Mothers Reflections Part 1
I broke trust, with everyone I encountered. They trusted me, the real me, but the addict I had become was untrustworthy. Who could love someone like that. Who could love someone with a past like that.
I never knew a love like this existed.
I didn’t know how to love my son, I didn’t have parents just a cycle of systems. Those places taught me rules, and to be tough, and manipulate to get my way. The one thing they didn’t teach me, was how to love. I didn’t know how to love myself, or my child.
Each day at Acres of Hope we hear the reflections spoken to us about the lives our residents have seen. The places they have been. The suffering, trauma, and losses they have endured. Many of the stories are so overwhelming and heartbreaking we’re left wondering how they survived. Yet each day we also watch as those who have transformed and have experienced a renewed life share their stories. The difference in each story is the power of change, the power of hope discovered. Yet even more so is the ability to identify what is at the core of those redeemed stories that bring smiles to our faces, and warms the hearts of those who listen. At the core we found you.
When you volunteer, donate, mentor, or become an angel grandparent, it is you our families see pouring out love to them. You become a part of their redemption story, and it goes a little something like this…
Mothers Reflections Part 2
“It’s like a family here. I’ve never had that before.”
“This program is truly a miracle for me and my family. It has saved me from alcoholism and is teaching me the skills to break the cycle of addiction and abuse, and to eventually become a productive woman and mother in the community.”
“I have learned how to engage and get engaged in Church and outside support. Teaching me to love again.”
The reflections that our families see through you shows them ultimately how big God’s love is for them. One mother said recently, “It’s amazing strangers love like this, I mean they don’t even know me, but they love me”.
The love you have shown our families is so beautiful, and it fills them with hope.
To pour out more of your love on mothers and children breaking the cycle of homelessness,
Visit us at: acresofhopeonline.org or Call: 530-878-8030