My name is Lissa and as a child I didn’t feel that I fit in very much. I was sexually abused and thought that was love. As I grew up I tried to be accepted by different groups of people and still felt like the “odd one out.” Then I got married and moved to Texas and that’s where my spiral happened. Drinking and drugs lessened the pain of abuse, yet at the same time, anger and confusion about it all kept me in my sick way of thinking I was not good for anything. I stole to support my habit and even though I got divorced, I thought it was all “him”.
Then there was husband #2- same thing, only worse. This time we began dealing in drugs to support our habit. When I think back to who I became, I realize that I was helpless. Yet God knew I was not hopeless. I lost everything…well, actually I gave away everything because of my addiction. My family didn’t know how bad it was.
A man I met told me to go to a 12-step recovery meeting, and even though it took me 30 days to get to my first one, I knew there was something about the people there. I was like them. I started school to become an addiction counselor and decided that I needed help. So I walked away from the counseling and began intensive outpatient therapy 4 nights a week, four hours a night, for 6 months. My life has been so blessed and God has walked me through everything so He could use me for His greater good.
In 1996, when my daughter was two and I was in the middle of divorcing her birth father, I was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma brain tumor. I had to learn to walk, talk, and eat again, as well as adjusting to not hearing out of my right ear. The best thing that ever happened to me was having my brain tumor. It humbled me. God showed me mercy and grace while carrying me through it. I’ve had other health issues and wouldn’t change anything because it’s all about helping others and letting them know that God will use them to help others. I am now remarried, and my husband and I pray together and share our life in Christ together. Today I am a worthy child of our Great King Jesus. I have been blessed to manage a recovery home for women for over 15 years and God is shining there. Your music has been a mainstay for me. I’ve been writing music for a few years now and finally have the self-esteem to try and put it into action without fear of not being good enough. Yes, today I am good enough because God has been strong enough for me. I didn’t think I had anything worthy to share and God told me that was a lie. I believe God. Thank you so much.
