I was raised in a well-respected God-fearing home in Los Angeles, CA, with everyone in our church circles thinking we were the ideal family since my father was a Pastor. However, there were very dark things happening in our home and at the age of five I was molested by the man that was supposed to protect me and love me, and who eventually raped me at 13 years old. I eventually ran away and went down a downward spiral, living a damaging lifestyle of drinking and risky behavior. I was later raped two more times which led me to numb my pain by using methamphetamine. I felt broken, disgusted, used, unloved, abused and abandoned. I had hit rock bottom and wanted to end my life. The night I had planned to end my life two men broke into my apartment, and one pulled a gun to my head. He was high on phencyclidine (PCP); however I showed no fear since I thought this was my opportunity to die. At that very moment I experienced a vivid vision of my mother weeping. I thought she saw me dead, and I could see her anguish in her weeping. A tear came out of one of my eyes. At that moment, the other man pulled him away. The vision of my mother and that one tear saved my life that night. I later found out from my mother that she had been woken up with an urgency to plead to God for my life. The power of prayer of a mother for her daughter is what has me here today.
I still went through my own process afterwards, trying to create my own path that led me to divorce and being a single mother. However, eventually I finally surrendered to my faithful heavenly Father, Jesus Christ who adopted me, taught me my value, and gave me confidence to return to college and came to find my calling coming alongside women.
Today I have 27 years free from alcohol and methamphetamine. I know the unconditional love of my heavenly father. I call him my ABBA , the apple of his eye , my provider, my protector, my counselor, and my Rock of Ages. He is making me His fearless masterpiece; He has used my pain and shame to help walk others through their restoration process. I have worked with women battling addiction for over 20 years, and 12 of those years as a Career and Education Case manager for a maternity shelter in Orange County, CA journeying with women towards higher education and workforce development. I am currently married and blessed with a blended family and just relocated to New York city with my husband. God is especially my redeeming, restoring and rebuilding Father in this new season, I have seen and know he can be trusted. His plans are Hope and a future and I can’t wait to see what my Abba continues to do in and for me.
What is my favorite scripture ?
Isaiah 43:18-19
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
What book is on my nightstand ? Holy Bible (in my favorite color purple)
What’s my favorite memory at Hoving House ? When dating my husband, I went to share my story at Chapel night at the Pasadena location. That was the first time my now husband heard my story that night at chapel. He later told me he parked and said, “Lord let me accept what I hear today.”
What is your favorite food? Italian – specifically Chicken Fettuccine & Chicken Piccata ( Italian)
What makes me laugh? Watching a funny movie with my husband