Episode 5

Michelle's Redemption Story: From Meth to Mentor

Michelle Rippy, a local woman who battled severe addiction for over two decades. Michelle recounts her chaotic upbringing, struggles with methamphetamine, and her miraculous survival after a dire health scare. Despite her initial reluctance, and guided by key community figures and the support of Hope Network and Hope House Coffee, Michelle found her path to recovery and faith. Through her journey, Michelle underscores a crucial message: no one is ever too far gone for redemption. This episode is a compelling testament to the power of community, faith, and the willingness to say yes to helping those in need.

00:00 Introduction and Previous Episodes Recap

01:19 Meet Michelle Rippy

01:28 Michelle's Early Life and Upbringing

04:20 Struggles with Addiction

09:07 The Turning Point: Near-Death Experience

14:10 Recovery and Relapse

19:49 A New Hope: Encounter with Chris Landry

22:22 Release and a New Beginning

22:44 Connecting with the HOPE Network

23:47 The Power of Saying Yes

25:16 Entering the Program

25:59 A New Life in the Program

27:15 Finding Faith and Family

29:21 The Journey of Rebuilding

31:07 Trusting the Process

31:47 A Five-Year Transformation

37:44 Hope House Coffee: A New Opportunity

43:08 Michelle's Message to Rutherford County

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Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome to Small Town, Big God.

Speaker:

My name is Michael Collins, and just like always I have a story of God at work

Speaker:

in Rutherford County, North Carolina.

Speaker:

This is a very special episode because it's a perfect follow up to both the

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story of Hope House Coffee, which episodes one and two were about, and

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and the story of Hope Network, which episodes three and four were about.

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I recommend you go back and listen to those episodes first, if you want to get

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the full effect of this story, because Michelle, who I'm interviewing, references

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several people that have already been on the show in previous episodes.

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But her story can absolutely stand on its own, so if you're driving or something,

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don't worry about going back right now.

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But part of the reason this is such a special episode is

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that it almost didn't happen.

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Michelle was one of the first people that I asked to be on the show months

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before the first episode came out.

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I also had just about every person I talked to.

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on the show recommended that I have her on as a guest, but the problem

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is that she was very nervous.

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She felt like she wouldn't be a good guest, which, as you're about

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to hear, is absolutely not true.

Speaker:

So, without further ado, here is Michelle.

Michelle:

my name is Michelle Rippey and I have lived in Rutherford County for

Michelle:

almost all of my life.

Michelle:

I was born here in Rutherford County and my mom and dad separated at a young age.

Michelle:

And I went to Pennsylvania when I was six months old.

Michelle:

And then I came back down around the age of 10.

Michelle:

So I've been here the last, 33 years, actually.

Michelle:

My mom decided that, Pennsylvania was a different way of living.

Michelle:

It was very fast-paced, and, North Carolina was where she had heart at.

Michelle:

and so she actually moved us back So we relocated back to Rutherford County and

Michelle:

then she, had ended up getting married after that and she ended up moving

Michelle:

to South Carolina and then I stayed here in Rutherford County with my dad.

Michelle:

I have half siblings.

Michelle:

We all have the same father.

Michelle:

We do not have the same mom.

Michelle:

I have my mom and my dad.

Michelle:

So I'm the only child.

Michelle:

I'm the only grandchild, the only on my mom's side, the only niece.

Michelle:

I was raised in a pretty tight family of women.

Michelle:

but we were, I was not raised, in Jesus.

Michelle:

Michelle did not have a Christian upbringing.

Michelle:

Sadly, like a lot of people in the small town friendly area, she went to

Michelle:

church only twice a year, Christmas and Easter, and didn't know much about Jesus.

Michelle:

The adults that Michelle grew up around taught her that life was about partying

Michelle:

and not the healthy kind of partying.

Michelle:

I wasn't raised in Christ.

Michelle:

And so I wasn't raised in a godly family.

