Renew. Restore. Rejoice. A SafeHouse Ministries Podcast

Beauty from the Ashes: The Conclusion of Tracy Doughty's Story

• Phil Shuler • Season 2 • Episode 44

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This is the part of Tracy's story where Jesus turns the darkness into life and brings tremendous beauty from the ashes of sorrow and hardship.  When Tracy had finally had enough and surrendered her heart and her life to Jesus...that is when everything changed forever.

Welcome to this week's podcast. Last week we heard the story of Tracy Doughty's life and how she followed the example that she saw growing up from her mom and began to make so many bad choices, looking for love in all the wrong places, and. She talked about how that led to such disastrous and dark tragedy in her life. This week, you'll hear the beauty that happened When she yielded to the love of Jesus and surrendered to let him be the Lord of her life. This week's podcast is amazing. It is just such a powerful testimony of the beauty of transformation that Jesus does when a person surrenders to him. But if you didn't listen to last week's podcast yet, I encourage you to go listen to part one of Tracy's story before you listen to this conclusion. and you will be blessed amazingly by her life and her testimony and what the Lord has done in redeeming her and. It is an encouraging illustration of what God wants to do in your life in many ways as well if you don't know him as your personal savior. So I encourage you to listen and enjoy and God bless you

Phil Shuler:

HellO, and welcome to Renew, Restore, Rejoice, the Safe House Ministries podcast, where we share stories of the power of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. Safe House Ministries is based out of Columbus, Georgia, and we are a ministry that exists to love and serve people who have been affected by addiction, homelessness, and incarceration. I'm your host, Phil Shuler, the Director of Development for Safe House Ministries here in Columbus, Georgia. Safe House serves over 1, 100 people each month as they transition back into our community. Safe House provides an abundance of services including 213 beds for homeless individuals and families, case management for obtaining job skills and long term employment. Over 300 hot meals every day, free clothing, and so much more. One of the most incredible services that Safe House provides is our free 9 12 month intensive outpatient substance abuse program, which is state licensed, CARF accredited, and has no wait list. Almost 100 percent of individuals staying in our shelters who follow our three phase program become fully employed within a few months. And 68 percent of individuals who stay at least one night with us End up finding work and moving into their own home. Thank you for being with us today and listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoy this week's episode.

Tracy:

I thought I was gonna die. I've been through some things that I wouldn't wish nobody to go through. It was scary. It was scary. And then my son, he went to he was mandated to go to Center of Hope, and he prayed so hard for me to come, and he would call me and ask me, Mom, are you ready? And I would say, no, not yet. I was scared of the unknown, yeah. But,

None:

So even though living homeless and the fear of being in that place, the allure and the connection to the drugs was still just too much greater, too strong. Yeah.

Tracy:

Mm hmm. When Jodi went to jail That's when I said, I can't do this. Because

None:

then you were alone.

Tracy:

I was alone. I can't do this. And I was, at this point, I was tired of it. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. And my son called me and said, Mom, are you ready? Again, you used to do it all the time.

Phil:

Yeah.

Tracy:

That last time I said, I'm ready. And I'm telling you, Phil, when I said that, the relief. That, and I was so overwhelmed. God opened up doors like you would not believe, and it was just overwhelming. It was, I could just feel the Holy Spirit right now in me, because I know what that feeling was like. And so

None:

How old were you then?

Tracy:

I was 50, 49, 50, I'm 55 now yeah,

None:

so that was the beginning of getting out of the darkness.

Tracy:

That was the beginning of a new life with Jesus. That's awesome.

None:

What was the first step?

Tracy:

Going to a center of hope.

None:

Okay.

Tracy:

So I finally went to the Center of Hope and, trust me, I had my meltdowns when I first got there. Getting right up over a cup on the table. I was like, I can't believe I'm getting right up for a cup of tea. It was just on the table when I was in the streets. I didn't have structure and didn't get in trouble, but little did I know that. Structure and obedience went hand in hand with Jesus, and once I realized that, I always said, Oh, that's how this works. And that's when I started getting the knowledge of God's word forming my relationship with him and I have been delivered. I can honestly say that because of the situation that I'm in right now, I know I've been delivered.

