From a dark past to a bright future

Lynn was living in Alabama when she reached her breaking point. She had spent 35 years in addiction, periods of homelessness, and abuse. She cried out to God.

“Lord, I can’t do this no more,” she prayed. “You’ve got to help me. If you don’t help me, I don’t know what’s going to happen. If you don’t heal me right now, just let me die. I can’t live like this anymore.”

For the first time in decades, a peace swept over Lynn, and she knew what she needed to do. She called her sister, came back to Fort Wayne, and was ready to make a change.

“I have three beautiful children,” Lynn said. “My addiction was more important to me than they were. I hate to say that, but I have to be transparent. The truth is, my addiction took over my life so fast that it became more important to me than my own children.”

Lynn was officially ready for her days in addiction to be over. She tried a few different recovery programs in Fort Wayne, but nothing was working out. Then, she got the call that Charis House had an opening.

“When I got to Charis House, I was so broken. I was battered, I had just been attacked. I was bruised. I was desperate, and I was depressed,” she said. “I was riddled with guilt and shame. Most of all, I felt unloved.”

God used Charis House to change everything for Lynn. She worked her steps, listened in class, attended chapel every morning, and made life-long friendships.

Lynn gets emotional when she talks about how she feels about Rescue Mission staff. She said they are true angels and vessels used by God to change lives.

“It wasn’t until I came to Charis house that I really found out what love was, because of the grace of God and the obedience of the people here who sacrifice and work at The Rescue Mission,” she said. “They showed me what being loved really means and what it looks like.”

Lynn is looking forward to a future where she doesn’t have to do anything outside of God’s will ever again. She thanks God for His amazing love and for keeping her alive through the darkest moments of her life.

“I’m so glad that it’s over, finally,” she said of her 35 years of addiction. “They say you can never say ‘never,’ but I disagree. I have a God that tells me I don’t ever have to use drugs again. I never have to be homeless again.”

Each day, Lynn thanks God that she’s not who she used to be. She’s who God says she is.

“I am an original masterpiece, a woman of God, wonderfully and fearfully made. I am blessed and highly favored, and I will carry this message to others who are still struggling.”