Miracle Moments
Brought to you by: Molly Maid of Birmingham, www.mollymaid.com/birmingham
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
My parents divorced when I was young, and my mother was granted full custody. She married an alcoholic who sexually molested me. Fortunately, my kindergarten teacher noticed the signs of abuse and asked if I was being hurt. DHR was called, and I was immediately placed in my father’s custody. In the beginning, living with my dad and new stepmother was great, and I felt safe. However, the relationship between them and my mother was contentious. Over the years, those bitter ongoing conflicts took their toll. As a result, things with my stepmother rapidly deteriorated. Her mounting mental health crisis caused disagreements between us to escalate and eventually led to a physical altercation that prompted me to ask my dad if I could leave.
The years at Big Oak Ranch were healing. I developed close bonds with my houseparents and ranch siblings. I thrived at Westbrook Christian School and made friendships I keep to this day. I excelled at sports and loved being part of the youth group at our church. It salvaged what was left of my childhood and taught me that the generational curses that wounded me didn’t have to be left unhealed to bleed onto my children. After I left the Ranch, I made some decisions that went against what I had learned there. I had a daughter out of wedlock and then entered an unhealthy relationship with an alcoholic who exhibited abusive behaviors. One particularly hard night, I felt the sweet voice of the Holy Spirit say, “You are repeating the very things I delivered you from.” And I was. With His guidance, I left that relationship. I started all over again as a single mom until I met the man that came in like warm sunshine after a long rain. Lance loved my little girl as his own from the day he laid eyes on her, and seeing their relationship grow allowed me to begin to forgive my own early mistakes as her mother. We are now married and have added two (soon to be 3) more children to our family. Gracelyn (15), August (3), Junah (2) and our baby that is due this summer have parents that have committed to being spiritually and emotionally healthy. We are firmly rooted at Victory Church in Pell City, where we also live. Big Oak was the vessel Jesus used to show me what He could do through a healthy family that served and loved Him. The Ranch’s legacy through me is my deep unyielding heart for Jesus, my beautiful marriage and my precious babies. The greatest “thank you” that I can ever hope to give to Big Oak is to raise a generation that will never need the Ranch for themselves. Instead, maybe they will have hearts and hands to one day serve those, like their mama, that find their home there.
-Amanda Rowell
Big Oak Girls’ Ranch Former Resident
