Autumn
Lioness & the Lamb Home
Autumn came to our doors almost two years ago after her husband died by suicide.
Horrifically, their oldest of four kids found him. She was only five.
Autumn was already intimately familiar with suffering, having endured horrific physical and sexual abuse as a child. She learned at an early age to numb any pain she felt. So she handled her husband’s death the way she would any other trauma … desensitizing herself with drugs.
“I didn’t have time to process my grief,” she recalls. “I honestly never knew I needed to heal.”
Then one night, Autumn was at a crossroads.
Her friend gave her a handful of pills. But instead of spiraling to rock bottom, God’s Spirit took root.
Seeds of faith planted in Autumn’s heart as a little girl began to grow straight through her heavy drug use, through the pain she’d endured, through the dysfunctional ways she coped.
Shortly after her prayer, Autumn saw a post for Hoving Home on social media.
She called, shared her story, and for the first time in our history, we invited a mom with four children to our Lioness and the Lamb Home.
Even though she didn’t know how she’d get to New York from the Midwest, God worked out those details for Autumn, too. One grandmother helped her move her belongings into storage, and another grandmother purchased plane tickets for Autumn and her children!
While staying at our Home was an adjustment, “They loved us through it,” Autumn shares. “My kids were mean, they didn’t sit at meals, but the people at Hoving Home poured grace and love into our lives.”
For the first time in her life, Autumn was allowed to heal and simply sit with God’s love.
Last Christmas, Autumn and her beautiful children were able to experience the true joy of Christ coming to earth to rescue, save, and redeem! It was the first Christmas Autumn remembers being sober.
“I was present,” Autumn shares of spending Christmas with her children. And because their mama was present, Autumn’s sweet children’s eyes lit up at seeing their mom at her very best, truly the way God intended. Even if they aren’t old enough to articulate it, they are proud, they feel secure, and there is joy and peace in their hearts!
“I am thankful to Hoving Home, because they provided a safe place for my family to come heal and restore and find hope and life,” Autumn shares.
What a beautiful Christmas miracle for this special family!
Want to read more stories like this one? Sign up here to bring more hope to your inbox.
Help provide the life-changing resources that make these transformations possible.