None:

So how long were you at Center of Hope?

Tracy:

For a year.

None:

Okay.

Tracy:

It was a whole year.

None:

And you got through it. You got clean.

Tracy:

Yes. Yes. And that was the best year of my whole entire life.

None:

Was Christopher still there at that time too? He was.

Tracy:

He graduated in May and I still had until August.

None:

Okay.

Tracy:

So we were there together for some months together. And it was awesome.

Phil (2):

Praise the

None:

Lord. Awesome. So then he gets out and you get out and what was next?

Tracy:

I thought my sister. She was had so many strokes to her brain, my, not my younger sister, but the middle sister and I went and stayed with her and I did not know that she was bedridden and it just broke my heart. She had been with this guy for 15 years Howard is his name and he was been out of work due to an accident he had on his job. And, but I went and stayed with them and helped her, helped him with her for a while, change her diaper and feed her. And she would tell me things like I know that there's a woman coming through the back door cooking for me. Tell her that cooking sure is good. And I said, I will, sister. I will. And I would feed her and she'd say just was amazing at the time that I had with her and definitely was a closure because she was one that my first husband had slept with. Wow. She couldn't shake that shame and guilt and she held on to it all those years. And, but I had forgiven her. I didn't know what forgive was then even not having a relationship with Jesus. I knew what that was. But she just held it, held on to it all those years. And it was, we didn't have a relationship. But it mattered to me. I was still going to go help her, when she was in the hospital, she died from sepsis. And she was only 51. Wow. But I prayed for her. I prayed with her into heaven. I had her repeat the words to me, even though you couldn't understand them. But that was amazing. Wow. It was a closure for me. Yeah. It was definitely a closure for me.

None:

Had her life taken a similar path with the drugs? It

Tracy:

did. And she had six kids. Wow. With different yeah. Yeah. And same with my baby sister now, and she's still going through it. And I pray for her salvation the ladies at work, Miss Christy with a C and Christy with a K, I'm telling you, I can go in and be so upset about things that go on at home. Cause I stay with my sister with her being in her active addiction, I do. And it's my room is like a, prayer war room. I have prayers up on the walls and nothing that's on my TV unless it's sermons or fake movies and Just spiritual music and I'm always talking to her about Jesus and she's just not ready for it, but it's gonna be okay. But I'm telling you, if it wasn't for Christi with a C, Christi with a K, and Kim, I, they are amazing.

None:

Good Christian friends that walk with you and encourage you. And

Tracy:

Miss Jamie Lee. I'm telling you, I'm able to talk to them about the things that go on in the encouragement and the words that they give me. Including my son. He, we have Bible study over the phone. Really? So Christopher's

None:

doing well?

Tracy:

Oh, absolutely. He's actually an ordained minister. Wow. Where's

None:

he preaching at?

Tracy:

He's not. He gets to marry people. Oh. He married someone last year for the first time.

None:

That's exciting.

Tracy:

Yes. And he's doing exceptionally well. And actually, he is engaged and he's going to be married again soon. They're just waiting for things to come in place.

None:

That's exciting.

Tracy:

Yes. Wow. Amazing.

None:

So you just have continued to do well, stay clean, just live in victory from the time you left the Center of Hope. So when did you get connected to Safe House Ministries?

Tracy:

I tried to get a job at the Safe House. Working in the front is what I wanted to do. Yeah. Or be a case manager and help people. But them doors just were not opening for me. And I said, God, what I mean I just wanna serve you. I just wanna work there. I just wanna serve you. I wanna do what they do, and. He just wasn't ready for me. He was building my character for something better. And I tell you what, when he opened those doors for me at Grace House, I couldn't have been more thankful because the ladies that I work with there just the staff, we have each other's back. And it's amazing. Um, and to be open and remain teachable. Helps to, as a house manager, because when I first started, I was rough around the edges.

None:

When did you first start at the women's shelter there at Safe House?

