Jessica grew up in Santa Paula, the youngest of three. Her dad was “out of the picture,” and her mom remarried when she was 2. “My stepdad was very abusive,”

Elizabeth had an uneventful childhood until she got mixed up in the wrong crowd in 12th grade. “I was doing good until then,” she said. “Then I started ditching and

Now 50 years old, Gary has a lot to reflect on. He’s had success and joy in work and family, and he’s also had loss and trauma. He’s stumbled in

In Romans 11:34-36 we read, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?…For from Him and through Him and to Him are all

Matthew’s experience with church has been complicated. His parents raised him and his sister and brother as Jehovah’s Witnesses, but at 15, Matthew found himself removed from the religion. “I

Alexia grew up in Oxnard in what she calls a “picture-perfect home.” But after her father died when she was 16, she started experimenting with drugs: first marijuana and then

As a kid, Melissa grew up in two different households—one was strict but she felt loved. The other had few rules, but lacked involved parents. “I went back and forth

When Tye reflects on his childhood, he thinks of his sister. She was very sick, and was often in the hospital. The family moved around because of her care needs.

Viviana, who just turned 74, grew up in a small town in Mexico. In fact, the town was so small, there was no doctor. Viviana birthed 12 children, but only

Esteban remembers what he calls his first experience with Jesus Christ. He was struggling with anxiety and depression, and went to the hospital. “I was having these intense panic attacks,