Michelle:

the only thing I knew was how to party.

Michelle:

it was a normal way of living.

Michelle:

I remember going to church on Easter and on Christmas, whenever

Michelle:

I was in Pennsylvania and I had new outfits, but I could never

Michelle:

tell you why we went to church.

Michelle:

I couldn't tell you that, that the reason was for Jesus, you know.

Mikel:

what was your understanding of church

Michelle:

The greatest understanding that I had was that I knew I

Michelle:

would always get a new dress.

Michelle:

I would always get something new to wear, on Easter.

Michelle:

Christmas and we would go to church.

Michelle:

That is the only two times per year that my aunt would take me.

Michelle:

It wasn't my mom or my grandma, but it would be my aunt.

Mikel:

Only on Christmas and Easter.

Michelle:

Only on Christmas and Easter.

Michelle:

It was a party

Michelle:

every other day of the

Michelle:

week.

Michelle:

I may would have known the name Jesus.

Michelle:

I knew that, that people lived differently that went to church and stuff, but , I

Michelle:

did not know who Jesus was, honestly.

Michelle:

I did not know him personally up until about five years

Michelle:

ago.

Michelle:

Michelle's upbringing and the influence of this party lifestyle

Michelle:

ended up leading her to move out on her own at a very young age.

Michelle:

Because of the dysfunction that I had seen and was raised in, I ended

Michelle:

up leaving my dad's whenever I was, in high school and, moved out on my own.

Michelle:

I was 15 years

Michelle:

old.

Michelle:

I always looked older than I actually was.

Michelle:

And so I ended up beginning a relationship and trying to adult then.

Michelle:

And, I began actually using drugs.

Mikel:

did you get access through this relationship that you were a part of?

Michelle:

Well, it was very familiar to me because that is the way that,

Michelle:

my family, my mom and dad, regardless of which parent I was with growing up,

Michelle:

that is the lifestyle that they lived.

Michelle:

So, I was very familiar with that lifestyle.

Michelle:

And after moving on my own or, Into the relationship that I was in.

Michelle:

I began, experimenting with drugs and alcohol, quite frequently.

Michelle:

And, became addicted.

Michelle:

my drug of choice then was marijuana.

Michelle:

That time was very, chaotic and dysfunctional.

Michelle:

so the marijuana use led to, more, deeper things and ultimately led

Michelle:

to the use of methamphetamine.

Michelle:

I did, quit high school and then I had a chance to go back to Isothermal and

Michelle:

I went back to the community college, received my GED, that was in 2002.

Michelle:

I was to graduate in 99.

Michelle:

I did complete that part, , which was a big, it was a big deal for me.

Michelle:

But through that, I had already began using methamphetamine

Michelle:

and, live in that lifestyle.

Michelle:

Methamphetamine is no joke, and having been blessed enough in my own childhood to

Michelle:

not be exposed to that sort of lifestyle, and seeing warnings about the dangers

Michelle:

of drug use growing up, it's hard for me to understand the reasons that people

Michelle:

choose to try meth for the first time.

Michelle:

But even if I had a better understanding of what commonly causes people

Michelle:

to fall into addiction, I don't think I ever would have guessed.

Michelle:

Michelle's reason for trying meth for the very first time.

Michelle:

Ultimately I tried it for the first time because I was

Michelle:

always overweight growing up.

Michelle:

my first trial was, to lose weight.

Mikel:

Wow.

Mikel:

Interesting.

Mikel:

Just because that's a side effect of meth

Michelle:

in

Michelle:

the addiction of methamphetamine, it's something that is really unexplainable.

Michelle:

meth has a way of, keeping you awake and giving you a, Indescribable amount of

Michelle:

energy that, your, your, your body is always on the go.

Michelle:

I did not sleep a lot on it.

Michelle:

and I didn't eat regularly

Michelle:

on it.

Michelle:

it's definitely, a destruction to your body.

