Our staff regularly share with one another amazing stories of how our men and women find hope and a restored life. Around Portland Rescue Mission, we call these stories “Glimmers.” Here’s a couple recent Glimmers from The Harbor and Shepherd’s Door.
God knows how to repair broken relationships.
John, a participant in our New Life Ministry at The Harbor, witnessed this first-hand while leaning over an old Cadillac Eldorado, next to his son.
They had been trying to fix it together for the past year. John, after leaving a life of drug and alcohol use, was also trying to fix his relationship with his son.
They tried to replace and repair a number of things to get the engine working, to no avail.
Then, on a recent weekend, they replaced the starter. His son turned the key and the car started.
John said, “It sounded so good to hear the purring of the engine after all that work we put into it.”
John and his son stood for a while looking at the car while the engine hummed, listening to the benefit of their work.
After a bit, John’s son told him, “You know dad, this is the first thing we’ve actually completed together.”
In that moment, John could have cried. Just realizing how much this project had meant to both of them.
God repairs brokenness and He grants a new start to things once dead––like hope, cars and father-son relationships.
Often the men and women who come to us for help have reached a place where they realize they can’t change on their own strength. Their hearts are ripe for the hope that only Jesus can give.
Earlier in the week…
Sam* had labeled herself an “angry person.” She told staff that she was struggling with certain aspects of the program here. Jessica Ray, Resident Care Lead said, “I have been blessed to be able to see a sweeter side of her, despite all that she has been through. …I was able to see her be silly and funny with one of her peers and felt the Lord fill me with compassion for her.”
A few days later…
“She came to see me weeping,” said Marty Sturdivant, Chaplain at Shepherd’s Door. A recent death in the family left this girl in a place of intense grief. She opened up to Marty about her history of loss and addiction in her family. In her lowest of lows, Marty helped her realize that she needed God and that all that was happening was too big for her carry alone.
“I talked to her about the Lord, and then asked if she wanted to turn her life over to Him and allow Him to sort out all the pain and chaos.
“I told her one of the first things she would be given is hope.”
No one in her family had ever experienced hope, herself included. Sam told Marty she wanted Jesus in her life. “We prayed together for her to receive Christ,” said Marty. The two women prayed for her family and for the chains of bondage to be broken.
“She was at so much peace when she left,” said Marty.
Jessica said,“I look so forward to seeing how this young woman will blossom as she discovers that she is not just this angry person she has labeled herself as, but is in fact so much more.”
*Name has been changed for privacy.
Read more Glimmer’s of Hope stories on our blog:
Glimmers of Hope from Participants at Shepherd’s Door.
Portland Rescue Mission Experiences the ‘glow’ of ‘glimmers’.