Kyle knows and loves Nashville. “I grew up around the Hermitage area,” he says with a smile. But after his parents divorced, he found himself 15 years old in a small town—and in “the wrong situations with the wrong people.” As he recalls, most of them were deeply involved with life-threatening drugs like meth.

“I thought I could control it instead of it controlling me.”

Yet, despite his personal struggles with addiction and the company he kept, he found jobs and “always tried to keep a difference between my work life”—and the rest of his life.

“That didn’t really work out,” he recalls, unable or unwilling to get help. “For a lot of years, I just got miserable.”

At his lowest point, he knew there was a refuge somehow, somewhere, by God’s grace.

“Even in my mess, I would pray, ‘Lord, I want out of this,’” he says. “But I couldn’t get away: this was just a revolving door in my life.” Until finally, “I lost my house. I lost everything”—even his beloved mother who died not knowing if Kyle could ever turn his life around.

“It was a humbling experience . . . I’d never actually been in that situation”—feeling isolated, homeless, and almost out of hope.

Still, Kyle prayed. And looking back on that moment, he can’t help but say, “Sometimes, you have to be careful about how you pray, and what you pray for, because God will answer your prayers—and it might not be the way you want it or the way you expect it.

“It’s all up to Him, and that’s one thing God showed me really quick because I was praying, ‘Lord, I need out of this. I don’t know how to do it or how to get out of the situation I’m in.’” Finding himself facing jail time, he was offered the choice of getting into a recovery program here or somewhere else.

“I chose here,” he says. And thanks to hearts like yours that make Nashville Rescue Mission possible, he’s never been the same!

“God is going to answer your prayers, and it’s going to be His way, not your way!”

Kyle says, “That was really an eye-opener for me. He’s shown me a lot of things I talk about with others here: being responsible for my own actions. Being a man and standing up to do what’s right—having a relationship with Him above all else. With that, everything else falls in line because it’s not our will. It’s His will.”

Kyle is eager to give back in any way he can. He even joined us on staff last year—at the holidays.

“This place is a joy. It’s not like a job!” he says with a smile. “This is where I was meant to be, 100%” from his very first day to today . . .

And on Thanksgiving Day, he’ll be busy inviting others to share the blessings he’s received with your support, saying, “They give you food. You get clothes. You get a place to sleep, a roof over your head. All your basic needs are met here. But first and foremost, you get to better yourself—

 “You get a relationship with God above all else, and that’s the thing.”

What better time of year to share a gift in the spirit of the season—and in Jesus’ name? As God has blessed you, please make a generous Thanksgiving gift today, and thank you for being an important part of this ministry. May His grace continue to shine through your compassion in action!