Survivor Story: Anna

My life before coming to The WellHouse was a constant tornado spinning out of control. I was buried alive in brokenness and loneliness. I had lost all hope and was living in complete darkness. I was living on the hood of an abandoned car in the middle of my hometown. I was running from an abuser, a trafficker, and honestly, I was running from myself.

My childhood holds some of my most precious memories. I was raised by two amazing Christian parents and we were very active in our church. I was spoiled rotten and that was a major part of my problem. My high school days were spent on youth trips and lock ins. My life was all rainbows and butterflies, or so I thought.

I would have never imagined my life going in the direction that it did. Looking back on it now, I cannot believe that I allowed myself to become the person that I did. I wasted fifteen years of my life always chasing something or someone to fill the empty void in my heart.

Addiction to any substance I could get my hands on became my new normal. I lost lifelong friends and no longer had custody of my children. I was even involved in a car wreck that almost took my life, but none of that was enough to stop the path of destruction that I was going down. If anything, it only added more fuel to the fire.

It got to a point where my sadness turned to bitterness, and I had so much hate in my heart, I couldn’t see the good in anything or in anyone. Drugs and self-will had controlled my life for so long, and I moved from one toxic relationship to the next. I stayed in abusive relationships that I knew would one day kill me. I believed the ones who claimed to love me, really did love me. One bad decision followed by another bad decision. I finally came to the end of myself, and reached out to my Mom for help. I knew I had to do something immediately or I would end up dead.

I cried out to God for help and The WellHouse was the answer to that prayer. The very moment I pulled onto the property, I knew this was where my new life would begin. I was completely willing and completely ready for God to transform my life. There wasn’t a single detail of the journey that I wanted to miss out on. I surrendered my way of thinking to Him (Romans 2:12), and I could see evidence of God’s abundant grace and mercy all over my life.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 2:12

I trusted the process and took advantage of all the resources offered to me. I found total freedom in Christ and found complete healing from the ultimate Healer. I learned how to love myself again, once I found myself again. I have been able to allow others to love me and learned how to fully trust again. I have experienced complete restoration in my family and seen severed lifelong friendships come back together again. Most importantly, I have a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My life today is one of restoration and redemption. I am a full-time employee of The WellHouse. God placed me to work in the very ministry that He used to save my life. I will forever be grateful and overwhelmed at just how much my heavenly Father loves me and cares for me. I am forever grateful to The WellHouse and all of the staff members who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. They always encouraged me to keep pushing on days that I felt like giving up. The emptiness in my heart has been filled with the love of Jesus and I yearn to know Him more every day.