Stories

Have I Told You About Tori?

By Steve McRee

What is the worst thing you can imagine happening to you?  Being abandoned, beaten, molested, abused? What if you had to endure all of those things before you even reached the age of 20? That’s* Tori’s story. She experienced neglect and abandonment as she watched her mother throw her life away with drugs and abusive men. In her teens, Tori went to live with her grandparents. Everyone thought things would get better there, but in fact, they got worse. Tori’s grandparents were involved in a judgmental, fundamentalist cult. They believed that God was harsh and unloving. There was no freedom, no joy, no hope. But God, in his goodness, reached out to Tori through a miraculous phone call from a friend. In that phone call, Tori heard about a place she could get the help she needed. A place that was full of love where she could meet the one, true God. The next day, Tori got on a bus and started her journey to Shepherd’s Gate. During that bus ride, Tori recalled memories of the abuse, she pulled out her notebook and started to write. By the time she arrived she had written a beautiful song, “Beautiful Shepherd.” God had already started turning her mourning into dancing! Tori met the true and loving God—Jesus Christ—at Shepherd’s Gate. Her entire life has changed. She now has hope and is healing from her past. “I was dead inside and now I care,” she says, full of gratitude. Tori’s transformation wouldn’t have been possible without the support of people like you.  Gifts from caring partners make it possible for hurting women and children to get the help they need—and most importantly, meet the one true God who can wipe away every tear from our eyes. It’s amazing how God uses people like you and I to rewrite stories—to turn tragic beginnings into beautiful endings.

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