Tracy:

May the 15th of last year. Okay. Rough around the edges a little bit? I was. And Christy with a K would talk to me. And because I remained teachable and took what she was telling me, and I didn't wear it on my, I took it to heart and said, okay she's teaching me and it was, it's an awesome place to work. I love working there and it's not just a job. It is my calling. Yeah.

None:

Yeah. It's your way of ministering to help others.

Tracy:

Yup. That's so good. And I'm learning every day. I learn more from them than they learn from me.

None:

That's awesome. Yeah. That's so good.

Tracy:

Yeah.

None:

Wow.

Tracy:

I love them.

None:

Yeah. I

Tracy:

love all of them.

None:

There's something that's just such a blessing to have just good Christian sisters and brothers that can help you. Just in life. That kingdom connection. Yeah. I mean it, it's amazing. Yeah.

Tracy:

God definitely opened them doors. He knew what he was doing when he opened that door for me. I'm forever grateful for that and he's just building me, my character for his will. Yeah. And remaining teachable.

None:

That is awesome. That's so huge. Yeah. That is one of the differentiating qualities of people who live in victory, who continue to do well and get better, and people that don't. That quality of being teachable. Yeah. Just, yeah, if you don't have it, then you're headed for a fall. Absolutely. A bad one.

Tracy:

Absolutely. And you got to be able to, a lot of people can't take criticism or corrections. Pride. Pride gets in the

None:

way, don't it?

Tracy:

Yeah. And you can't let that get in the way. You just have to accept it. And I have. Absolutely. Absolutely. Christy will let me know. With a K, she will let me know, Tracy. This is what, and she's and I'm telling you, she's so good at how she approaches us with things that need to be talked about. She's an awesome boss. Wow, praise the Lord. I just don't want, I would never trade her for nothing in the

None:

world.

Tracy:

That

None:

is good. If

Tracy:

I, if God ever opened up another door for me, I would probably want to drag her with me.

None:

Don't be dragging her away

Tracy:

She's good and

None:

that's good. That's having a good boss is Yeah, and it's the biggest thing that either keeps someone at a place or if they have a bad boss It's what makes them leave.

Tracy:

What's so awesome about it is that She's been there She's been there, so she knows. Yeah. She's been way back there. Yeah. From the beginning, like, where we all have been in recovery. Yeah. And so she knows, and that's what makes it so awesome.

None:

Yeah, praise the Lord. Yeah. Tell me over the years of your journey, what are some of the key lessons that you have learned that you would like to share?

Tracy:

My worth my worth. I didn't know my worth.

Phil:

Yeah.

Tracy:

I and that's why I still fell in those patterns of being treated the way I was treated. But today I can tell you when God showed me my worth and how much it was to Him. And as his daughter, I took that and ran so fast, Phil. You can't tell me nothing. Wow. I don't have to compromise. I don't have to settle because of him. Because God told me how much I meant to him. Because he loves me no matter what. And he's a forgiving God.

None:

That's one of the most amazing things. The creator of the world. Loves us in our mess so much that he sent his son to die for us. That's how much he thinks we're worth. We're worth the life of his son. To take our sin upon himself to die but praise the Lord. That's right. He rose again. That's right. Three days later.

Tracy:

That's right.

None:

And just the fact that the Creator God wants to give that life to us. Yeah. It's amazing. Is such a testament of how much God loves us and how valuable and how much we're worth to Him. You know what? He wants to redeem us.

Tracy:

You know what hurts me is the people that don't know Him. It hurts my heart.

Phil:

Yeah.

Tracy:

Yeah. Because they just don't know how good

None:

He really is.

Phil:

Yeah.

None:

It makes me think of Proverbs 4, 19, which talks about the way of the wicked is as darkness. They know not at what they stumble. They're just. Yeah. They're trying to do the best they can, but they don't know, they don't know how to get on stable footing. They don't know how to get ahead. They don't know how to have a better life. Maybe they don't even realize it's possible,

Tracy:

I didn't either at one time. Yeah. I didn't either. At one time, I thought I was going to be where I was at for the rest of my life, but you have to want it.

None:

Yeah.

Tracy:

And I did.

None:

Yeah. What other lessons have you learned along the way?

Tracy:

To persevere. Trust in the process.

