From Hopeless to Glory

At 16, Julia found herself pregnant, and the father of her child was going to prison. It was just another step in the wrong direction her life had taken. It was just two years earlier that she had felt so alone, so lost. Her parents had divorced and her mother was a meth addict. Julia immersed herself in the party scene, hanging around with the wrong crowds in high school, and started doing meth herself, even doing it with her mother. She couldn’t go more than a few days without it, and during her nine years of addiction she gave birth to three more children. At times she was homeless, and her situation seemed to be completely hopeless. She knew something was missing in her life that the drugs couldn’t fill, and she realized if she didn’t stop the downward spiral she was in, she would lose her children.

So one day–she remembers it like it was yesterday–she locked herself in the bathroom, dropped to her knees and cried out in desperation to Jesus, “God! I need you to take away my addiction. But please, I beg you not to take my children from me!” It was the very next day that a woman from CPS came knocking at her door, explaining that her children would need to be taken from her home if she didn’t get help within two weeks. Julia knew instantly it was God’s grace and mercy at work in her life. With the help of her stepmother, she sought the help she needed, began attending church, and she married the man she was living with. So began her journey of recovery with Christ as the King of her life. Her husband would eventually accept Christ himself and get baptized.

Today she is attending her first SoCal Harvest Crusade! She’s wanted to attend one for years but couldn’t make the trip until now. She’s looking forward to the music because she believes worship is one of the biggest and best ways she can show her love for Jesus. She also has something else to celebrate–her 18 year old son is graduating from boot camp and will be serving in the US Navy. Julia is so thankful to God for turning her life around and she wants to give glory to Him every day.