Hello, My name is Mary Underwood and I am 27 years old. I came to Harvest House a little over a year ago, hopeless and confused. I had been on drugs ever since I was 14 years old. I started with alcohol and marijuana. As I got older, I tried almost everything that was out there to try. I looked to drugs and men to find my happiness. I had been in and out of jail since I was 18. I had a daughter when I was 19 and lost custody of her three years later, due to returning to jail for drugs. This was the second time I had went to jail since I had her. I went from seeing my daughter everyday to seeing her for 2 hours of supervised visitation a week. You would think this would have made me want to get my life together. Instead, it was the beginning of a downward spiral. I had never felt as hopeless as I did at this point in my life. I had lost everything and decited to change my life by moving to another state. I came to Colorado in 2005. I started hanging out with the same type of crowd and became badly addicted to pain pills. I ended up in and out of jail for stealing pills from a co-worker. The last time I was in jail, I knew I needed help. I couldn't do it on my own anymore. I had no where to turnbut the Lord. I heard about Harvest House and they accepted me the day I was released from jail. I came here unsure of what was going to happen, but the Lord knew. One thing I had come to realize is that I was desperate for Jesus. I accepted Him into my heart and my life has become something I never thought possible. I have learned how to make the Lord my everything. I have been through some difficult trials since I have been here. Through it all, I have learned that Jesus is more than enough for me. He is restoring my daughter's and my relationship. We are getting to know each other again through phone calls and letters. I trust in God's perfect timing, there will be an opportunity for more contact. Looking back, I wouldn't change anything about my past. It is through the brokeness that resulted that brought me to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I have a scripture that I keep close to my heart, that ministers to me.

Psalms 66:10-12 "For you O God tested us; you refined us like silver;... we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance."