This #throwbackthursday we remember our Blessings to Go event from earlier this year, which was a ministry to distribute food during the early days of the COVID crisis. We will be on the front lines again next month for Thanksgiving. For more information, visit our website at GRMtucson.com/holiday.

The Highland Quilter’s Club just donated 20 beautiful quilts to the Women's Recovery Center today! Our guests are pictured, receiving some of the quilts with Gloria, and cannot be more thankful. #tsycd

We are blessed to have such an incredible team at the Center of Opportunity, and Sheri is no exception. She always treats our guests with love and respect. It's her calling. It's her way to give back to the ministry that transformed her life.

In 2016, she first came to the Gospel Rescue Mission as a guest of the Women's Recovery Center. This #TestimonyTuesday, she shares her story.

Sheri first started drinking and smoking marijuana around the age of 13, and by the time she was 21, drinking had become habitual. Drugs had also become part of her lifestyle, but she felt that it was all manageable. "I thought I had the power to say no," she remembers. But her weekly habits became daily, and her marriage and family relationships suffered under the weight of her addictions. In 2004, Sheri entered a 12-year cycle of short-term sobriety, detox centers, and rehab. However, in 2016, something happened that finally broke that cycle: she lost her home.

At that point, Sheri felt like she had lost everything. Her marriages had failed. Her family was done with her. She had no place to go. She had burned every bridge. Or so she thought. She called her son. He convinced her to go back to rehab, but not just any rehab. "You're going to the Gospel Rescue Mission," he said, "that's the only way that you're going to get help."

Sheri remembers how terrified she was her first few days at the Women's Recovery Center because she didn't know what to expect. When she saw some other women clapping and rejoicing during a Chapel service, she thought, "Well, this is different."

And it was different.

Sheri started attending recovery classes and learned about herself; she also began studying the Bible and read about God's forgiveness; but, she discovered something else that had an even more significant impact. I learned that "I am loved unconditionally."

When Sheri completed her program, she left the Women's Recovery Center with new hope and a passion for demonstrating Christ's transforming love to others. And, today, she reveals that love every weekday in Guest Services at the Center of Opportunity.