Star remembers despair so deep there were times she felt like she couldn’t go on—hungry, homeless, and almost out of hope. “I just got tired of living like that,” she says. “I couldn’t do it: it was no longer worth it”—until she found the hope in Christ to save and change her life here because of help like yours.

Star remembers despair so deep there were times she felt like she couldn’t go on—hungry, homeless, and almost out of hope. “I just got tired of living like that,” she says. “I couldn’t do it: it was no longer worth it”—until she found the hope in Christ to save and change her life here because of help like yours.

Before coming to our door, Star felt completely trapped in her despair, depression, and the addiction she fell into just trying to cope.

Worse still, she’d lost a relationship with her children, and nothing hits a mother harder than Christmas without her kids.

Yet Star knew all about being alone at the holidays, growing up with severe sickle cell anemia that put her in the hospital for long stretches away from her own family, both as a child and “yes, some of my adult life too,” she says. “It tore me up more than I like to admit.”

“I felt so alone, spending birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years in hospitals . . .”

“I was completely separated from them and not able to do the family traditions. It tore me up,” she says again, the loneliness still fresh in her memory.

And God? “My mom always took me to church—I was in a choir,” she says, shaking her head. “So yes, I definitely have it in my background . . . but I just turned my back and closed my eyes.”

Finally—hungry, cold, and alone—Star found her way to Nashville Rescue Mission, and she’s grateful for the warm welcome you helped make possible.

That warmth comes with more than a hot meal and a safe place to sleep. This is also a place where hurting hearts like hers can find hope and healing. At this special time of year, it’s also a home and family where she can celebrate Christ’s birth and discover lasting hope in Him.

Star has never felt as close to her Savior as she does today . . .

“I pray every night,” she says. “I get down on my knees. I pray for my family, friends, loved ones, and I ask God to give us the peace, comfort, strength, and courage we need to make it through the day.”

Star is also deeply concerned about those still suffering on our streets this winter, searching for the rescue we can provide with God’s grace: “I ask that He blesses us with food on the table, clothes on our backs, shoes on our feet, a roof over our heads . . .

“I’m so thankful for HOPE,” she says, having recently completed our intensive Life Recovery Program. “It feels like I’ve accomplished a major thing,” and giving God all the credit, she laughs, “I’m proud of myself—there’s nothing I can’t do!

“I feel like I’m a better person. I treat myself and others with respect. I’ve come out of my shell. I wanted to get my life together because my children deserve the best of me.”

That’s the best part of all she’s experienced at the Mission. “It has brought my life back. I’m regaining the pieces I’ve lost. I get to see my kids, talk to them, and just enjoy them.

“I’m really excited when I see their little faces just come to life, their eyes lighting up when they see me—and they’re happy to see me, with no more questions of, ‘Where’s Mom? When’s she coming back?’ the little heartbreaks . . .

“I can’t imagine the pain I’ve caused them, so I’m here to make up for it and pick up where I left off.

“They are a precious gift and deserve nothing but the best of me—so that’s what I’m doing, and that’s what I’m going to keep doing!” she says, her commitment to Christ a firm foundation, now and for the future.

Star can’t imagine a better Christmas present this year than that—or a brighter start to the new year.

“I’ll be going to school, and I have the opportunity to work toward my dream of being a registered nurse. I’m so very thankful for this program,” she says, sharing her thanks with you this season.

That’s the kind of life-transforming impact your gifts and prayers make through this ministry we share in Christ—at Christmas and all year long!