My name is Ashley. I am 29 years old, a mother of three boys, and I’m from Owensboro, Kentucky.

My early childhood began with stability and love, but everything changed when I was five years old. My father, a roofer, was tragically killed in a workplace accident. After his death, my mother fell into addiction and eventually abandoned my sisters and me. During that time, we experienced severe abuse that left deep emotional wounds rooted in fear, abandonment, and insecurity.

About a year later, my grandmother rescued us from that situation. I remember the overwhelming joy and relief of that day. However, even in a safer home, I struggled with feelings of rejection and worthlessness. I grew up believing I was unwanted, unlovable, and unseen.

By the age of 13, I began searching for identity and acceptance in destructive ways through relationships, substance use, and risky choices. Over the years, my life spiraled further out of control. I faced repeated jail time, drug court, foster care, group homes, homelessness, and multiple rehabilitation attempts. I attended nine different rehabs, yet nothing seemed to bring lasting change.

I reached a point of complete hopelessness. I struggled with severe addiction, including intravenous methamphetamine use, and survived multiple suicide attempts that landed me in mental health facilities. I was broken, exhausted, and at the lowest point of my life.

In that place of despair, I cried out to God with everything in me. I told Him that if He was real, He needed to reveal Himself to me.

Two days later, He did.

God encountered me in a powerful and undeniable way. In that moment, He transformed my heart and spoke truth over my life that I was seen, known, and clothed in righteousness through Jesus. For the first time, I understood who the Father truly was.

Since my salvation in 2016, my journey hasn’t been easy. I’ve faced spiritual battles and relapses, but every time I fell, God met me in the middle of the storm and rescued me again. My life has become a story of rescue and relentless love, the pursuit of a Savior who never stopped fighting for me.

In September 2021, I found myself in another dark place, once again trapped in addiction and hopelessness. But God intervened. He spoke clearly to my heart and told me He was raising me up for good, bringing healing to my soul and restoring what had been broken. He led me to Teen Challenge.

No one had ever told me about Teen Challenge. Jesus did.

During my time in the program, the Holy Spirit has met me in powerful ways, bringing deep healing, freedom, and restoration. God has even called me to stay an additional six months to complete an internship, using this season to prepare me for the calling He has placed on my life.

On September 13, I celebrated one year of sobriety. And in March, I will be stepping forward into the Teen Challenge College of Ministry in California, continuing to follow Jesus wherever He leads.

I love Jesus because He has loved me when I felt unlovable. His love is still changing me, and it always will.

Name and picture are pseudonyms used to protect the graduate’s identity.