Charitable organizations to support: Grace Centers of Hope.
My long-time addiction to alcohol was beautifully numbing. My relationship with alcohol was a devoted, and faithful one. I fought, hunted, planned, and was extremely determined to find my alcohol, day after day. Alcohol WAS my God, my higher power, and my pain-taker. I was a devoted alcoholic…
God stood by my side throughout my entire addiction, and one day He said, “Enough is enough!” I had currently been in the hospital for a month and was being transferred to hospice. My mother cleaned out my apartment because they expected me to die from the symptoms of my alcohol addiction. I couldn’t walk, talk, eat, or even go to the bathroom without assistance. Shortly after my move to hospice, is when I truly believe that God took over my life. He had me in His hands from then on.
I didn’t actively seek out a Christian program, or any program for that matter. While in hospice, God had 2 amazing older women in wheelchairs help me learn how to walk again. I was NOT ready to give up on life. God provided me with an incredible social worker, who could see my will to keep on living. Her name, coincidently, was “Grace.” My social worker, Grace, helped me get into a short-term program called Meridian. After 2 months of hard work at Meridian, I was introduced to an employee there named Kim, who had a similar story to mine. Kim told me that she wanted to send me to the place that saved her life, and that place was called Grace Centers of Hope. I believe God intervened in my life because this is where he wants me to be.
My enormous newfound faith has been playing a critical role in the process of healing myself while in this program. I know for a fact that without God, I would have died in that hospice bed as “Just another alcoholic.” God isn’t simply helping with my recovery, He IS my recovery! He pulled me from a path of despair and put me on a path to happiness.
The support and resources that are provided to me at Grace Centers of Hope truly boggle my mind. How can a place that is FREE of charge, make me feel so valuable myself? I don’t even know where to begin, this place is heaven-sent. Grace Centers of Hope has fought for my happiness since day 1, without even knowing me. They have comforted me through my tears, they have stood beside me when facing my fears, they have guided me through difficult obstacles, and they were the ears that listened to my broken heart for many hours. They are the glue, putting my shattered pieces back together. I still occasionally feel that I don’t deserve the kind of love this program has graciously given me, but I am quickly reminded that isn’t true. We are all worthy of God’s love.
As much as I LOVE Grace Centers of Hope and owe them the greatest of appreciation, none of this can truly happen without our GOD! My relationship with God has changed so much since I got here, He has become my true painkiller. He threw himself in the middle of my path so I could live a life free from the pain of not knowing God. He put me on His loving path.
If you find yourself on the wrong path in life, turn to God. Listen and pay attention, often God’s teachings are right in front of us but we don’t notice while in our depravity. If you are looking for a charitable organization to support, consider supporting the life-changing work they do at Grace Centers of Hope.