A young lady to be admired.

Day 2 on this fear thing. I need to try and be quick ( not easy for me to do ), as I will be heading into the city today to do a visit at Teen Challenge, an amazing place of healing and recovery ( they have an incredible success rate at helping so many find freedom from the grasp of drugs and alcohol ).

Speaking of Teen Challenge... that was one fear that I tackled last summer. I had felt a nudging for a long time to reach out and become a mentor in some capacity. When I heard that Teen Challenge needed mentors, I applied. I was really nervous about it. Would I be accepted, would I be good enough, could I really be a mentor...I mean who was I to think of myself as "mentor quality"?? Well, I was accepted and have loved every minute of being a mentor, learning so much more about the wonderful program, and of course, being able to come along side this amazing young lady during her journey back to wholeness.

Oh, I have rambled off topic. Back to what I had started to write about...the young lady that I will call "T". She is such gem and a very sweet soul. I can't go into her story much, but I will tell you it's a powerful one. She looks nothing like she did just 8 short months ago. The darkness is gone, the addiction has lost it's strong hold in her life. She has a glow about her as she explores this new life without drugs and her scary lifestyle. She is blossoming in her creativity and her personality as she begins to learn about who she really is, and how much God loves her. She can see a future for herself filled with hope...but it wasn't easy getting here. She had to let go of huge fears. She left her family many, many states away and came here to Minnesota with nothing but a broken heart and a very broken life. She hasn't seen her family since the day that she arrived at Teen Challenge and fights the loneliness of missing them each and every day. She could leave at any of those lonely moments since the doors aren't locked on the inside at Teen Challenge...you are free to leave at any time. But, she knows this program has saved her life, and she knows that the door to get back in would be locked, so the risk of leaving would be far from worth it. So, to recap, "T" is such an inspiration. She took this big risk, she fights the loneliness and the fear of what lies ahead for her in this new way of life. She tackles each day as it really is without the crutch of drugs or alcohol to mask her stress, and fear, and pain. She is learning to trust God in all that she does...every single moment and it's beautiful. Her story reminds me of one of my favorite verses that helps me to have hope and to not give into fear:

For I know the plans I have for you (declares the Lord), plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

I am just so proud of her and honored that I get to be a part of her life. Uh-oh, it's almost time to go and I am still sitting here in my jammies typing....all for now!