school counselor of my sexual abuse hoping I would be able to stay in Illinois, this unfortunately did not work and we moved. A short time after moving I met a guy and I thought we would be together for the rest of our lives, but that was not the case. I had two miscarriages and then became pregnant again and I gave birth to my daughter Amber. Shortly after her birth the relationship with her father ended. A few years later I became pregnant again by a different man. I named her Sarah and within a year after I gave her up for adoption. I hated not only life, but myself. I spent a short amount of time in jail and my addiction became increasingly worse. I got married to a man who after 10 years of marriage became extremely violent and the next several years my life was out of control. I got married again and after he was killed I just didn't want to be sober in any form. I jumped from one relation to another. Two gentlemen which I had lived with that had treated me wonderfully ended up dying and one of them died in my arms. I found myself alone once again. The next relationship became so bad I became an iv user. This relationship involved cheating and some fighting . My last relationship became more drug induced and the drugs took over my life completely. He went to prison in 2024 and I isolated myself from everyone and in September of 2024 when I was about to be homeless a guy who is now my son-in-law Josh told me about a place called John 3:16 in Arkansas. Josh had graduated from this program - it is a Christian Addiction Recovery Program. From the time I arrived there my life almost immediately started changing. On Oct. 14 2024 I rededicated my life to God and got baptized shortly after that. God has completely changed who I am. I used to beg God to just let me die. He answered my prayer, just not in the way I was wanting at that time. The old me died and he brought me back to life. I am now born again, a child of the most high. I learned to forgive people from my past because how can I expect God to forgive me if I don't forgive others . I completely surrendered to God and laid down everything at the foot of the cross. My life is so wonderful again because He loves me, never gave up on me, and never left me. I will never be alone because He is always with me. I learned while being at John 3:16 how to love myself and others. I poured into my sisters as much as they have poured into me. I graduated from there June 1 of 2025 and moved into True Vine Restoration where I was welcomed with open arms and loved.
I can't wait to see what God has planned for my new journey. My God goes ahead of me and will not let me falter or stumble.