Felicia searches for answers, finds herself

Felicia grew up in a loving Christian home with both parents, a large family, and a life centered on church and community. She built a successful future, pursuing her love of art while building a career as an X-ray technician.

From the outside, life looked good. Yet alcohol slowly became a habit. One glass of wine became one bottle a night. Now sober, Felicia is searching for what led her down that path.

“I am here to learn why,” Felicia said honestly. “I feel like I was on the right track but then Covid happened, I was labeled non-essential, and I lost my job. I was really scared.”

But losing the career she loved was only the beginning. Even greater losses followed. Her sister died of cancer at just 35 years old, followed by the death of her father. While grieving and struggling to find stability, Felicia met a man, but he quickly turned abusive.

Felicia began to drink more. Jobs came and went. Housing became unstable, and the couple eventually moved out of state before separating.

Her turning point came after receiving a DUI and spending a month in jail. “I take all the blame,” Felicia said. “I know God didn’t want that to happen, but He allowed it to happen so I could hit rock bottom.”

For Felicia, coming to the Mission wasn’t easy. “I wasn’t super excited, especially as an independent person, to have to come to a program and then share a bathroom with 10 women,” Felicia laughed. “But it was very humbling. I felt the Holy Spirit telling me I needed to be around faith-based women. It’s now a blessing to be here.”

Felicia is grateful to find healing through the community of women around her, Bible studies, and the opportunity to rebuild the life she thought she’d lost. “God is going to get me back into doing my art, back into my career, and back into my own place, and the Mission is making that possible,” she said.

The answer to “why” is still unfolding. But for the first time in years, Felicia says she feels like herself again. “I lost 10 years of my life, but being back in my hometown, near people that I knew before, it’s been heartening. God is restoring those relationships. I think I was giving so much of myself, for so long, to so many other people that I feel like now I’m starting to be me again. I get to be strong again.”