Meet Lark

…Looking past the pain to discover the God who heals.
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Crisis Intervention At Lifespring Center For Women

Overcoming Addiction and Attempted Suicide.

Her Life Had Been Filled with Darkness and Trauma No One Should Ever Have to Endure. But It would take an Act of God to wipe away her tears.

Oct 31, 2024 | Stories of Hope

Thankfully, Christ put a new song in Lark’s heart, and
He used Lifespring to do that!
When Childhood trauma and sexual abuse are combined with addiction, the result can be deadly. That’s why Wayside Cross Ministries Bible-based, Christ-centered recovery programs like Master’s Touch men and Lifespring Center for women & children, is having a direct impact in helping people change that narrative. This is Lark’s story.

Author Donna Mathewson,
Edited by Tom Davidson

Oftentimes, suicide is driven by depression that is based in deep-seated and unresolved life-trauma. Addiction becomes a temporary coping mechanism for suppressing these feelings, but eventually the cure becomes the cancer that eats away at the soul.  That’s where direct intervention, combined with counseling and long-term spiritual care, can provide the answers that traditional care may overlook. 
Wayside Cross Master's Touch Program: Free Bible-based recovery and transitional housing- Aurora IL | www.waysidecross.org
Like so many before her, Lark Smith came to Lifespring Center broken and depressed. Every woman who walks through the doors of Lifespring has endured some form of abuse or neglect. Lark was no exception.

It all started when her grandfather started sexually assaulting her from the ages of 8 through 12. Her childhood innocents was forever shattered.

It was traumatic to lose the security and trust of a person she should have been able to count on, who should have protected her, but who instead violated her repeatedly, taking her fragile self-esteem and decimating it.

At the age of 16, the sexual abuse continued when her mom’s fiancé raped her.  Unfortunately, her mother, the one person Lark should have been able to confide in, didn’t believe her when Lark told her.  She was devastated! Lark tried to commit suicide for the first time. Thankfully, she failed because God had a plan for her, though she didn’t know it then.

“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives,”

~ Isaiah 61:1b

The statistics on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) are staggering. Psychology Today states that:

  • A quarter of girls and 1 in 13 boys will experience sexual abuse before they are 18 years old, according to CDC estimates. 
  • People who have experienced child sexual abuse (CSA) are more likely to experience disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
  • CSA is also strongly linked to drug and alcohol use, and those who experienced CSA are about 2.5 times more likely to make a suicide attempt than people who have not been abused.

These staggering statistics were definitely playing out in Lark’s life.

Not only did she try to commit suicide, but she was constantly depressed and sought to drown out the memories that plagued her with drugs and alcohol. Eventually, she found herself addicted to heroin. But she was able to stop cold turkey only when she found out at 29 that she was pregnant with her daughter.  Praise God she has been clean now for 27 years!

Her daughter is now 29 and her son is 12. Somehow, she managed to find the strength to leave her son’s father four and a half years ago and moved in with her cousin.  “She was drinking a lot, and so I started drinking too. One day, It just got to the point where I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I ended up leaving. Thankfully, I managed to find a homeless shelter.”  It wasn’t ideal, but she was safe.

Then she remembered she had a high school friend who works now at Wayside Cross Ministries — she was instrumental in getting Lark to come to Lifespring.

“She really wanted me to get the help I needed. Thankfully, the alcohol and drugs were no longer a factor. But I was still on 22 different medications. Some were for my chronic health issues. Others for depression and antipsychotic drugs.”

Learning to Stand on the Solid Foundation of Christ.

Lifespring Center for Women: Get help for depression and crisis intervention
Undaunted but determined, Lark talked with Jody, the WCM women’s center director at the time, and was scheduled to come to Lifespring when COVID hit.

Unfortunately, the entire city shut down, busses, cabs, everything! But Lark remained persistent. She called every day, sometimes twice a day, so desperate for help. Finally, the restrictions around Covid were lifted and she was able to be interviewed, but when they found out about the 22 medications she took, they informed

her they did not have a nurse on staff to administer them. She wasn’t going to be able to come to the program taking that many medications.

Fortunately, her sister and brother-in-law went through every medication she took. They read about the side effects and decided out of the 22, she only needed 5 medications. One was for diabetes. The others covered blood pressure, thyroid, neuropathy, and anxiety. “I didn’t realize they were making me walk around like a freaking zombie — I didn’t have to deal with anything because I couldn’t feel anything.”

That was only the first step in her recovery.

Lark soon realized that it wasn’t healthy for her to suppress all her feelings and not deal with her issues. She would often explode and unleash her anger on the wrong person. So she got off the medications that weren’t necessary and came to Lifespring.

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

~ Matthew 6:26-27

Lifespring Center crisis intervention support and care
At Lifespring Lark began to seek and to learn that there was a God who cared for her. He valued her for who she was and what she was created for. It took time, but she learned that she could let go of the past, all her hurt, all her failures, and start anew in Christ. She started going to church, doing the Bible studies and attending classes with different Wayside facilitators. At this point, “I was hungry for it because it was all new to me.” She not only took in the information but saw it changing who she was.

Even still, it has not been all clear flying for Lark. She had foot surgery, was out of work for six months, and fell into a deep depression. Then she began slipping back into her old ways, holding things in and isolating herself in her apartment.

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty,?”

~ John 6:35

Dana Kemp, the current Lifespring Director, knew something was wrong. That’s when Dana, along with Lark’s mentor and her pastor’s wife, held an intervention for her. They helped Lark to get back on track. She felt their love and concern and it touched her heart to know that even though her earthly family might not always be there for her, her Lifespring family and her church family were. “They love me unconditionally.”

