Marriage is a sacred bond, a promise to support and love each other through sickness, health, and everything in between. But when two people each hit their lowest point of hopelessness, it can feel impossible to keep this promise.
Ricky and Lisa were in this position. They loved each other dearly, but they were both trapped in their own pain and addiction, leading them both towards destruction.
But the Lord led them to the Orange County Rescue Mission. And over their time here, they each have begun to thrive and their marriage has begun to flourish. They are a beautiful picture of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and His promises kept.
Please read on to see how your support has strengthened a marriage and brought joy to this couple’s life.
Ricky & Lisa’s Story
Not so long ago, Ricky and Lisa were facing the real possibility of losing each other forever. But today, each smile they share is a silent prayer of thanks. For their health. For their sobriety. For their rock-solid marriage.
Lisa’s shaky health had brought her to the brink of death too many times.
At the age of 11, she was involved in a near-fatal car accident. She received a blood transfusion that saved her life, but because of contamination, she contracted a virus that shut down her pancreas and caused serious dips in her blood sugar. Eventually, drugs became her way to numb the pain and chaos of her life.
Ricky had grown up in a rough neighborhood, where gangs and drugs ruled. Surrounded by people with drug addictions as a kid, falling into that lifestyle was practically inevitable for Ricky. A life in and out of prison soon followed.
Lisa was the one good thing in his life.
Before coming to the Mission, both Ricky and Lisa were using and living in a friend’s garage. Lisa’s already fragile health became dangerously unstable. In one week, she was rushed to the emergency room three times. Ricky was faced with a choice: get help, or keep watching Lisa be pulled back from the brink of death.
There was no question what he would do.
To save Lisa’s life, Ricky called Orange County Rescue Mission. After several months of good health care, health education, and access to nutritious food at the Mission, Lisa’s health finally became manageable.
As for Ricky, the hardness he had built around himself fell away when his case managers showed him how to love with God’s love. While in prison, Ricky had already made the decision to trust Christ. But at the Mission, Ricky blossomed in his faith, and resolved to be a better husband to Lisa.
With counseling and Bible studies, Ricky and Lisa both learned to deal with their troubled pasts. “We didn’t know how to deal with each other’s hurts,” says Ricky. “We didn’t know how to comfort each other because we were both hurt.”
Today, Ricky and Lisa are both grateful for the support to end their addictions, become healthy, and heal from past trauma.
They’re also learning how to love each other, while gaining an education and job skills for a new life.
In the meantime, they spend as much time together as they can. They even work together in the Mission’s intake department, and as resident assistants.
“This is unlike any other program out there,” says Lisa. “It instills in you that there is hope.”
Your support made all the difference for Ricky and Lisa, whose marriage is now stronger than ever. But their lives could have easily gone down another path. Ricky and Lisa were able to overcome obstacles in their marriage and grow closer to each other, thanks to you.
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