MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With a glimpse through the doorway of her small but comfortable room at the Salvation Army, you’ll find 43-year-old Lisa Mowery holding a book of meditation passages and embracing every word she now lives by everyday.
“When we use alcohol and other drugs, we shared as little as possible. We learn that the more we give, the more we get,” Mowery said.
Mowery’s life, along with her second husband’s, was a living hell filled with domestic abuse and substance abuse.
“He’s an alcoholic, addict, and so am I, and just that mixture just lead to a lot of bad experiences.”
Bad experiences could be an understatement. Over a six-year period, Lisa said she was scarred by the physical abuse that came at the hands of her husband.
“There were times when I would have a whole lot of bruising, and even after a month, I would still be bruised.”
She was emotionally scarred, as well, as she remained in an abusive relationship. To help cover up her problems, she began drinking and abusing prescription drugs, and she even used heroin.
“It was hopeless. I wanted to just die. I wanted the easy way out, just die.”
Her abuse and addiction hit their lowest point when she got evicted from the apartment where she and her children lived. She borrowed from her first husband to pay her bills but spent the money on drugs.
Lisa remembers the emotional wake-up call he gave her.
“He said, ‘Lisa, if you don’t stop what you are doing, you are going to lose those children,’ and that was the turning point for me.”
Lisa sought help, and she was put in touch with the Salvation Army’s Renewal Place program. It’s a two-year residential recovery program for homeless and addicted women and their children. It’s helped Lisa reconnect with the children she loves: John, Lauren and Jack.
“I think my kids would have been taken. I would have wound up doing something and ended up in jail. I don’t know, maybe dead.”
Lisa is now scheduled to graduate from Renewal Place in March of next year. Her goals are to find a good job and repair relationships with her family, friends and God.
“Fear thou not for I am with thee, but be not dismayed for I am thou God.”
It’s a new beginning for Mowery because of the Salvation Army and Renewal Place.
“I feel really blessed. I am very grateful. I am grateful with finding this place.”
