“THEREFORE IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATURE; THE OLD THINGS PASSED AWAY; BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
Acouple of years ago, I was refinishing my kitchen cabinets at my house. They were 20 years old and looked battered and worn. The process to refinish them can be arduous. You have to remove them, sand them, paint them, paint them again, put on special treatments, and then hang them all back up again. That process can be painstakingly long, but in the end, it is well worth the work and effort because I have beautiful new looking cabinets.
We are all sinners and must look as bruised and battered as my old kitchen cabinets, but God looks past that.
Even though we might take a lot of work to refinish, He has given us a path to a new life through His son Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold,
all things have become new.” My cabinets are still 20 years old, but they look brand new. The same is true when we become Christians because “all things have become new!” Praise the Lord!
At the Downtown Rescue Mission, we see men and women who have been battered and bruised in their life. You can literally see it on their faces. The great thing is, we see lives changed through the power of the blood of Jesus, and those same downtrodden faces have new life. Many times, they don’t even look like the same person who originally walked through our doors.
What once was lost is now found! Thank you for partnering with the Mission as we help provide hope to many who have become hopeless. Hope Lives Here!
Psalm 51:17
thought I knew better. I had lost hope in ever having a life free from addiction.
Then, I came to the Downtown Rescue Mission.
and raised in Huntsville, my mom encouraged me to go to church and seek Christ, yet my dad battled substance-abuse issues his whole life. This ultimately led to their divorce.
When I turned 13, I started experiencing extreme anxiety to the point that it started negatively affecting me. Panic attacks controlled what I did and where I’d go. I was experimenting with drugs, skipping school, and was eventually expelled. I started relying on opiates to cope with daily life and was in and out of rehabs since I was 17.
Though I still saw my dad after the divorce, our relationship was strained because of his substanceabuse issues, and when I was 22, my dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died three months later.
By 30, I was incarcerated. I was broken and could not figure out why my plans never worked out despite my best efforts.
Though I believed Jesus was the son of God, I made no effort to follow Him. Oftentimes, I let my pride get in the way of seeking after God, and I always
Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.” I had been humbled and realized that my way of doing things was not working out. There’s another way though, and that’s through Christ.
Jesus said in John 6:27, “Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him.” Jesus also says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
I have been given grace through Jesus, who lived the perfect life and died on the cross for my sins. I have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, and this is all the hope I need.
I plan on staying at the Downtown Rescue Mission after I graduate, and continue to volunteer or work here. I understand being at that point of brokenness which many experience when they come to the Mission. I want to show love to others and pointing them toward Christ, which is what we as Christians are called to do.
“THE
Technologies was privileged to have the opportunity to support and volunteer for this year’s Downtown Rescue Mission turkey box distribution. [“Turkey Boxes” include a frozen turkey and all the fixings so community neighbors in need could cook a Thanksgiving meal at home for their family].
Working with the people at the Mission along with my fellow Bastion employees, to reach out to the community and have that sense of giving a helping hand is a wonderful feeling. Our team decided a year ago that we wanted to participate in this event, and it was on the calendar all year.
I was in touch with Ashleigh Hayes [DRM’s PR Coordinator] as soon as I thought I could be, and she was a wonderful contact to have. Everything was so well coordinated and thought out for not only the people who come to receive but for those of us that volunteered as well. Our team expressed to me that this would be an event that they want to continue to do, and I could not agree more!
Everyone that we talked to and handed out turkey boxes to were gracious and kind. And the staff at DRM are world-class. Bastion Technologies and all of our volunteers would like to say, “Thank You for allowing us the opportunity to give a little back to our community.”
–Amanda Bastion Technologies“FOR MANY REASONS, THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE EVENTS THAT WE HAVE PARTICIPATED IN.”
