When Donna was six years old, she was adopted by parents who were devoted to going to church and teaching their kids about Jesus.

On the outside, family life appeared normal, but on the inside, Donna struggled.

Donna had deep feelings of abandonment. She struggled with accepting love.

Donna escaped to friends’ houses or her room.

In middle school, the most important goal of Donna’s was fitting in. The void she felt in her life began to get filled by drugs and even alcohol. She and her friends hated life and authority. Donna’s rebellion led to deep disrespect to her mom. Inside, she was simply coping … angry at her birth parents … feeling rejected … blaming God for her circumstances.

When Donna was in her early 20s, she gave birth to her son. But she wasn’t in a place to care for him. She spiraled into a cocaine addiction, eventually living in a crack house.

Years passed before Donna’s parents convinced her to enter a detox center. She was so weak; she spent the first couple of days in a wheelchair. But in God’s faithfulness, Donna got stronger, eventually joining a faith-based program for women living with addiction.

Donna surrendered her life to Jesus and received His forgiveness. “He saved me from the deadly, uncompromising grip of addiction,” she proclaims!

After completing the program, Donna earned a two-year Bible school degree in Christian Addiction Counseling. Today, she works full-time in ministry, helping others struggling with addiction!

“My son is now 28 and my parents are aging,” Donna shares. “At first, my mom used to refer to me as ‘Donna’ around my son. But this year, she referred to me as his mom.”

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