Michael graduated from the Life Recovery Program and is now in the Mission’s Transitional Living Program. He has gained steady employment and reconnected with his family.

May is when we celebrate Mother’s Day and honor the women who gave birth to us. But even when the relationship between mother and child is strained or near breaking, Michael’s story demonstrates that with time and God’s grace, even difficult relationships can be restored to love.

When asked about his relationship with his mom, Michael is quick to answer that she is his best friend and that they talk every day. They were always close, but looking back on everything they’ve both been through, he sees clearly how God has been at work in their lives.

Michael spent the first five years of his life in Santa Paula before moving to Los Angeles with his mom after his parents divorced. Those years were painful. His mom struggled with addiction, and her boyfriend was physically abusive to both Michael and his brother. Michael began running away, using drugs, tagging, and getting into fights. At just 13, he was removed from his mom’s care and placed into various boys’ homes. He says he was essentially on his own from that day forward. He knew his mom loved him, but she was in no place to care for him or his brother.

The next several years were a cycle of trouble and instability. Michael managed to graduate from high school and was taken in by his aunt and uncle in Ojai, but eventually he moved out and drifted around Southern California. Later, he and his brother moved north to be near their mom. He hoped that getting away from his old environment would help, but it didn’t. His mom was still struggling, and soon he was deeper into addiction himself and began selling drugs.

After moving back south, Michael experienced short periods of sobriety, but none lasted more than a few months. He said it was easy to clean up in jail, but once released, everything started again. Years of addiction and hopelessness wore him down, and he began seriously considering ending his life. He had overdosed five or six times, but even that didn’t stop him—not even when he and his cousin overdosed together and his cousin died. Later, one of his brothers died as well, leaving Michael feeling completely lost.
He remembers the lowest point clearly: getting high one last time and overdosing next to the train tracks in Santa Paula. The people he was with thought he was dead. They took his drugs, his money, and his shoes, and left his ID on his chest for whoever found his body.

Michael and his mother, Kellie, enjoying a meal together during a family road trip. The two talk daily and have gone on several adventures together since reconnecting.

It was there, at that moment, that three events occurred—moments Michael now believes were directed by God. First, a woman on her way to work spotted him by the tracks. She touched him to see if he was alive, and he immediately sat up. Something about that contact pulled him back.
He eventually made his way to a hospital in Ventura but received no help. From there, he walked to the transit station. He thought about walking into traffic, hoping to be hit, but the roads were unusually empty. Instead, he lay down on a bus stop bench and fell asleep.

The second moment came when someone grabbed his arm and shook him awake. Michael thought it was the police, but it was a stranger who said he knew a place that could help. The man got him onto a bus, and before Michael knew it, he was headed toward the Rescue Mission.

The final moment happened when he got off the bus in Oxnard. A Mission resident who had been riding with him told Michael to follow him. Michael had no idea how the man knew where he was going, but looking back, he believes it was all under God’s power.

Michael joined the Life Recovery Program, and soon after, he experienced the biggest miracle of all: his case manager located his mom, whom he hadn’t seen in almost three years. Kellie, now nearly 30 years sober, remembers the moment she received his call. She had never given up hope, but she feared she might one day receive news of his death. Instead, she heard his voice while she was on the beach in Mexico with her sisters and nieces. She was overwhelmed with relief and joy. Michael kept apologizing, and she kept reassuring him. Being surrounded by family made the moment even more meaningful as everyone wanted to speak to him.

After returning home to Nevada, she planned to visit Michael the following week. It happened to be the Mission’s Fall Family Day, and Michael invited her and her husband to attend. She remembers the anticipation she felt on the drive to Oxnard, thinking about everything they had both endured and how faithful God had been. When they arrived, the place was crowded, and she couldn’t find him at first. She walked around while her husband unloaded the bread she had baked for the Mission. Then Michael came out of the double glass doors, and she ran to him. They held each other for what felt like five minutes, both crying. She knew he was going to be okay because this was the first time he had entered a recovery program on his own.

Since that weekend a year and a half ago, Michael’s mom and family have attended his Life Recovery Program graduation, and soon they will all travel to Sacramento for his younger brother’s surprise 50th birthday. Kellie is still amazed by the change in her son. Family members who hadn’t seen him since before he entered the Mission are stunned by his transformation.

Michael continues to move forward. He has steady employment in construction, participates in the Transitional Living Program, attends Calvary Chapel in Oxnard, and meets regularly with his mentor and sponsor. He hopes to get his RV running soon so he can use it for work travel. Being part of his family again has been a blessing, and seeing his mom doing so well has been equally meaningful. He says he owes it all to God.