09/20/2021
Meet Amber Smith, General Manager and Inspiration of Agape House.
Recovery is possible and I'm living breathing proof. I believe that every story of addiction is unique however we all come from a really dark, ugly, sinful, and desperate place. That place may look different for each of us but it's also what unites us when we leave that place and begin to recover because we have the ability to understand how much courage it took, how deeply we wanted to change, and how bad we had to hurt to finally break the cycle. Without submission there's no willingness to follow through and I'm here to attest to how powerful God is in that moment of submission. I'm here to attest to the fact that God hears and heard our cries all along!
Hi! I'm Amber, and I've continously worked hard to recover since my day of submission on October 22, 2019. As I write this I can look back at where I've come from and realize how blessed I am today and how God has used my defeat to create a VICTORY! Amen? Yes, Amen!
I don't have a war story to share with you, I have a story of victory! I have grown and learned so much over the last two years, it's changed my life and the most valuable thing that I will continue to share with the next person is LOVE! Just love!
My story of victory looks like this...
I was broken, I had a death wish, I lost everything and everyone, I didn't want to die but I did not want to live through the pain another minute. I had trauma, trauma, and more trauma. I didn't know how to get away from the PAIN! So I hid from it the best I could by using the most powerful drugs I could get my hands on which ultimately caused MORE TRAUMA! I hit my bottom and it ignited a want for change. I made a choice to schedule an intake for rehab and after I made that choice I hit a point of submission that I believe God put upon me. It was BEAUTIFUL and scary and everything I needed to accept that change was coming! I took myself to rehab and I will put it simply by saying that during that time the devil pulled out ALL of the stops to try to rob and steal from me what God had in store. God walked me right through the valley of the shadow of death holding my hand and carrying me when I was too weak to walk. I knew I wanted to be in his presence and he wanted me there. I was frantically looking for a faith based way to continue to recover leaving rehab but there was nothing available. I entered into a recovery house that I enjoyed and flourished in but it wasn't feeding my spirit and ultimately my soul.
In August 2020 I made another decision that has changed my life. I entered into ministry with my Mother, my Step Father, my Pastor, and my Pastor's wife. We prayed for 30 days about opening our own Christ centered recovery home for women. On the 30th day covid shut everything down. But that didn't stop God, he actually used it to move and navigate us through this process more efficiently. In October of 2020 we opened our first Christ centered recovery home. Today I have the pleasure and the blessing of helping women by introducing them to a process of recovery through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The best way I'm able to do this is becoming more and more obedient to God's word, walking out my own journey through faith, and leading by example. I have a heart for these women and aspire to have a heart for God first in order to love them with an Agape love.
• Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5
