Celebrating Jennifer H.

Gilgal’s First 2020 Graduate

It is hard for me to believe how quickly the time has flown since coming to Gilgal.  In the beginning, I felt like completing a year was an impossible feat.  And truthfully, it has only been in the last two months that I really buckled down and “got” what God was attempting to teach me all along.

You see, there are a lot of myths out there about addiction.  The truth is it can happen to anyone at any time – and I am living proof of that.

I was raised on Christian principles and even attended a Christian college where I received a nursing degree and became a registered nurse. I practiced nursing for 17 years until my license was restricted due to my alcohol addiction.

It’s funny that you can know a lot about God and still know nothing.  I was in the bible every day at nursing school. I did the required bible studies. But I didn’t know God personally.

Before coming to Gilgal, my life had spiraled out of control. I came in feeling alone and defeated.   It became one bad choice after another that caused me to lose everything – my nursing license, my self-respect, my high-rise apartment in Buckhead and my relationships with my family.  Ultimately I was literally sleeping on the streets of Atlanta wondering how I ever fell so far.

Today I know where I went wrong – I left God out.   I never made Him the center because I never really had a relationship with Him.  But today I do.

It’s been a year on this emotional roller coaster called Gilgal and its only been in the last couple of months that I finally realized that Jesus has been holding my hand the entire time.  He has never left me.

I thank God for the ability to notice and appreciate little things and find meaning and lessons in each of them.  This morning during praise and worship I noticed my graduation sign sitting on the stage that a peer had made for me.  It was so sweet that I almost cried.   I thought, ‘Wow. I am really graduating!  I am almost there.’

And then as soon as I left Gilgal to get on the train to go to work, I encountered a man who was obviously drunk.  I prayed for him and prayed for myself; thanking God that alcohol is no longer a part of my life.  I don’t have to live like that any longer.

After graduation, I am moving into Gilgal’s Phase 3 house.  My hope is that I can solidify all the good habits I’ve been learning to better prepare me to live on my own.  I want to get my nursing license back, and get my career helping others on track.

I also want to enjoy a healthy relationship with my family that has been estranged for far too long.  I see myself living independently here in Atlanta with my dog.

Change happens at Gilgal and it has happened in me.  I want to thank all of the people who have invested in me this past year.  You have all been a part of my Gilgal story and I am eternally grateful.  Please pray for me that I allow God to continue the work in me that He has begun.  He’s been so faithful!  He will do it as I let Him!

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of Jennifer’s journey.  We are so proud of her accomplishments.

Change Happens at Gilgal. Thank you for being a part of it!