Amber recently came to our team expressing a desire to share her Story of Hope with you. She wanted to tell how wonderful God is through the miracles she feels He is doing in her life and in the lives of her two beautiful children.
At Road 2 Hope, we strive to provide a place of safety and security where young women can heal and find hope, where pregnant women prepare for their futures, and where they learn to glorify God and embrace the story He is writing in their lives.
Amber saw God at work in her life. She shared, “We reached a point in all the little miracles that God has been doing for my kids and me that this became a story that others needed to hear - our testimony of all that God was, and is, doing in our lives.”
Though hers is a story of God’s loving and compassionate intervention, Amber’s life has seldom been easy. She shared many sensitive, deeply personal, and heartbreaking details.
Although Amber always knew God, her life was traumatic. She was born into poverty in the care of her mother who tried her best but had her own struggles. As a result, Amber essentially raised, not only herself but, two younger siblings.
One of the few bright spots in her life was the beautiful relationship with her wonderful grandmother. She is a bright light in Amber’s life, and the one who initially taught her about God.
When Amber was about two years old, her mother began dating the man who would become her stepfather. They married when Amber was six. This is when years of intense trauma began.
Life went from difficult to horrific. When she was 14, she reported the abuse to someone at her school. This started a chain of events which led to her stepdad being sent to prison. Amber was relieved at the outcome, but the abuse and the long ordeal took its toll.
For years she had prayed for God to intervene and rescue her. She sunk in and out of waves of depression.
For the next decade, she found herself in and out of three horribly abusive relationships. The only blessing to come out of her second relationship was her amazing son, Oliver, now five years old.
A true nightmare began after she and Oliver met Amber’s third boyfriend. At first things seemed wonderful. They quickly began living together. From Amber’s perspective, he transformed from a seemingly good guy into a monster.
As the nightmare progressed, Amber felt imprisoned. She wanted to get away to protect herself and her son, but she didn’t know how.
The situation became much, much worse. They lost their apartment and spent around three months living out of Amber’s car and various hotels. She and her son were not safe. Amber knew her son needed medical attention. And finally, she was able to get away to get him help. Her precious son had to be hospitalized due to the severity of his physical condition.
The situation was devastating, but his extended hospital stay lead to much needed interventions. DHS and law enforcement stepped in.
Amber truly believes that God was at work from this moment forward. This is when life began to make a big shift. Oliver was taken into DHS custody and placed with a wonderful foster family, and then Amber, who was five months pregnant, was accepted at Road 2 Hope.
There was still a long road ahead, but they were finally on a road to HOPE! But it took time.
She had lost hope and the will to live. Initially, Amber had a plan of her own. She was determined to give birth and arrange for her daughter to go to a safe family. At that time, she believed she would never have her son returned. This broke her heart, and she found herself deeply depressed.
Now, in a safe place, with love and support around her, things began to change. Amber was healing and growing, yet still fragile.
When Joy was born, it sparked a love and a new hope. Amber loved her daughter and desired to spend every moment with her. However, a new crisis hit. DHS came to take two-day-old Joy and place her in foster care.
Later, Amber reflected on how scary the situation was. She said she was thinking, “If they had taken her, I would have left the house that night and just given up. I would have had no reason to try anymore if my newborn daughter had been taken. All I could do was beg God for her to stay. It didn’t matter what they asked of me, I was willing to do anything to keep her with me.”
This is when the Road 2 Hope team stepped in. As staff facing a monumental challenge, we surrounded ourselves with prayer warriors. We needed wisdom and direction from God.
We advocated strongly for Joy to stay with her mother. We had seen how hard Amber had been working on following program guidelines and expectations. We knew she desired to be an excellent mother. It was unthinkable that a loving mother would be separated from her newborn.
Amber cried out to God begging Him not to take her baby from her. Her prayer was answered! DHS and Road 2 Hope agreed to the strictest safety plan our program has ever encountered.
This was the moment Amber accepted God back into her life. Amber is convinced this was a true miracle. After years of feeling distant from God and believing her prayers went unanswered and believing the lie that God didn’t care, Amber knew God heard her and that HE loved her.
Amber complied with DHS and Road 2 Hope every step of the way. She put in the work and became dedicated to meeting all DHS requirements, and last month, Oliver came home. He loves being home with mama and baby sister as he lovingly calls them.
Amber’s life has completely transformed. She is genuinely happy, loves her life, and cherishes every moment with her children. She reenrolled in college, participated in an internship, is employed at a job she loves, got her driver’s license, saved money, and bought an amazing family car. For the first time, she has a clear vision for her future and is truly thriving.
She rejoiced, “God is the only reason I am alive and that my kids are together. I fought for so long with God. It wasn’t until I came to Him with no other options that He made everything I thought not possible a reality. Every day now, I get to look at my kids and it feels like all the pain we went through is nothing compared to all we have now.”
We praise God for this family and their story of hope, and for all the Lord continues to do in the lives of the mothers, children, and precious babies at Road 2 Hope Maternity Home.