My name is Rachel Floyd and I have 3 children – a son, Devyn, age 21, and twin girls Alexandrya and Alexys, 18. I am the second of four girls in my family.
I was raised in a broken home. My mom and dad divorced when I was 11 and my mother remarried right away that same year. My sisters and I felt like we only had each other so in our teen years we began to look for that love and comfort that we were not receiving at home in other things and people. That is when I started to drink alcohol occasionally.
When I was age 15 my dad was killed instantly in a car accident. That was very hard for me to understand why he had to go that way. I began to go deeper and deeper into finding comfort in my friends and partying.
I had my son at 19 and at 23 I gave birth to twin girls. Their father and I married a month after the girls were born. Through all of this I was sober. But after only two years of marriage we were divorced. I then lost my career and I turned to alcohol. I was eligible for unemployment for almost four years so I did not even try to get a job. It was at that point that I would wake up drinking and I would continuously drink until I went to sleep.
In 2013, I had dangerously high blood pressure, which caused me to have a hemorrhage on my brain and I had to have surgery right away. The doctors gave me a 20% chance to live. I was in the hospital for 30 days, most of which was in intensive care. I was discharged from the hospital to a rehabilitation center where I had to learn to walk, talk and eat again. I made a full recovery and I now know that my second chance at life was a blessing from God.
I was only home for about two months when I began drinking again. This time it was heavier and more often. I would drink and then pray, drink and then pray. Finally, I reached out to God when I felt like I had no other option. Now, I know that GOD IS OUR ONLY OPTION. I knew that he saved my life once and I was ready this time to allow Him once again to take control.
I started my journey toward the cross in December 2014 when I was admitted into a Teen Challenge center. I graduated that program in December 2015 and served there as an intern until March 2016. At that time I went back home to Ohio, but then I felt in my heart that God had called me again to serve at a Teen Challenge ministry.
I am blessed to say that now I am serving on the team at Teen Challenge Upper Cumberland as an Intern. I praise God for what He has done in my life! God has done some very amazing things in my life, but in the last two years, God has helped me to open my spiritual eyes and ears and He has anointed the words that come out of my mouth. I am here today a changed person and I owe all the Glory to God!
I am so excited to see how God is going to use me for His glory to help other women that were struggling just like me. There is HOPE and I am excited to show people that the only way to FREEDOM is through our Lord Jesus Christ. The verse I stand on is Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be afraid for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
We are glad to welcome Rachel to the Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland ministry team! She is a blessing, as she is helping other ladies find freedom in Christ!