Chelsea

SOMEONE INTRODUCED ME TO METHAMPHETAMINES AND MY LIFE TOOK AN EVEN BIGGER DOWNFALL. DUE TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE I LOST MY TWO CHILDREN WHO WERE NINE AND FOUR.

I started drinking at 14 but wasn’t using drugs. However what got me into opiates were the pain killers the doctor prescribed after I had a C-section for my first child. This led to my five-year drug addiction. Someone introduced me to methamphetamines and my life took an even bigger downfall. Due to domestic violence I lost my two children who were nine and four. At the same time I received a case plan from the Child Protective Services that said if I finished rehab I could have my children back. But addiction took over and I went through four rehabs, failing each one. In the court’s eyes I was moving further and further away from being reunited with my children.

When I joined The Bridge on July 22, 2016, God broke the camel’s back of my failed life. The fact that I even heard about The Bridge was a miracle. A girl in the last rehab I was in told me about it. I knew The Bridge was my last chance to be reunited with my children. I was also without a driver’s license and my car had been impounded. The court gave up on me. Two months into The Bridge program, my social worker came with paper work. Reunification with my children was terminated and the court wanted me to think about who would adopt them. The fact that they’d been transferred from San Luis Obispo to Pacific Grove, literally four blocks from where I was living with The Bridge, made this even more of a disaster.

A court hearing was set to finalize this tragedy. My children would be gone. I was four months into The Bridge by then. Mike and Michele Casey prayed with me and came with me to the court hearing. Mike encouraged me with a verse in the Bible about how God can change even the hearts of judges. Our prayers were answered. The judge decided that if I stuck with The Bridge, my children could be reunified with me. The social worker said she’d never seen a judge change a recommendation.

So began a whirlwind of blessings. As the months progressed I could see my children unsupervised during the day, then overnight. I got my driver’s license back, The Bridge gave me a van so I could drive to work. A court hearing in April continued this amazing progress I was making with a projected date of July 7, 2017, to be finally reunited with my children. Miracle after miracle continued. I got housing on July 6 and was reunited with my kids on July 7.

I know it was my relationship with God that was the ultimate help in this entire scenario. I am now working at a Second Chance Thrift Store. I’m a mom again, dropping the kids off at a summer camp, picking them up, making dinner. My hope is that this testimony of God’s work in my life will inspire others.