Family is Worth Fighting For
Lisa talks with passion about the ministry God has given her at Open Door Mission. “What I love about the New Life Recovery Program is that there’s not an unrealistic pressure to get through it. People have time to see the miracle God is doing in their hearts unfold.”
When Lisa encounters families on the job at the Lydia House, she speaks from experience. Fifteen years ago, she was recovering from a life of abuse and addiction as a young mom with her own family at Lydia House. Today she knows that God is using that experience, from a tough time in her own life, to help other families tackle the challenges they face.
Lisa sees herself every day in the women who have suffered in abusive relationships. “It can be so difficult to get through to someone who is in an abusive relationship. For me, the relationship warped my understanding of love. I had to respect the fact that I had worth, and because of that, I needed to be treated better. It’s the same reminder I give to so many of the women at the Lydia House. ‘You’re worth more. Especially in Christ, you’re worth more.”
Lisa sees families as people worth fighting for. “We have to draw the line and say ‘No more!’ to the enemy,” Lisa says. “We can’t let our families fall apart around us.
“So many of the children we see in Lydia House come out of a life of insecurity and fear,” Lisa says. “They have roots of rejection, abandonment, mistrust – and even hate – that define their relationships with their family members and others.
“My own kids hated me for a while. I had let them down so often. I’d choose alcohol and meth over them, and they knew it. But the whole situation got better when they realized that my reason for coming to the Lydia House was to get help. I had to pray that God would change my kids’ hearts. It took time, but they began to forgive me.
“I know from my own family experience how powerful forgiveness can be. As hard as it might be for children to believe, the power of forgiveness that they hold is mighty. It’s amazing. And God uses it to restore families in miraculous ways.”
Lisa will soon join her new husband in Maryland, where they hope to continue her ministry to families and women in crisis. Thank you for your support that has had such a positive impact on Lisa, both as a student and as staff, for so many years!
Read more stories like these and Mission happenings HERE.
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