Christmas Joy

Emily woke up feeling pain all over. Sleeping in a car does that to you. The windows were steamed up and it was cold. It was winter in Eau Claire, and Emily was homeless. For three years she lived this way. On very cold nights, she would go with a friend into someone’s house to party, drink and take drugs. Mostly, she wanted to get out of the cold, but drinking was her life.

She was hopeless, and she knew it. She had once been a good worker, but all motivation to work and take care of herself was gone. She thought about doing something criminal to go to jail, where at least she would be warm and have three meals to eat.

How far she had come from her innocent days as a 9-year-old! She remembered waiting for the church bus to come along and pick her up. Her parents had stopped going to church long ago, but she liked it. She read her Bible and prayed. Those were good days.

Those days ended at age 12 when she started drinking. Her friends were doing it, so she did too. It was normal after a while, so normal that she showed up for school in the 10th grade intoxicated. It was serious. Her parents didn’t seem to care too much when she was taken the 50 miles to Eau Claire for counseling.

She was alone in a different city and desperate. But she got a job and started to put a life together. Six years later, the company where she worked failed, and the only job she could find was bar tending. Because of her childhood introduction to alcohol, she easily fell into a drinking habit.

Before long, she lost her job and apartment. She lived with family for a while, but without a job or money, they eventually told her to leave. She was homeless, sleeping in her car and partying from house to house.

Thankfully, she was arrested. Jail time gave her a chance to sober up and come to her senses. Upon release she came to Hope Gospel Mission to stay at the Ruth House, our home for single women.

One year later, life for Emily is better than it has ever been. Her child-like love for Jesus has returned stronger and deeper than ever. She has joined a local church and likes the people. God has planted her in a pleasant place. Peace has come. She looks ahead, confident of the promises God has given her.

One of her favorite verses is Romans 15:13 … “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Eric left home after successfully graduating from high school with honors. He was out to enjoy himself. That meant the party life, which he had experienced in middle school and high school. He expected it would just get better as he moved on.

But the drugs and alcohol that came with his focus on pleasure took hold of him. He wasn’t working to build a career and a good life ... he was working to provide drugs that he had come to depend on. That led to losing one job after another and moving place to place.

His family was worried. They could see his demise. This nice young man was losing his health and his self-respect, stealing and sleeping homeless in bus stations — wherever he could.

Time in prison sobered Eric up. After fifteen months he left, wanting to settle into a quieter life. He was close to thirty years old and his life had no real meaning. So, he worked and walked the line of good behavior, living with his aunt and uncle.

Old habits die hard. Before long Eric was drinking a little and then a lot. He fell quickly, even overdosing on drugs.

That convinced him he couldn’t “white-knuckle” his way to the good life, holding on with all his strength. Eric needed help beyond his own. Hope Gospel Mission was the place.

“You start from ground zero. They provide everything you need. Even toothbrushes.”

Looking around he could see others who had been here for a year. “They were where I wanted to be. They were working good jobs with their own place and a car. They were happy and part of a church. I wanted all that, and I knew I couldn’t get it myself.”

Eric happily became part of the Hope Gospel community. At this time of writing, he has been here just six weeks. For the first time since a child, he has started going to church and playing guitar in the worship team. Last week he began reading the Bible, starting in Genesis, and Mark, in the New Testament.

“This is all new to me,” he said. “And I want it.”