Rebecca's StoryThe oldest of four children, I was raised by my mother and grandmother. I had just about everything a girl could ask for;   everything except my father. For years I did not think much of it. As I got older though I began noticing things like daddy/daughter dances and fathers walking their daughters down the aisle at their weddings. Those were traditions I would never get to experience. I started feeling a void in my life that I had never noticed before.

At sixteen, I began trying to fill this void with different men, and by eighteen I was looking to not just to men, but also to drugs. In 2007, I had a beautiful baby boy. With his birth, I thought I had someone to love and that I finally felt complete. I was not using drugs and was not looking for love in men, I thought I had all I needed.

A couple years later, a “friend” introduced me to a little blue pill called Roxy 30. All it took was that one pill and I was hooked. For a while I maintained working and being a mother, even though I was doing pills. In no time, though, my addiction took over my life. I stopped working and stopped being a mother to my son. I began using IV drugs and quickly moved from doing pills to methamphetamines. I was avoiding my family, stealing, selling drugs, and I started the vicious cycle of being in and out of jail.

In August 2015, I found myself at my lowest point. I was more broken and lost than ever before. I was in jail, had lost custody of my son and had given up on life. I knew something had to change if I was going to survive. I had heard about Teen Challenge and I asked my family to check into it. In just a few weeks, I was on my way to Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland.

Since coming to Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland, I have found what I had been searching for to fill that void, which is the love of the Lord. When the staff member took me to get my health exam, I unexpectedly found out that I am pregnant. I will be transferring from Teen Challenge of the Upper Cumberland to a maternity Teen Challenge center that provides specialized care for pregnant women. This amazing staff and group of residents have quickly become like family to me, and I am sad to be leaving them. But, I am excited to see what God has in store for me and my children.