Megan's Story
My name is Megan and I am 28 years old. I was born in Atlanta, Georgia and the youngest child of a successful CPA and housewife. I did not grow up attending church or with any religious affiliation. Instead, I was raised defining success by the world's standards: material possessions, money, status, and appearance. Wanting to be daddy's little girl, I became an overachiever at a young age. In high school, I played sports year around, held leadership positions in several academic and social clubs, excelled in honors classes, and was accepted to a top, nationally recognized university. Outwardly, I appeared to be an ideal, well-adjusted teenager, but on the inside I was consumed with unbearable self-hatred, loneliness, and depression.
To cope with the overwhelming feelings of rejection, I became bulimic at the age of fifteen. The eating disorder gave me the temporary release I needed from the anxiety and pressure of maintaining my daily routine. When my mom became aware of my behavior, I was quickly put on a regiment of antidepressants and counseling sessions which suppressed the actions, but in no way addressed the underlying issues. Towards the end of my senior year, I discovered alcohol and cigarettes which, unlike the bulimia, gave me confidence and was socially accepted. With college came an abundance of underage drinking and the realization that I could not control my drinking once I had started. By the age of 21, I had fallen off a 6-foot stage and shattered several bones in my left wrist, had crashed my car into a tree after falling asleep at the wheel, been drugged and gang raped by three men, and tried to take my own life with a handful of antidepressants. During this time, I received my salvation when my parents divorced and my mom remarried a Christian man, but in no way did the damaging course of my life change. At 22, I received my first DUI and within ten months had violated my probation with a second DUI and was sentenced to four months of house arrest.
Determined to get my life on the right track, I graduated from college at 24 with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. That summer while pursuing my first post-college career, I reconnected with an old boyfriend at a party and began a full-blown addiction to cocaine. Within a couple months, I had spent my entire savings, sold all of my belongings including precious family heirlooms, was house hopping among strangers, working at strip clubs, and staying up on 4-5 day binges. My dependence had escalated into abusing pain killers, ecstasy, marijuana, smoking crack and anything else that would numb the pain of incredible guilt and shame that would continue to grow with every episode. Hitting my lowest point, I was arrested a third time for DUI in December of 2003.
Lying in a solitary cell, I was without any trace of hope. I was convinced that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to stay away from alcohol long enough to stop hurting my family and live a healthy and productive life. I prayed to God to die in that cell but He had another plan for me. I remained in jail for the next 30 days and it was then that I began to read the Word of God. For the first time, I felt a renewed sense of faith and possibility of a future without my addiction.
Over the next several years, I resumed the familiar pattern of saving up money, finding great job opportunities, beautiful places to live, and even added church to my routine but it was never long before my addictive behaviors got a foothold and my life would fall completely apart, each time harder and faster than the last. This vicious cycle of self-destruction continued until February of 2007 when I was hospitalized twice in one week for alcohol poisoning. Through the faithful prayers of my family and the youth pastor at my aunts church, my mom was given the number to the Walter Hoving Home and left me a message saying that if I was finally ready, she believed she had found a place that could help me.
Since I walked through the doors of the Walter Hoving Home on March 5th, 2007, God has truly transformed my life. He has given me a brand new heart and mind that desires to live entirely for him. I have learned to place Christ first in every area of my life,to seek His will in every decision I make, and to trust him with everything that I am. I have learned that I need to surrender control of my life to God every morning so He may mold me into the person He wants me to be - in His image and for His glory.With every test and trial I face, God gives me the strength to persevere knowing that He is building me in my faith and character. God has shown me that I do not need to seek after the temporary things of this world for fulfillment, but can look within myself for everything I need because Christ lives in me. I no longer turn to my old destructive behaviors when I face adversities and obstacles, but hunger for the Word of God which gives me life, purpose, and a peace that surpasses all understanding. The Lord has restored the broken relationships with my family and as I continue to grow in my faith each day, I am able to reflect more of Him to my loved ones. God has also blessed me with many sisters in Christ and the loneliness and isolation I once felt has been replaced with love and compassion for others. God has shown me that my self-worth and value are in Him and as I diligently seek after knowing and loving Him every day, He will guide my steps and reveal the plans He has for me.
I completed the one-year program in March of 2008 as well as a 6-month internship this past September as the Principal of the Learning Center. I was also accepted to the Teen Challenge International Emerging Leaders Program, an extended training program to identify, equip and train leaders which I finished along side my internship at the home. My future goals are to travel the world and share the truth of God's Word and of the gift of everlasting life through a relationship with Jesus Christ. I plan to apply the Biblical principles that have been instilled in me as well as my formal education and leadership training to serve in a large ministry that touches lives internationally. Eventually, I would love to have a family of my own and begin a generational blessing with a Christian man who knows and loves Jesus passionately and unconditionally and will love me the same.
