Last month, we celebrated the graduation of five residents from Shepherd’s Door. Each graduate spent a few moments reflecting on the circumstances that brought them here and on the change they’ve experienced during their stay.
“I’ve lived a life of confusion and fear as far back as I can remember,” Dani shared. “Eventually I became desperate for a new life and three days before my fifteenth birthday, I ran away from home with no shoes and a fat lip. It wasn’t long before I became a chronic runaway finding myself in dangerous situations.”
“It’s a strange thing to try and explain rock-bottom moment because it makes no sense. It’s the moment when my life had literally no value left to me. I surrendered it to whatever God was out there, even though I was sure he wouldn’t want something so destroyed. I was trying to fall asleep but couldn’t get warm because it was snowing.”
As part of our New Life Ministries, Shepherd’s Door provides a safe space for up to 40 women, and their children, while they pursue recovery from addictions, develop life skills and restore healthy relationships. At Shepherd’s Door, Dani found love and support, a rich relationship with God and a group of women to walk this journey of restoration with.
“In the last fourteen months, I have been so deeply loved and cared for by God and the people in my life, that it’s honestly been hard to take,” Dani said. “Although I’ve struggled with almost every aspect of Christianity and this program; I’ve been allowed to test, talk about and examine anything that I was unsure about and was met with encouragement and gentle grace, giving me a solid foundation to share with my children.”
“Standing here tonight with my first year of sobriety in over two decades and knowing I’m loved for the first time ever; I see the hand of God on my life.”
Psalms 40:2 “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock”.