3 min read
A Warm Haven: Stephanie's Story
This winter season, nothing means more to those without a home than a warm meal, safety and shelter, and the promise of a brighter future. Your...
By Merrily Brast, Staff Writer
At the beginning of 2013, Shannon Duval was sitting in a jail cell. She had lost her children, her job, her home and her car. The truth, however, is that she was in prison long before she was arrested.
“I had used drugs in the past, and then I had three years clean and sober.” When she relapsed, her addiction escalated fast and hard. “It only took eight months before I had no control. I was a prisoner to it completely.”
Sitting in that cell with nothing, it dawned on Shannon that she was exactly where she needed to be.
“I knew that it was all for a reason, and that reason was to start over – start a new life,” she said.
A counselor from the Center for Women & Children visited the jail while Shannon was there and described UGM’s approach to recovery.
“It wasn’t the shortest program…It was supposedly the hardest…but something just kept telling me that’s where I had to go, that’s what I had to do.”
Her time in prison became the turning point in her life—the catalyst for transformation. Her desires were changing, and her life looked different.
Shannon offers one explanation for the radical changes that have taken place in her life. “My only explanation is that Jesus is guiding me…helping me make the right decisions…I’m still the same person, but I’m like a better version of that person.”
Shannon has finished UGM Recovery. She has her children back, a job, a place of her own. That’s not to say life is easy.
“I still get thoughts of wanting to use. I still get thoughts of wanting to have ‘fun.’ I still get all those little tugs from the enemy that wants to pull me in the wrong direction.”
Nonetheless, Shannon continues saying no to her addictions because what she has now is so much better than what she had before.
“I have hope. I have love. I have a future, and really that’s what I was looking for that I could never find. That’s what matters most.”
Shannon and her children experienced new life. This Easter, encourage someone in the new life God offers through Jesus. Download our free greeting card.
6 min read
Christ’s Birth—The Fountain of Great Joy to All People
Sonny Westbrook, UGM Staff Chaplain: December 24, 2024
It is the Christmas season of the year again and I want to remind us all within the UGM family, that our Lord was born into this world to bring to...
3 min read
Longing for Community
Every year, the holiday season seems to start earlier—decorations go up and purchases are made in preparation for Christmas long before December....
Katie: One Mom's Journey of Restoration
Lynn Yount, UGM Volunteer : December 27, 2016
The December Mission News focused on one of the happiest by-products of recovery: children being reunited with their moms, and not merely being...
Breaking the Generational Cycle TOGETHER
Genevieve Gromlich, former Content and Communications Manager : December 31, 2020
Stories of family dysfunction, neglect and abuse come to our doors every day. Many people are caught in generational cycles of sin and suffering,...
Breaking up with Addiction: a letter from a resident
Jessica Morgan, Director of Marketing and Communications : October 19, 2023
UGM program resident Jessika wrote a “breaking up with addiction letter” and shared at the fall LIFE Recovery Phase Promotion. Women receiving...