Michelle:

with the no eating, no drinking, no water, no sleep, it's just, it's,

Michelle:

it's very, it's a very demonic, drug.

Michelle:

It's a very demonic, it can lead into a very demonic

Michelle:

lifestyle.

Michelle:

I was in active addiction for methamphetamine for 23 plus

Michelle:

years.

Mikel:

years.

Mikel:

and,

Mikel:

when you were in addiction, was it every day that

Mikel:

you were

Mikel:

using meth,

Michelle:

Yeah.

Michelle:

So, what happens is that I could probably, say for any addict or any

Michelle:

recovering addict, when you begin doing something, you have control over it,

Michelle:

but eventually it has control over you.

Michelle:

I had began doing it.

Michelle:

in low quantities, just a little bit here and there periodically,

Michelle:

maybe once or twice a week.

Michelle:

Then, it went to the weekends and ultimately it led to, me using,

Michelle:

every single day, all day long.

Michelle:

there were times whenever I didn't sleep for eight or nine days

Michelle:

straight.

Michelle:

and that seems inhumane to go eight or nine days without

Michelle:

sleep rest food and nourishment.

Michelle:

But methamphetamine is that kind of drug that does allow an addict to function

Michelle:

that

Michelle:

way.

Michelle:

Before my conversation with Michelle, I did not realize the extent of

Michelle:

what meth will do to the human body.

Michelle:

No sleep for nine days!

Michelle:

I'm pretty sure that twenty three years of addiction to a

Michelle:

drug like that would kill me.

Michelle:

And, as you're about to hear, it came very close to killing Michelle.

Michelle:

Towards

Michelle:

the ending of my addiction

Michelle:

I

Michelle:

had

Michelle:

gotten what an addict would call bad dope, bad methamphetamine.

Michelle:

but when you're speaking to the non addict, all of it is bad.

Michelle:

this particular kind I had, gotten, was mixed and cut with an elephant

Michelle:

tranquilizer.

Michelle:

the way that I was doing it, it set up an infection around

Michelle:

my heart at the age of 37.

Michelle:

And

Michelle:

this

Michelle:

time while doing it, I was no longer

Michelle:

Getting up, it was putting me down and so, my energy was depleting.

Michelle:

I couldn't, I wasn't moving.

Michelle:

I had never experienced anything like it.

Michelle:

I was literally at my, my life was literally, I was literally dying.

Michelle:

my thought process always was to, if I just do a little bit more, it'll make

Michelle:

me feel better and I'll be back up.

Michelle:

Well, I was doing the same particular kind that had the elephant tranquilizer

Michelle:

and, it took me almost completely under.

Michelle:

I actually lived with, my daughter and her grandparents and she,

Michelle:

had left for school and when she came in, she found me laying on

Michelle:

in

Michelle:

my room.

Michelle:

She knew something was wrong with me when she had actually found me.

Michelle:

I had a 4 percent chance of

Michelle:

living.

Michelle:

The

Michelle:

ambulance was called out.

Michelle:

They were called out, of course.

Michelle:

And right then and there I was taken to, I think, Rutherford.

Michelle:

Then I was flown to Spartanburg Regional, where I began a long,

Michelle:

recovery.

Michelle:

Praise God that he had another plan for me.

Michelle:

A 4 percent chance of survival.

Michelle:

Man, I don't know what to say other than just repeating what Michelle said.

Michelle:

Praise God.

Michelle:

She couldn't see it at the time, but God still had a plan to use

Michelle:

Michelle for some incredible things.

Michelle:

But just because she survived against all odds does not mean

Michelle:

that she was out of the woods yet.

Michelle:

what had happened was It was something called endocarditis, which was

Michelle:

an infection that set up around my heart that took about 258 doses of antibiotics.

Michelle:

So that

Michelle:

left

Michelle:

me,

Michelle:

not

Michelle:

being a candidate of going back home because I had a PICC line.

