Kristen’s Testimony

I’m Kristen Newby and this is my story.

I grew up in central Florida. I had a decent childhood and a mother that did her best to raise me and my younger siblings. I was never really a “problem child “ as you would say, but as I got older and became a teenager I began doing drugs and partying. I started smoking weed everyday and drinking/partying on the weekends; totally oblivious to the destruction I was causing on myself. As time went on simply smoking weed and drinking wasn’t enough for anymore, so I started taking pain pills along with everything else.

I graduate high school and start real life as an adult. Going to work every day still getting high all day every day, but slowly getting worse and worse. Then when I was 19, I started doing ecstasy on top of all the other things and getting more addicted and further lost . Not long after I started doing ecstasy, I started doing methamphetamines too. During this time I end up with several charges for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and paraphernalia. I end up doing two months in jail for violation of probation because I couldn’t quit getting high. So a couple weeks before I turned 21, I got out of jail and moved to Alabama in hopes of changing and being a different person.

I’m living in Alabama now and start doing all the same things I was doing in Florida only this time I start doing heroin too. I think life is good. I’m able to go to work every day when I can function because anyone knows that a heroin addict can’t function unless they have their fix .

10 years go by of being addicted to heroin and living in hell and misery.. most days hating the skin I lived in and not even wanting to look in the mirror at the man I had become  .

I had two beautiful kids during this time. My son and daughter whom I was taking care of to the best of my abilities at the time, while still being as lost as ever. Then in August of 2022, my kids were taken away from me by DHR and placed in the custody of their grandparents. I knew if I didn’t completely change my life that I would lose my kids forever.

My whole thought process was I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get my kids back, so I went to faith-based rehab called Freedom House. I had to go to detox for a week before I could even go to Freedom house. I was skeptical at first because I had never put much thought into God, or even given him a chance to change my life.

I’m here to tell you that the Lord is good and even in my DARKEST day, He was right there with me. I know that the Lord allowed my children to be taken from me because He knew that would be the only way for me to allow him to completely change my life. I graduated the Freedom house, and a couple months after I got full custody of my two beautiful children.

We are living a life with so much peace. It is unexplainable and I know it’s only because I have the joy the Lord in my heart. I have a hope and a future now and all because of Jesus Christ.  

The Freedom House and what the Lord is doing there has forever changed my life and am thankful beyond measure!