“I’ve never had a father. I barely had a mother.”
After a pause, “Sometimes I was the mother. I’m lucky to be alive.”
Jess’ childhood went off script right from the start. As a young girl drug from place to couch to another place while her addict mother went from one abuser to the next user to the next. The cycle repeated as Jess grew into the shaky shoes of her mother.
From a young age, often beaten and sexually assaulted by the current “provider” of her broken mother, Jess developed a desperate need to numb her pain with drugs and alcohol. That need trapped her in the same cycle of moving from abuser to the next user to the next—just like her mom.
Today, after 31 years in and out of jail, Jess met Jesus while working through the Courage For My Life curriculum by Ann White. Our Courage for Life team had the privilege of encouraging and witnessing, right there in the jail, and Jess had the courage to step towards Jesus and step away from the life she had endured for more than 30 years.
After Jess served her time, she took her next courageous step and admitted herself to a rehab facility. Please pray for Jess and the many other Jesses participating weekly in our local ministry to women at risk.
That’s what Courage for Life is all about—embracing the God-given courage to take your next best step toward a Christ-changed life.
Join us in helping the next Jess find COURAGE FOR LIFE!
[vc_btn title=”Give Now” shape=”square” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fcourageforlife.org%2Fwomen-at-risk-our-local-focus%2F|||”]
and
Help Us — Help Women At-Risk in Local Communities all throughout the US!
[vc_empty_space]Note: We are committed to the privacy and complete recovery of the women we serve. Names, ages and specific details have been changed and/or substituted to guard the work God is doing in their lives.
