A SECOND CHANCE

Larry lost everything and had nowhere to go . . . but you helped him find a fresh start in Christ!

Larry found himself on the brink of losing everything. Ten years of unhealthy thoughts, habits, and relationships caused him to lose all control.

He hadn’t always been stuck in that rut. Larry worked hard and moved to Tennessee to be close to his parents. When they eventually went back to Ohio to be cared for by family, Larry decided to stay in Tennessee to look after his parents’ property and work. For two years, he lived in their house by himself. It was when a girlfriend moved in with him that his life started to spiral downward.

RED FLAGS

Larry decided to take some money out of retirement in case of an emergency. Instead of putting it in the bank, he kept it in a safe place in the house. “That was a big mistake,” he says. Larry came home one day to find his girlfriend gone — along with his retirement money.

After that relationship, another woman eventually came into Larry’s life. They were happy together, but Larry noticed she started coming home late and was spending money quicker than he could make it. “I kept on asking her why the money was disappearing and bills weren’t getting paid,” he said.

Larry thought he had to bend over backwards for people. Regardless of red flags, he would do anything his girlfriend asked. “I thought things would change. But that didn’t happen.”

When COVID hit, Larry began receiving unemployment benefits. All of a sudden, his weekly income started disappearing. “It finally dawned on me. I couldn’t live like this anymore,” says Larry.

Desperate to get out of this bad relationship, Larry decided to sell his parents’ home and move back to Ohio. He didn’t know where he’d live or work. He just knew he needed to get his head clear and figure out how to get back on his feet. That’s when he heard about Haven of Rest.

BURDENED NO MORE

When Larry arrived at Haven, things began to turn around. “There’s no doubt about it. I would be on the streets if it weren’t for Haven of Rest,” he says.

Larry’s destructive thinking began to shift. He learned how to set healthy boundaries and say no, and he found clarity in his life. “I’ve been given a second chance to do things the right way instead of falling back into the same old pattern that I was in for a really long time.”

But most life-changing of all, Larry decided to let the Lord into his heart and restore the way he thought and acted. “I had this burden on my back for so long about the way things had gone the last 12 years,” he says. “When I turned everything over to Christ, that big burden lifted.”

NEVER TOO LATE

Larry plans to work at Haven of Rest and give men in need the help and Gospel hope that changed his life. “Every night, we minister to guests and tell them, ‘It’s never too late,’” he says.

That’s the message you share with Larry — and so many others — when you support Haven of Rest. “This place couldn’t work the way that it does without you,” says Larry. “You make helping the homeless possible.”