Support a cause: Grace Centers of Hope
Sometimes…“Life IS like a box of chocolates”… You just never know what you’re going to get.
I thought I knew what my life would be like as an adult, but at 35 I found myself abusing drugs and alcohol, losing my home, and my family. I never would have dreamed my life would have turned out that way.
I came to Grace Centers of Hope because I knew I needed help! I had been in the program for about 9 months when I prayed for God to CHANGE MY HEART, not just my behaviors. It was in that moment God spoke to me and said, “Amy, I am here for you.” I then knew I would not be traveling the road to recovery alone.
I completed the one year Life Skills Program and went on to live in the Aftercare community with my three precious, resilient children. God did amazing things in the hearts and lives of our family during that time. He mended the brokenness and replaced it with love, and lots of laughter. God taught me a lot about forgiveness; reassuring me of HIS forgiveness, and helping me forgive MYSELF!
Around that same time, I met Matt, a man who was also completing his recovery at Grace Centers of Hope. Matt had a similar story; addicted to drugs, running from his problems, and blaming everyone else for the way his life had turned out. God used the one year Life Skills Program to show Matt the pieces of his life COULD BE PUT BACK TOGETHER if he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. That is why we support Grace Centers of Hope.
As Matt and I started spending more time together, I saw how much he welcomed my children into his heart, and how they were beginning to accept him too. Matt and I were married in 2016 and soon after, we both completed the Aftercare Program at Grace and decided to purchase a home closer to our families and my children’s schools.
Today, we are raising 3 beautiful children and we are teaching them about God’s unconditional love and forgiveness. Matt and I both work full time to provide for our family; I work as an assistant manager in a veterinary clinic and Matt is a senior mold maker/machinist and a part time field camera operator for public television.
We often talk about where our lives WERE, and how it’s only by God’s grace and mercy that we are where we are today. We have learned to lean on God and each other when we go through life’s ups and downs. We are so grateful to Grace Centers of Hope for helping us put our lives/family back together. If you are looking to support a cause, remember the good work done by the people at Grace Centers of Hope in Pontiac, Michigan.