Healing Hope Newsletter
November, 2009
Evelyn was a successful realtor in Florida when she wed a man who was an alcoholic—her second marriage. “After his death I became a fuzzy-thinking alcoholic myself and stayed drunk for three days after his funeral.” Confined in three mental hospitals and victimized by her business manager, she wound up penniless and living on the streets, sleeping wherever she could and foraging for food. At one point she was arrested for making a scene in a restaurant in a Manhattan restaurant and confined in a psychiatric hospital.
“I wanted to die.” One Sunday she tried to throw herself under a truck. “I wound up in the hospital, a candidate for amputation, but a Christian doctor decided he could save my leg. I underwent fourteen operations and spent almost a year in the hospital—but he was successful.”
After nine more months of treatment for bone infection, she learned to walk again.
In an effort to make amends, Evelyn let people know that she intended to pay her debts. She also published a letter in her local newspaper. “I turned to God when there was nowhere else to turn and my life began to change. I received the physical and mental help I so desperately needed. He provided a place to stay, clothes and friends…and employment as I could cope with it. Once employed, although there were different jobs, I was never without a means of support. He truly supplied all my needs.”
Stabilized, Evelyn made her way west, attending churches along the way. Christians she met befriended her, helped her find places to stay, employment and ways to grow in her Christian faith. She continued to talk with mental health professionals. As a result, God continued to help her grow in peace and stability.
When she was offered an opportunity to work with a Christian service organization, Evelyn knew she’d found her mission. In service to others who were down and out, she found the kind of fulfillment she’d been seeking for so long.
No longer did Evelyn “hear voices” because of her mental illness. Now, she was able to sense the Holy Spirit within and follow His leading a moment at a time.
*Evelyn is a pseudonym
Websites:
http://www.marionduckworthministries.com
http://www.healinghopeonline.com
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