Lark started back in classes again, and she discovered that there was still so much she had to learn.

Lifespring has taught Lark that she will never stop learning and never give up. As long as she was alive, God still had a plan and a purpose for her life.

These days, Lark has gained some really good friendships at Lifespring. She appreciates that there are people in the program that she can share her struggles with, like a resident named Rica, who is very knowledgeable about the Bible. “She’ll quote me things and talk to me.” She has helped Lark through some tough times. Women in the Lifespring program all come from different walks of life. Lark shared, “But we are all here for the same reason. We’re broken, and we need help. We need God! We are here wanting to know how to be put back together…but for the most part we are a family.”

“God Helped Me Put Back The Pieces.”

Lark has found that even after two and half years, she still is a work in progress. She states that, “Before I came to Lifespring I was broken, but since I’ve been here, God has helped me put back the pieces. Everything was coming back together. To be truthful, I honestly thought they all were back, but when I started doing the study on forgiveness for the sexual assaults, I realized that I still had a lot of bitterness towards those people, and I don’t want that in my life.” Now Lark is working with her mentor to be able to forgive her perpetrators, let go of all the pain, and give it to Jesus.

“I’ve just been blessed so much despite all the trials
and tribulations I’ve had.”

Lark now lives in one of the Lifespring graduate apartments with her son. A Wayside donor is paying for her son’s tuition so he can attend Aurora Christian, and he’s learning about God as well. She is so thankful for that Wayside Cross supporter. Her son is learning Scripture…new verses each week, and she is thrilled that he remembers them. “He just made the honor roll, and I’m just so proud of him.” Every month she takes a picture of her son with his certificates and thank you notes, and she gives them to her pastor’s wife to pass on to this anonymous donor. “I’ve just been so blessed so much despite all the trials and tribulations I’ve had.”
Today, Lark is a housekeeper at Rush Copley. She works full-time and is saving money while paying a small amount stipend ($50 a month) for her graduate apartment and new sense of independence.

Lifespring has helped her to budget, but more importantly, to not spend her money trying to fill that hole inside her. That spot is filled now by Christ. Shopping used to be an addiction for her, but at Lifespring she needs to submit her paycheck stub and account for her spending by submitting receipts. This type of accountability has helped to free her from her shopping addiction and to fill that hole with Christ.

Now, Lark is taking classes at Waubonsee College for their CNA program. She hopes to be a nurse. Her goals are to graduate, save money, find a nice place for her son and herself, and build a life together. But a recent surgery set her back. Paying back all the bills really depleted her savings, so she was given the opportunity to stay longer at Lifespring, allowing her to build up her savings again.

“He knows what you need. He knows what your life is gonna be,
but you gotta, you gotta, you just gotta let Him in.”

“Lifespring gave me God. That’s the number one thing that they gave me that I didn’t have…I just can’t find the words to say just how grateful I am for this place. And I hate when women leave too soon, because they just don’t know what they’re missing. It just takes a little time. That’s what He wants. He loves you no matter; you can go to Him about anything.”

“Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not touch what is unclean,

and I will receive you.’”

~ 2 Corinthians 6:17

Lark had no self-esteem when she walked through Lifespring’s doors, but that has all changed. Now when she catches herself with her head down, she reminds herself, “Girl, raise your head! You have God in your life! He loves you no matter what!” Lifespring gave Lark a real look at who God is, and she is now able to look at herself through His loving eyes. “This is a place to give women a new life, but most importantly, give them a godly life. That’s the most important thing. You just gotta leave the outside out there. Let them fill you up with the knowledge of God and His love and grace, and just everything that He can give you. He knows what you need. He knows what your life is gonna be, but you gotta, you gotta, you gotta let Him in.”

“I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have breath. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.”

~ Psalm 104:33-34

In Psalm 148:13, all creation is invited to “praise the name of the LORD.” Birds fulfill their purpose by doing what they’re designed to do: warble, tweet, caw and chirp. They praise God instinctively every morning.

Just like the bird that she was named after, Lark wakes each morning with God’s praises on her lips. She sings her praises of the LORD and what He has done in her life. Lifespring has given her so much, but mostly it has given her a life with the Creator, Who loves her and created her for a purpose.

She lives in hope, and she is so grateful to those who have changed her life, both spiritually and physically, because she knows, in her heart, that without God’s help and the help she has received from Lifespring she would be dead. Lark has learned to praise God and to focus her heart and mind on who God is and His unique purpose for her in this life.

Lifespring Center for Women: Get help for depression and crisis intervention

Singing God’s Praises

Unlike birds, we are designed to have a personal relationship with our Creator, and Lifespring has helped Lark to develop that. Lark has learned to exclaim the words of this psalm, “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have breath. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD.” Thank you for your prayers and support. You help sustain people like Lark in their times of trouble and give them the space and time to discover who they are in Christ and the opportunity to find their real purpose in life. You play a substantial part in their recovery and new life journey.

 

To learn more about the Liferspring Center or the five other ministry divisions that make up Wayside Cross Ministries, click here!

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Need Help, Call 630-892-4239

Wayside Cross. Providing help and hope to
the broken, addicted and abused for nearly 100 years.

Wayside Cross Ministries’ Lifespring Center offers single women and women with children, a safe place to recover from brokenness, addiction and homelessness, and it’s just one of six ministries at Wayside dedicated to serving Christ through His people in need.  Join us in this journey of helping to transform lives and sharing the Gospel of Christ. If you would like to learn more about this 95 year old ministry women’s program looks like, click here.
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