I hated God and I blamed Him and my parents so I was a very unhappy, lonely and insecure child.

    When I was 15 years old, I was introduced to drugs and alcohol.  I remember the first time I ever tried them.  It was as if the void and hole in my heart was filled and satisfied.  I was no longer hurting inside or broken-hearted.

    I had found the answer to all my fears and hurts.  Little did I know that the drugs and alcohol were only going to add to my real deep-seated problems.

    I married at the age of 18 and had my son at 21.  My daughter was born 19 months later.  Today my son is 15 and my daughter is 13 years old.

    My drug addiction continued and worsened.  There were periods when I could go for awhile without using, but it never lasted very long.

    I divorced my first husband when I was 29 and remarried.  I gave up my two beautiful children to my husband at that point.  The last 7 years of my life were quite a disappointment to my children, family, and second husband.  He was a Drug Task Force Agent, which made his life difficult because I was in and out of 8 secular rehabilitation centers.

    I came to the end of my rope and hit rock bottom on January 15, 1997.  I was in a shabby trailer and I was getting ready to end my life.  I had reached a hopeless state of mind and body.

    I was tired and knew there were no more answers to my life but death.  I felt like God could never forgive me.  I had done everything in the last 20 years of my life.

    It was at that moment that God used the only one who could possibly reach me--my son.  The telephone rang and as I picked up the phone, it was as if my son knew what I was planning to do.

    He was very upset and began to beg me to go to Teen Challenge.  My family had been talking to him about the program and encouraging him to try to get me to go.

    He said that he and his sister needed me more now than they ever needed me in their life.  I couldn't make him any promises because I had run out of promises.  But when I hung up the phone, I cried out to God and I told God I would try one more time, but if my life didn't change then I wanted Him to take me out of this world.

    I entered Teen Challenge in February of 1997 and today I am not the same person I was a year ago.  You see I realized after my phone call on January 15th when I cried out to God that there was no one else to blame for my problems but me.  And for the first time in 20 years, I felt real hope and I knew it came from God.

    He prepared me for the roughest year of my life.  I was very scared when I walked through the doors of Teen Challenge, but I knew I had to be willing to totally change my life.  I didn't have a clue where to begin, however through a godly staff and a total commitment on my part; I released everything to God.

    Today, I have a beautiful relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  It is very personal and I am at peace.  I have a joy that fills my soul.

    The Lord has been my answer, healer, redeemer, and deliverer.  He has healed all of my innermost hurts and pains.

    God can do the impossible and He is definitely in the miracle business.  I am a miracle!