Wendy had just gotten clean. Shortly after moving across the country with her 4-year-old daughter’s dad, he began using again, got caught, and Wendy lost everything.
“And I did not know God.”
“I didn’t pray. I knew of God, and I always had a thought in the back of my mind, even in my addiction, that there was something there… I looked up to the sky one day and prayed for God to take me out of this, the streets, the everything. Because I was so tired. I was strung out.”
Wendy was tired and knew she couldn’t run anymore. Her friends no longer welcomed her to stay on their couch. She was starting to become a liability more than anything, because she was on the run.
Shortly after she prayed that prayer, 4 marshals approached her and Wendy watched her partner get arrested in a van and her daughter taken away by CPS. Due to drugs in the home, Wendy was charged with neglect. At the same time, she received an eviction notice.
She stood in the middle of the road, with her two dogs, and wondered where she would go.
A family friend heard what was going on and drove up to Wendy. She simply said, “Hey- you’re going to need a place to stay. I’m going to let you stay with me on one condition. You need to go to church with me every Sunday.”
For three months, Wendy stayed with Carol. And for three months, Wendy cried in the back row of church. But eventually, Wendy started volunteering in the kid’s ministry at the church.
As she slowly got back on her feet, she starting working third shift. With no car, Carol took her and picked her up. “She never said no to me. If there was anything I needed to get to, she would take me: parenting classes, substance abuse classes, disorder therapy, visitations, anger management. She took me from Cedar Springs to Grand Rapids and back every single time. I honestly believe she was an angel God sent to me.”
Eventually Wendy found an apartment and found that she wanted to get involved in church. She had been going to “Lean On Me,” a ministry in Rockford and simply asked if there was a church around there.
“I still felt like I was going to burst into flames when I entered this church. Because I still felt the evil on me from my old life.”
Wendy continued going to church and ended up getting saved. After a year, she got her daughter back!
Life was beginning to move in a positive direction, when Wendy faced another eviction notice. After finding mold in her basement, she refused to pay rent. Her and her daughter ended up living in their car.
At the time she was working for a factory and began attending morning devotions, typically something only the “higher ups” did together. One morning, she vulnerably shared her struggles with her coworkers. Knowing she was currently homeless, someone who heard her story connected her to a local couple who regularly rented out their basement as a ministry.
Even though the couple was in California at the time, they immediately gave her keys and welcomed her into their home in Jenison.
This couple told Wendy about a place called Love, as they were very supportive of their mission. They encouraged her to call, with no ultimatum.
Wendy began the Life Skills Program, “As soon as I started, it was like God, the prayers, the people on the outside, supporters, I felt all of it. My life started changing dramatically.”
Wendy says the groceries helped her and Autumn drastically, and she continued finding better jobs, improving her life circumstances. Throughout the process, her peer support Stephanie was a perfect match. She helped Wendy in so many ways.
After Wendy graduated, she didn’t leave the program.
Like others, she wanted to continue being in community regardless of the physical resources. So every Thursday, she kept coming to class.
“That was my home. It was my community.”
After a staff member retired, Love was searching for a new Life Skills Leader. Wendy got the job.
For four years, Wendy walked with others as a Life Skills Leader and was able to share her incredible story to inspire others not to give up.
Wendy has since moved on from Love, working in other transformational ministries. But she had this to share:
“I feel like this is the only way that I can describe my relationship with the Lord. He is a presence that I know is there, but I am blindfolded, and He is holding my hand and leading me. I have absolutely no idea where I’m going or what door I’m going to go through, but I know that I trust the person holding my hand.”
To this day, the staff at Love still holds devotions each morning. And that’s because of Wendy.
Learn more about the Life Skills Program here.
We’ll be sharing 40 stories of transformation leading up to our 40th Celebration Block Party on September 24th. Please join us!