When I completed the Hope House Teen Challenge UK detox programme in January 2024, I remember asking God: ‘How are You going to use someone like me?’ Today I can see how God is using me: serving Him, loving others, and supporting people who are still struggling, By God’s grace and through His strength within me, I am using the gifts He has given me to do whatever He calls me to do and to stand firm where he has placed me. Be encouraged: God is not finished with you yet. Surrender, let go, and let God do what He needs to do. God is faithful – don’t give up.

There was a time when I could not have imagined standing before people and speaking about my life, my faith, and what God has done within me. Yet here I am, preparing to share my story, bringing together my personal narrative and the truth of God’s Word. I know what it is like to feel lost – to look at your life and wonder how things could ever change. My past is part of my story, but it does not define who I am today.

My journey has not simply been about leaving something behind; it has been about discovering Someone greater. Finding God has changed the direction of my life. It was not about suddenly becoming perfect or having every problem disappear overnight. Rather, it was about learning that I did not have to walk through life in my own strength. God met me where I was and began to lead me somewhere new.

Recovery has been a journey. There have been challenges, lessons, and moments when I’ve had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But through it all, I have discovered that God is faithful.

The Bible tells us that God can make all things new. That truth takes on a different meaning when you have experienced brokenness yourself. It is not merely a comforting thought or a reassuring verse; it becomes something you hold onto. That is what I want my story to communicate.

I want the person who is struggling right now to know that their story is not finished. I want the person in recovery who is having a difficult day to know that one difficult day does not erase all the progress they have made.

I want the person who feels ashamed of their past to know that their past is not the final word. And I want anyone who thinks they have gone too far, done too much, or made too many mistakes to hear this: God is not finished with you. My story is not about me being strong enough to fix myself. It’s about what happens when we allow God into the places in our lives that we have tried to hide and choose to keep moving forward with Him.

I don’t stand here claiming that the journey is always easy. But I can say that change is possible, hope is real, recovery is attainable, and God’s grace reaches further than we sometimes believe.

So, to anyone who is struggling right now: keep going. To anyone in recovery: keep going. To anyone who has fallen and is wondering whether they can get back up: keep going. And to anyone who thinks they are too far gone: you are not.

This is why I am sharing my story – not because my past was perfect, but because God has brought me through it. My story is still being written, and I believe yours is too. We do not have to be defined by where we have been. Our past may be part of our story, but it does not have to be the ending.

So I will stand up, speak my truth, share my story, and point beyond myself to the One who changed everything. Keep on keeping on. Because no matter where you have been or where you are right now, no one is too far gone.

Louise

Louise struggled with addiction for 22 years before entering Teen Challenge. She now lives in Bournemouth. Last year she brought the gift of poetry and the spoken word to Fixed for the first time. It’s great to have her back again.