None:

Yeah. Is that back to your early days at the Center of Hope and going through the process of getting clean? Oh, Lord,

Tracy:

yes. And I would have meltdowns. I would be on the floor just crying. And I wasn't even mandated. I was God ordered. You hear me? And I could have just as easily walked out that door, but the Holy Spirit says, no, you're not. I would have had a long walk because it's two hours from here. But the Holy Spirit, God just had one store for me. And I just, he was there with me when I was kicking and screaming. And having my meltdowns and then there will be times that We would be at the thrift store and we'd be stacking to Jesus them clothes stacking to Jesus that's how it and there was this one song that came out Brandon Lake Oh my goodness, and I'm telling you when I was sitting there stacking them clothes. It was called heaven I stopped stacking them clothes and threw my hands in the air, and I just cried like a baby. Wow. And I just, the Holy Spirit just filled me, and that's, I'm telling you, if I can get any lost soul to feel that feeling of the Holy Spirit I would drag as many as I could.

Phil:

Yeah.

Tracy:

Yeah.

Phil:

Wow.

Tracy:

That it was just amazing, and I'm so thankful Praise the Lord loves me for I'm at

None:

yeah, that's good. That's good. Where do you go to church at

Tracy:

I? Get my spiritual healing from praise ministries tabernacle when I feel like my whole spirit inside me is needs to be revived a little I'll go over there and I sit there, but sometimes I go to the church on the rock. I do not have a home church, Phil, but

None:

Okay, you're different, you're in different churches. I

Tracy:

am, and I need to stop that. I can't be church hopping like that. I got to find a home church. And I know that most of my kingdom connection with my job goes to the fort. Yeah. And I am gonna go to the fort, and I'm gonna get more involved with the ladies. Um, I do go to school,

None:

what are you studying in school?

Tracy:

Oh my goodness, Human Services, Concentration, Drug Abuse, Psychology. I'm getting my BA.

None:

Wow, fantastic.

Tracy:

Yes, God has brought me a long

None:

way. That's awesome. Praise the, that's wonderful. Praise the Lord. That's, that is just you have a really amazing story. And just the things that God has brought you out of. The lies that he has dispelled and the truth that he has shown you and given you and that you have received. That's the thing. The truth is the truth, but it doesn't help us until we receive it and like really let it sink into our hearts. Then it makes all the difference in the world.

Tracy:

Every difference in the world. Wow. It makes life so amazing. I just look at trees different now. I used to ride down the street and say, Oh, okay, it's just a tree. But now, I can ride down the street and just look at God's beauty. I just, you just see things so differently.

None:

You do. You're right. And the Apostle Paul speaks to that in the first chapter of Romans, the natural revelation. The world around us testifies to the reality of God, but so many people, they don't accept that. Oh, that's

Tracy:

sad.

None:

Yeah but there's hope.

Tracy:

Absolutely, always hope.

None:

Yeah, that's awesome. Anything else you want to share before we finish up?

Tracy:

No,

None:

I'm good. Alright, any last word you want to give to people that might be listening?

Tracy:

Persevere. Trust in the process. Don't put your hands in it. Let God do it.

None:

That's good. Don't put your hands in it. Yeah, absolutely. Let go and surrender.

Tracy:

Surrender. And it's hard. It's hard. I've just went through something. Like that here a few days ago, and I was able to talk to Jamie Lee about it. And she talked to me about it, and it just, I had to say, I had to pray and say, God, please, it's, I surrender this to you. I can't control this is out of my, It's just out of my hands and I'll just pray for her salvation and I pray that she surrenders her addiction and she surrenders her gambling and she surrenders her codependency and I just pray that she just learns what her worth is with you and that she doesn't have to put up with these things, yeah. That's my

Phil:

Yeah.

Tracy:

Oh, it's And it was hard. I just feel like it's really been a wedge in between our relationship as sisters right now.

None:

Yeah, it is hard. It just,

Tracy:

It hurts. Yeah,

None:

and the reality is a lot of times, to help someone out of the darkness, you just have to love them. Where

Tracy:

they're at.