Michelle:

And the way that I had used methamphetamine was intravenously.

Michelle:

So, , I was not a candidate to go home because I had a PICC line and that

Michelle:

is what the antibiotics was going in.

Michelle:

So, I had to stay.

Michelle:

I was in there, 58 days.

Michelle:

in two hospitals to, Complete the dosage of antibiotics to

Michelle:

take care of the infection of my

Michelle:

heart.

Mikel:

Wow, so, just so I'm understanding, a PICC line, that's like an IV,

Mikel:

that's giving you the antibiotics, and

Mikel:

they

Mikel:

had to use that, and that's why you couldn't go home, because

Mikel:

you can't have that at home.

Michelle:

because the attic part, because I

Michelle:

had used intravenous, they was saying that, I guess there could have been a way

Michelle:

that I could have used or put something

Michelle:

in through that pick line, so my 58 days.

Mikel:

Wow.

Michelle:

I began losing my hair.

Michelle:

with the antibiotics, this is the first 58 days I had had clean

Michelle:

ever.

Michelle:

I'm in a hospital.

Michelle:

I had began getting shots in my stomach because I wasn't actively moving.

Michelle:

I had to learn how to walk again And go up flights of stairs.

Michelle:

had to learn how to talk again.

Michelle:

I had a trach.

Michelle:

I had, injections where there was fluid in my lungs.

Michelle:

had to have open heart surgery I have a scar on my chest where

Michelle:

they did open heart surgery.

Michelle:

Inactive, methamphetamine use.

Michelle:

I was one of the ones that would love to clean.

Michelle:

So I would go in the bathroom and I would spray the bathroom down

Michelle:

and I would come out and I would shut it, shut the door, and then I

Michelle:

would go back in there and clean.

Michelle:

And so when I was in the hospital or while I was in there, they thought

Michelle:

I actually made methamphetamine because I had chemical burns on my

Michelle:

lungs.

Michelle:

And now my hair is almost completely gone because through the whole lot,

Michelle:

you know, through the medications and the whole process, I lost every bit

Michelle:

of my hair

Michelle:

and losing my hair was more of a transition to me than

Michelle:

the open heart surgery was.

Michelle:

58 days in the hospital, learning how to speak and walk all over again,

Michelle:

probably has you assuming that this is the turning point in Michelle's story.

Michelle:

But it, it isn't.

Michelle:

58 days later, I am allowed to come home.

Michelle:

And so, my daughter's grandparents came and picked me up.

Michelle:

And I went back home to their place.

Michelle:

the thing about that was that her, Father and I were very toxic for each other Like

Michelle:

I said, I did not know how to live sober And so within the hour after being back

Michelle:

home, I had already gotten high again.

Mikel:

Wow.

Mikel:

So you went through 58 days with all these shots and IV and

Mikel:

medicine relearning how to walk

Mikel:

and speak,

Mikel:

and went right back

Michelle:

home for an hour

Mikel:

an

Michelle:

was already hogging.

Mikel:

Wow.

Mikel:

58 days in the hospital, might not have been enough to bring Michelle to

Mikel:

a place where she was ready to let go for addiction, but God was at work in

Mikel:

her life and that time in the hospital set up something that would end up

Mikel:

being the turning point for Michelle.

Michelle:

Praise God that I had missed a court date while I was in the hospital.

Michelle:

And the court appearance was for driving while license revoked.

Michelle:

Because in amongst that addiction, I didn't follow any of the rules or laws.

Michelle:

And so I had to, I lost my license, prior, like, ten years.

Michelle:

I don't, I'm not even exactly sure when I lost them, but I continued driving.

Michelle:

And I had, got arrested for driving my license revoked, and had a court date.

Michelle:

And, they let me sign myself out, and the court date was while I was

Michelle:

in the hospital and I missed it.

