We last heard from Sadé in 2019, featured in the Fall Messenger Edition. Back then, overcoming the abuse she received as a child, had often left her feeling like she was “drowning in darkness.” But she was never one to back down from a challenge. Instead, she worked hard, and leaned on God, building up the tools and mindsets she needed to create a brighter future for her kids.
Today things are different. Now on the other side of our Residential program, Sadé is seeing all of her hard work pay off. Maintaining the same steady job and saving to buy a house has given her a financially solid foundation she never thought she would achieve. “When I was not at my best, and I didn’t have a relationship with God…it had me believing that I wasn’t smart enough, I wasn’t capable of being financially stable,” she says.
“God is awesome, just try to enjoy the process and don’t give up…”
Her new found stability isn’t just for herself. More than anything she is amazed by how it has impacted her children. They are already setting goals for themselves and thinking about everything they can accomplish when they grow up. “Because they see their mom get up every day and go to work,” she explains. “They see the sacrifice, and they know they are capable of doing anything they want to do, as long as they trust in God and are willing to do the work.”
She taught them to pray, but today, they are sometimes the ones reminding her. “So I know that [Water Street] gave me tools where, it not only helped me become who I am…but also helped my kids understand the morals and values at an early age, to take them farther in life.”
Even though going through Water Street’s program won’t permanently shield you from hardships, Sadé explains, the program has allowed her to see things differently. She’s faced the loss of loved ones and this tough season of COVID, finding now that “trusting and having faith and allowing Christ to walk beside you and live within you, you overcome those situations in a positive way.”
All this has left Sadé full of encouragement to others. “God is awesome, just try to enjoy the process and don’t give up,” she says. “We are so quick to go back to these negative tools to try to make us feel better, but it’s a temporary moment…God is permanent.”
