“He directs my steps”: Glenda’s path to restoration

Glenda is currently staying at the Crisis Shelter for Women and Children as a Resident Volunteer.

Last winter, her life went quickly from bad to worse, and she had nothing left to her name but her car. She was delivering for Uber Eats to get by. One night, she decided to do one last delivery before the ice set in for the night. On her way up the South Hill, she encountered no ice. She made the delivery successfully, and less than five minutes later, on her way back down the hill, it was frozen over. She lost control of her car and ran head on into a pole, ruining her car and sustaining life-threatening injuries.

“I told them to let me go, that I had nothing to live for. But they said ‘God has a plan for you.’”

Glenda was rushed to the hospital where the staff did all they could to save her. “I almost died a few times at the hospital, but they kept bringing me back. I told them to let me go, that I had nothing to live for. But they said ‘God has a plan for you.’” Glenda says she thought, “If God has a plan for me, it better be good.”

Once she was finally stabilized, the hospital suggested she go to UGM. They even kept her a few days longer than they needed to, in order to ensure she would be strong enough to do the required chores. Once she arrived at the Crisis Shelter, former guest-turned-staff-member Heather Pollock checked her in, and said, “Hope starts here.” Glenda says she wasn't feeling it. She shrugged her shoulders and thought, “Yeah, okay.” 

Miraculously though, after just 10 days at the shelter, she gave her life to Christ at a chapel service. The pastor asked everyone to join in the salvation prayer, and Glenda did it out of respect, but immediately after, she says she took it to heart. The next day, she asked staff for a Bible, which she read - front to back - in just nine weeks.

The Holy Spirit was leading her on a different path.

Having arrived at the shelter in Jan 2022, she joined First Steps and moved into UGM Women's LIFE Recovery at Anna Ogden Hall in April, where she stayed until August. She struggled in program, though, partially because she'd never battled a chemical dependency like the other women had in her phase, and also because the Holy Spirit was leading her on a different path. She was praying for God to open or close doors to show her where she needed to go, and in August, He closed the door for program, and she returned to the Crisis Shelter. She says it felt like coming home. “I feel useful here,” she says.

It's unusual for guests to exit program and find their stride at the Crisis Shelter, but from time to time, it is exactly what someone needs. A full recovery program is beneficial for so many people, but even our guests who opt out of program are ensconced in the safe, healing environment that's cultivated at our shelters.

Glenda says her time in program was far from wasted: “I learned amazing tools in phase 1.” She told us about a moment at Anna Ogden Hall that really sticks out. She was studying with a phase-mate when the Holy Spirit revealed to her, “that something horrible must of happened to my mom, I don’t know what it was, but for her to treat me the way she did, something horrible must have happened. In that moment I forgave her and so much anger left me.”

“I see His hand everywhere, every day. He shows me He is real.”

That crucial piece of understanding and forgiveness has taken Glenda a long ways in her healing journey. Knowing that her mother had not intended to hurt her, but was, herself, hurting, has helped Glenda make new life decisions on a foundation of respect for herself instead of defensiveness and pain. But most importantly, she says, it is the reality that God is good and that He loves her that has transformed her life. “I see His hand everywhere, every day. He shows me He is real.”

After spending several months as a Resident Volunteer at the intake desk, today Glenda volunteers full-time in the kitchen and is loving it. Resident Volunteers are provided case management, counseling, an extended stay, and invaluable on-the-job work experience that can help them with future job applications. During her time at Anna Ogden Hall, Glenda learned about coding and web development, and at the Crisis Shelter, she's discovered a knack for it. She has enrolled in an online course in web development, and is hoping to find employment at a Christian agency when her course is complete this summer.

All of our staff at all four of our shelters have just one goal in mind: help every guest find and follow the path that God has for them. Every path is a little different, but we are here for the long haul, sharing the hope of the gospel and providing every resource needed to build a better future. 

“I had no idea a place like this existed!”

“I had no idea a place like this existed!” says Glenda. “God is everywhere, it has been so good being here.” She says her main priority now is yielding to God. “He directs my steps”