During my adolescent years I struggled with extreme insecurity that led me to seek approval from others. I quickly became a perfectionist and developed a serious eating disorder. The eating disorder controlled my entire life and took over my identity. I made some horrible choices while caught up in this vicious lifestyle and felt guilt, shame, and condemnation. The guilt only made the eating disorder worse and I started to abuse alcohol in order to blackout and numb myself of the pain I was feeling inside. My mom saw Nancy Alcorn on Joyce Meyer’s show one morning and when she heard about Mercy, she knew God let her see that for me. I knew I needed serious help if I wanted to save my life and future, so I decided to apply.

When I came to Mercy in June 2010, I was not really sure what to expect. I mostly thought I would be learning behavior modifications. Once I learned how huge God is and His amazing grace and forgiveness, I realized how wrong I was. Words truly cannot describe the work Christ has done in my life. I can now look at myself and say I am holy, clean, pure, and righteous before my God! It is such an amazing feeling to not be stuck in the past anymore. I used to be so empty inside and tried to fill all the voids in my heart with worldly things. Since coming here, I’ve realized that God is the only one who can sustain and fulfill me. He redeemed my life!

After graduation, I plan to get involved in my church wherever God opens doors. I have a desire to go back to school and possibly get a degree in ministry. My heart’s passion is to minister to the youth of this generation and love on them as Jesus would. All I really know is that God has great plans ahead and that I’m going to follow where He leads me.