How Lifespring Women’s Shelter near Naperville helped Adrianne.

Lifespring Women’s Shelter has transformed the lives of broken and hurting for over 40 years. Today, many homeless and addicted women find Wayside Cross’ Lifespring Center near Naperville, a shelter for the storms of life. See how Adrianne received hope in our Christ-centered, transitional housing & recovery program to radically transformed her life.

He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. ~ Psalm 147:3

“Why would I come to Jesus, and why would I come to Lifespring…”

“That’s a really good question, have you ever been thirsty for something that couldn’t be quenched?”

Several years ago, these questions rolled around in the back of Adrianne’s mind. Pastor and Theologian John Piper once said: “When you go without water, your body gets thirsty. If you go without God, your soul gets thirsty too.”

How often had Jesus called out to her?

Unfortunately, Adrianne couldn’t count the number of times… Thankfully, that changed.

Today, she and her children live in Nebraska.

It was a bold move. One she felt called to do after graduating from the Bible-based, Christ-centered shelter and recovery program at Wayside Cross. Here in their Lifespring Center for women and children, she found answers to a question she had been running from nearly her entire life.

Just seven years earlier, she never would have dreamed of making such a bold move to Lifespring and into the arms of Jesus.

She was an alcoholic and a crack addict. Jesus was the furthest thing from her mind. That stark reality may seem unimaginable for someone who grew up in a Christian home with a strong, faith-filled mom.

Unfortunately, her life was a broken one and in time, she sought affirmation, acceptance, and answers from a broken world.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ~ John 10:27-30

Eventually, a series of poor choices, and a decade later, Adrianne found herself asking some pretty hard questions….

Questions that only began to reveal themselves when she gazed into the eyes of her small children. Like how can I raise my kids and maintain my addiction?

“At first, I tried to hide it… my addiction.”

“I kept trying to tell myself that I could take control of it. Then, I tried to minimize things, I tried to bargain. I really tried to hide it from my children. But as they got a little older, they could see what was really happening.”

“Eventually, I got to a point where I was thirsty for answers and deliverance. I didn’t like the image staring back at me in my children’s eyes. I remember breaking down. That was the first time I really asked Jesus for help.”

For Adrianne and many others like her who struggle with similar issues, there is a
promise in Isaiah 58:11 . . .

“You shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” 

But it took two years, and being asked to leave once from Lifespring before she started to hear and believe in that promise. In time, she began to work through the issues that fueled her addiction.

“Today, I have kids… and my kids finally have a mom.”

Looking back, Adrianne agrees those two years at Lifespring were well spent. Here, she learned to depend on something greater than herself. What’s more, she developed new skills birthed through the hard times and through the tears.

For many, women with similar backgrounds struggle in their recovery seeking out broken men and relationships for answers. That only leads to more brokenness. However, when they finally see themselves as Jesus does, fearfully and wonderfully made, they begin to experience a breakthrough…

It wasn’t easy, but in time, Adrianne faced her demons and beat back the fears. Through the love of Christ, she found the strength to graduate from Lifespring and was ready to make another bold move.

She packed up and moved four hundred and eighty-six miles to Nebraska.

In recovery, Adrianne discovered everyone eventually learns to face and change three things . . . people, places, and things.

Nebraska was about as far as she could imagine. She had some savings, a close friend, and a supportive Grandfather nearby to check on her. More importantly, she was finally strong enough to build a new life. An independent and faith-filled life!

She found a good church and a nice home that offered the stability her children needed most. It’s been several months since their move, but in some ways, it seems like she’s still settling in. Gazing at her children, Adrianne described her new life with a note of contentment…

“I got a new job starting… so that’s kind of fun and exciting… It’s at a restaurant called McAllister’s Deli. It’s like a really fancy Subway. They have different ingredients and all kinds of sandwiches on the menu. Thankfully, during the whole COVID thing, Nebraska remained open…”

“Actually, my neighbor was telling me it’s like this across the entire state. They practice some of the policies they had in Illinois, like social distancing, but remained open during COVID. It seems like they have been unaffected by it.”

“When we got here, the schools were actually open. I was really happy about that because my babies missed out a lot in their education with the restrictions back home and remote learning. It was just horrible for them! Thankfully Nebraska is a little different.”

“I found that the public school system here strongly believes in the importance of in-person education. Even more, they put a lot of guidelines on the schools to ensure safety. Parents aren’t even allowed inside the building. I’ve gone as far as the office, but you can’t go in without a mask.”

“Thankfully, my kids can experience real classrooms and making new friends.”

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ~ James 1:17

“Now more than ever, I think about my first week at Lifespring… It’s a recovery program that gets you up almost immediately and involved somewhere in the ministry the minute you enter their program. There’s structure. Classes. You’re also expected to work and contribute in some way emotionally and spiritually to the other women in recovery.”

“I remember saying, no, no, no… I’m not ready for that. I was scared because I came from a background of rejection. I remember crying in my room. My heart was broken, and I thought – I just can’t do this. Then I read this scripture from the Bible at the foot of my bed, and it was so beautiful.”

“Out of Your Heart Will Flow Rivers of Living Water.”  ~ John 7:38

“How about that? I’m sitting in a shelter for women called Lifespring, and I was feeling totally lost, and I just happen to turn to this verse. God has a sense of humor. I knew I had to open my heart up to the possibility of living and depending on Him completely… for everything.”

What she found at Wayside Cross Lifespring Center was a place that offers many things in the recovery process besides meals and transitional housing. There are training programs and online classes to help you get your GED. Volunteers teach life skills. Mentors work with individuals one-on-one, and each resident in recovery is connected with one of the many local churches. They provide a support system and a church family to help transition to a life of independence. But in Lifespring’s recovery foundation is the strongest one of all, hope in Christ Jesus.

“One of the first verses residents learn when we first get here is to submit to authorities.”

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” ~ Romans 13

“That was a tough one to understand, at first. I remember thinking they are going to be telling me what to do. No. No, No. I’m not going along with that.”

“But to get along, you have to go along.”

“I quickly learned it wasn’t that at all. It’s about surrendering your will to God’s will. And respecting the people you work with… it applies to so many things.”

She learned the importance of being coachable and open to other ideas . . . habits that would serve her in the workforce.

Dana Kemp, Director of Lifespring Ministry, said,   “Adrianne was one of those rare individuals who was sick and tired of being sick and tired. Shortly after arriving for the second time at Lifespring. She was a different person.

Now working in the foodservice industry, in my new job, I remember all of these lessons. I am picking up new skills on how to manage a kitchen, the meaning of hospitality, and customer service. Even more, I’m learning how to stock and order inventory, and I’m getting my food handlers certification—all the things I need to eventually start my own restaurant.

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; ~ Deuteronomy 8:7-8

While she lived at Lifespring, Adrianne would treat the other residents and their families to her famous sandwich wraps. She had so many different varieties that the residents would ask her for her recipes. They told her she should open her own restaurant. In a few years, that’s exactly what Adrianne hopes to do!

These days, her life is filled with promise. The addictions are gone, and her eyes are firmly fixed on Christ and giving her kids the future they deserve.

“I owe it all to Lifespring for helping me restore my life and my relationship with my kids…for giving me this dream and the tools to help make it happen.”

“But I really owe it all to God for never leaving or forsaking me and for the people who support this ministry. I owe it all to you!”

“You gave me a life I never knew I could have.”

If you enjoyed this story and want to learn about other lives that were changed, click: Stories of Hope & Recovery

If you know someone in need of a safe place to recover and rebuild their lives call Wayside Cross Ministries’ Lifespring Center for Women or Master’s Touch for Men at (630) 892-4239.