None:

And pray for them and trust the Lord over a long period of time.

Tracy:

Yeah.

None:

It's not an easy journey, that journey of faith, but, wow.

Tracy:

But I know that he's working. Amen. I know that. I know that his timing is perfect.

Phil:

Yeah.

Tracy:

I have to trust the process.

Phil (2):

Yeah.

None:

I remember as a child myself, growing up in my home Kneeling at the couch with my dad and my brothers and sisters and we would pray for my grandpa who was an alcoholic Just for decades He was an abusive father to my dad and I just remember us as a family praying for him for

Phil (2):

Years and years and years and years a long time

None:

and He was about 53 and he was staying with us Ended up in the hospital, his liver was failing, and three days before he died, he surrendered to Jesus. Oh, amen. And he got saved. Amen. Yeah, but sometimes it takes a long time. And I, and it's frustrating and it's just, but it's that journey of trusting the Lord.

Tracy:

And I trust Him. Yeah. With everything that I have, I trust Him. I know, I just know I cannot live my life without loving the Lord, trusting the process, trusting in Him, having faith, having hope, I just don't know how to do it without Him. I can't. Yeah. Yeah.

None:

He's good. Yes, He is. And He is good to all of us. He is. Just, I was hit with the truth the other day that There's nothing that is a blessing and a good thing in our lives that is not from the hand of the Lord.

Tracy:

He's just

None:

good to us and we don't deserve it.

Tracy:

The mercy and grace, Lord, I read that all the time. Grace is where he we don't deserve it. And mercy is where he. Keeps us

None:

from mercy. He keeps punishment from us that we do deserve grace. He gives us things that we don't deserve.

Tracy:

Absolutely. And I think about that all the time. I think about that all the time because, I'm so undeserving to him. I just eat. I don't deserve nothing he gives me.

None:

Yeah. It's so crazy though. All of us, we all tend to compare ourselves to other people and think, Oh, wow, that person's way bad. I'm pretty good, but God looks down in all of us and we're all just a bunch of rotten, dirty sinners. He's so perfect and so holy. How crazy of us to sometimes think that we're something,

Tracy:

I can tell you this. I am no better than the next person that puts their pants on. I put my pants on the same way they do. And I don't care if they're homeless. I don't care if they're still in their addiction. I don't care if, I just, it's not like that. God, because God looks at a heart, not the outside.

None:

Yeah, he does. And he is outside of the boundaries of time.

Tracy:

The ladies where I work at, I'm no better than they are. I've been there I've been there. I've been on both sides. I know.

None:

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord for His goodness.

Tracy:

That's right.

None:

Yeah. Amen. You mind if I close this in a word of prayer?

Tracy:

Go ahead.

None:

Dear Father, I thank you for your grace. I thank you for your mercy. I thank you for your goodness. Thank you for this time with Tracy and just her willingness to share. Her story in her life and the path that you Brought her out of the darkness and just the victory that you've given her. Thank you for that Lord Bless Christopher and guide his path and just bless his future help him to look to you to listen to you to follow you To start out his new marriage With you at the center and totally surrendered him and his fiance. I pray and I pray for Tracy's sister, that you would reach through to her, Lord, that you would break the walls of darkness, break through the lies, to reach her heart, and bring her to the place where she would finally let go of herself, of whatever she's holding on to, and surrender to you, I pray, to trust in your son Jesus as her Savior. We pray these things. In your name, in the name of your son, Jesus. Amen.

Tracy:

Amen.

Phil Shuler:

We look forward to being with you again next week as we share another testimony about the power and the goodness of God to change lives through Safe House Ministries. if you are someone listening to this podcast that loves to hear these stories of the great things that God is doing in changing people's lives for the better, and if you would like to be a part of that work, please reach out to us You can reach us at 2101 Hamilton Road, Columbus, Georgia, 31,904. You can call us at seven oh six three two two. 3 7, 7 3, or you can email us at info@safehouse-ministries.com.

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-2:

Thank you so much for being with us this week for the renew restore and rejoice podcast of safe house ministries, we pray that God will bless you this week. And we look forward to having you back with us again next week for a new episode.