Gangster to Grace 

Questions about identity arose early in Rhett’s life. When he was seven years old, he learned that the man his mother was married to was not his biological father. Rhett learned who his biological dad was, and met him several times, but didn’t have a close relationship with him. 

His stepfather was in the Army, so the family moved from Kentucky to Germany to Texas. Rhett’s mom and stepdad eventually divorced and the family moved back to Henry County, Kentucky. His mom loved him and his two siblings and at times worked two jobs to provide for them. Living in a single parent home, he had a lot of freedom after school. He spent time with older kids in town who introduced him to alcohol, weed, and partying around the age of 12. Read More…

Furious to Favored  

Growing up I was a good and talented kid, born into an amazing family. My father and mother are loving and hard-working people. They provided my every need emotionally and financially. My siblings and I always knew we were loved and cared for. My entire family are all firm believers in Jesus Christ. As a child I went to church with them almost every Sunday, sometimes even walking there by myself. I always had a curious mind and around the age of twelve, I became an avid student of science, history, culture, and religion. I don’t recall specifically what caused me to question my faith and turn away from God, but I lacked the understanding I needed to view what I learned through a biblical perspective. I became an unbeliever. My lack of faith left me vulnerable to the influences around me, and I soon began using drugs. Read More…

Broken to Blessed  

Morgan Shadbolt was born in Shelbyville, KY in 1993. For the first few years, both of her parents were in the picture, but that would change at age 5 when her parents split up – a significant wound for any child. Sadly, this wasn’t the first trauma that Morgan had suffered. By the age of 3, Morgan was already being molested by her paternal grandfather, and tragically, her paternal uncle as well. This abuse would continue until Morgan finally told her mother what she was experiencing seven years later. Although the years of molestation had finally come to an end, tragedy was still not far from her. Read more…

Accused to Accepted

Nathan Williams was born in Hardin County, Kentucky; the son of a single mother, and younger sibling to his brother, Ralph. His father was not in the picture, although his paternal grandparents were involved in his life from a distance. During Nathan’s formative years, he would spend summers with his paternal grandparents, who gave him everything he needed. Although his mother struggled to raise her children on her own, Nathan never lacked for new clothes or the newest CD’s or video games. His paternal grandparents gave him anything he could want, but nothing could make up for his father’s absence. Read more…

From Jail to Jesus

Addiction doesn’t have to run in families or come from trauma. Sometimes it’s just a matter of the little doors we open along the way. Smoking weed to look cool can lead us down much darker paths. There we lose the ability to control cravings, relationships, career paths, and everything else that seems like it should be a manageable part of our lives. This is what happened to Brandon Skaggs. Read more…

Dumpster Diver to Business Manager

Pain, addiction, and ample opportunities for more, would lead Thomas from prescription drugs, to cocaine and eventually to meth. After being introduced to meth at work, it was only a couple of months before Thomas lost everything he had. He quit his job to begin making and selling meth. He viewed this as his chance to be his own boss and take hold of the “American dream” through illegal means. Of course that isn’t what happened. Read more…

Drugs to Director

Amanda “Mandi” Murphy graduated from Awake Ministries and went on to become our Women’s Director. In her season as Director, she poured her heart and soul into helping women to overcome addiction and find their identity in Christ. She loves and cares deeply because she has been where they are and understands their struggles from first hand experience. Click here to watch a powerful video telling Mandi’s story.

Addiction Can Happen to Anyone

Anyone who has been in recovery can tell you that addiction has no boundaries. Many, if not most, recovery stories are steeped in trauma at the beginning, but that’s not always the case. Addiction is no respecter of class, race, age, or upbringing, and even a childhood that seems innocent and wholesome is not a guarantee against the threat of addiction. This was no less true in David Baker’s story. Read More…

Felon to Father

The in-and-out nature of drug addiction wasn’t what Jacob Simon had imagined for himself in high school. He started welding school with plans to get a good job and have a stable life, but “drugs ended that.” What began as his and his buddy’s experimentation with marijuana, led to experimentation with the harder drug being made by his friend’s mom. It wasn’t long before Jacob’s parents found out and told him he had to leave if he was going to do drugs. After that, he was in and out of friends’ homes, jail and rehab. Read More…

Meth to Marriage

It started recreationally for Travis.  Just something to do with friends on weekends. A joint here, a couple of pills there. It wasn’t long before he was using before playing in high school football games to numb from any potential injuries. The habit grew until he had to take pills as soon as he woke up. Read More…

Overdose to Overflow

Imagine a young woman spending two years hiding from the police because of warrants for her arrest and she ends up living in a camper behind her drug dealer’s house. What if she was your daughter or sister and her circumstances were about to get worse? Heather Williams overdosed in that camper on what she thought was methamphetamine. It turned out the product mostly consisted of baking soda, which absorbed the nutrients in her body and sent her to the hospital. Three weeks later, on Thanksgiving, she overdosed again after shooting up a meth/fentanyl combination. With everyone gone to celebrate the holiday, she was left alone and unconscious for three days. Read more…

Trauma to Triumph

Brittany’s history of abuse goes back as long as she can remember. As a child and stepchild of drug users, addiction and abuse were part of her everyday life from the very beginning. By age 4, Brittany lost her biological father (age 25) to an overdose, leaving Brittany with no memory of her father. Unfortunately, her mental and emotional trauma was only compounded year after year. Read more…

Anxiety to Acceptance

When Tanya started praying for help with her addiction, she hadn’t anticipated it would come through her probation officer’s advice to enter an in-house program. Spending four to six months in communal living felt like a waste of time, but after failing a drug screening in a diversion program, it seemed she had little choice. Tanya believes those prayers for help opened the door for her to say yes to entering the program at Awake Ministries. Tanya said, “Having the faith-based approach and support makes me feel like I won’t fail.” Read more…