Kimberly
My name is Kimberly and I turn twenty-nine years old this month. I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, where I enjoyed growing up in a large family as I am the youngest of five children. There was something going on at all times and life was pretty chaotic as you can imagine. A traumatic event took place in my life when I was thirteen years old that left me looking for love and acceptance in all the wrong places. My home that I once felt secure and safe became an empty and desolate place and for the first time I experienced loneliness. I entered high school feeling very insecure and unstable. I immediately got involved with the social scene and became very rebellious. I became dependent on alcohol, smoking cigarettes, men, and other people. In 2005, I graduated high school and I moved to Myrtle Beach, SC. This would be the beginning of a major downward spiral in my life. I could not get
away from the party life.
I began experiencing heavier drugs and the world began to consume me. I believed the lie that I would always feel alone and so I did everything I could to prevent that feeling of abandonment again. I dove into an 8.5 year codependent relationship that eventually turned into a period of engagement that eventually fell apart. I became very self-reliant and I was determined to make something of myself. I strived to prove myself to my family. I had nice things, great jobs, all the world had to offer, yet I was still so dissatisfied. I was raised in the church yet I found myself in a jail cell more than once. My life grew out of control as the guilt and shame of my lifestyle grew stronger. When the world got tough, I would run to the church. When things did not go the way I had planned in the church, I turned back to the world. I hurt myself, my family, and I kept turning my back on the one who loved me the most, Jesus. I have never been married nor have any children while this vicious cycle went on for ten years. I finally came to a place in my life where all I could do was look up. As I came to a place of surrender a close family friend told me about The House of Hope. I am so grateful to share that after thirteen long, hard, humbling months this process has been one of the most amazing years of my life. My relationship with the Lord has been restored and he has completely transformed me. Through this journey, he has given me this scripture below to stand on. I will continue to hold onto it to remind me of all He has done, where He has brought me from, and where He is taking me. I give Him all the praise and all the glory!