June 2016 Newsletter

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Searching For Something Missing

Denise has left a string of broken relationships in the wake of seeking contentment in life. She even doubted her own soundness of mind for a while. She started wandering, traveling about, searching for something that was missing. Things really began to fall apart three years ago, when she lost a job and moved in with her mother. She got into an argument with her mother, then moved out and lived in her own small pickup truck. A man friend put her up in a motel by herself for a week. She said, “Then he abandoned me. I was expecting something more. I was on my own then. I left the motel. I didn’t know about the homeless shelter. There were lots of moves, rooms with friends, a couch.” There were sporadic jobs. Then a domestic violence incident with a boyfriend really set her life in turmoil. Her means of finding contentment was the source of greatest disappointment, abuse and fear. Three months later, she married a man that she considered to be safe, an old friend. Still, life was unstable. He drank, was rowdy, unemployed, homeless.

In mid-December, Denise arrived at Samaritan Inn. Ten days later, at a different location, he threw a cell phone, breaking a window in her pickup. She had spent those first ten days here diligently looking for employment. Her work experience is in serving tables in restaurants. She landed such a position by persistently returning to selected restaurants, showing the managers her sincerity. As she was beginning a new opportunity at success, her husband was leaving the state. She was alone again.

Of Samaritan Inn, she said, “Coming here has been my godsend. I have totally turned around. I finally realized that it was time to take care of things, where I didn’t have to depend on anybody. I am different here. I chose to take the higher road to do what needed to be done, to take care of me, to get a job, save money. When the time comes, I will be able to make it on my own. Samaritan Inn allowed me to do that. I am taking care of business, my business.”

The difference here she said, “I read my Bible every day. I write down every Scripture given in chapel. I think that is where I have gotten a grip on life, by letting the Lord back into my life. I was brought up in the Lord. I just didn’t know what it meant. Coming here and going to chapel gave me the chance to rediscover what it means, Who He is and what He can do for me. Its a whole new identity. I am in awe. My favorite Scripture verse is John 3:16, ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.’”

As of this writing, Denise has found an apartment and will be moving out soon. She said, “I want to give my thanks and gratitude for being there for me. I probably would not have a job or be here, and still be living in my truck.”