Michelle:

So,

Michelle:

I

Michelle:

was able to stay on the run for this little measly driving my license

Michelle:

revoked for probably, I think

Michelle:

this was

Michelle:

in April until December 25th, 2018..

Michelle:

So, at my daughter's grandparents, like I said, her dad and I were very toxic

Michelle:

for

Michelle:

each

Michelle:

other.

Michelle:

And so, I decided

Michelle:

to

Michelle:

leave.

Michelle:

Because he was getting high, I was getting high.

Michelle:

after the open heart surgery, my hair gone, I was experiencing things

Michelle:

like, my self esteem and just me in general, And plus the drugs.

Michelle:

When you add methamphetamine to anything, it can be, Methamphetamine is a crazy drug

Michelle:

and it will make a person crazy quickly.

Michelle:

I had had enough and said, I cannot get high any longer.

Michelle:

I can't do this anymore.

Michelle:

And I left out

Michelle:

walking.

Michelle:

so, which put me on like a, I didn't know where I was walking to or what I was

Michelle:

doing, but three or four days I walked

Michelle:

straight.

Mikel:

Three or four

Michelle:

Yes.

Michelle:

Yes.

Michelle:

I mean, stopping at different places and, lived the most chaotic

Michelle:

in like a three or four day span.

Michelle:

Very high, very self destructive and, went through some things and, allowed

Michelle:

myself to go through some things.

Michelle:

Put myself in situations over those days Self sabotaging, let's

Michelle:

How

Mikel:

far did you walk?.

Mikel:

I started in Henrietta.

Mikel:

Because that was

Michelle:

started at Henrietta, because that was in the Mooresboro.

Michelle:

I started in Henrietta.

Michelle:

Ended up in Rutherfordton, come back down Rutherfordton, and I

Michelle:

ended up getting arrested on Ferry

Michelle:

Road.

Mikel:

Wow.

Michelle:

on December 25th,

Michelle:

2018.

Michelle:

christmas day.

Michelle:

you know, I did not keep up with dates or days, but Christmas day, I

Michelle:

was, I had been walking for about 24 hours straight and I ran out of water.

Michelle:

So I ended up stopping at a fire hydrant and sitting there

Michelle:

and said, I'm not moving.

Michelle:

I'm not, I'm going to sit here on this fire hydrant.

Michelle:

I was hungry, needed sleep.

Michelle:

just in a crazy state of mind.

Michelle:

And it was like within five minutes, the fire department pulled

Michelle:

up.

Michelle:

the first thing he says is, are you okay?

Michelle:

And I said, I need water.

Michelle:

And he says, well, I'm going to give you some water, but I'm going to, is it

Michelle:

okay if I call, I'm going to call the sheriff down here and the ambulance.

Michelle:

So that told me that I probably looked pretty rough.

Michelle:

he calls the police and I said, call whoever you need to call as long as I get

Michelle:

water

Michelle:

The police.

Michelle:

And of course, ran my name.

Michelle:

And that is when, you know, he said, Well, you have a warrant for your

Michelle:

arrest.

Michelle:

And

Michelle:

I was like, Praise God.

Michelle:

I had never been so excited to go to

Michelle:

jail in

Michelle:

my

Michelle:

life.

Michelle:

Really?

Michelle:

was that

Michelle:

moment?

Michelle:

Yes.

Mikel:

I just

Michelle:

Because I knew that I would not have to walk anymore.

Michelle:

I was going to get food and I was going to take a shower.

Michelle:

And I knew I was not bonding out.

Michelle:

So I was going to have peace for that night in the Rutherford County

Michelle:

Jail.

Michelle:

I hope that it is difficult for you to imagine going through so much

Michelle:

suffering that you get to a place where you're excited to go to jail.

Michelle:

But sadly, that has been the reality for a lot of people.

Michelle:

Michelle is not the first person I've met who has told me there was a time when

Michelle:

they would look forward to going to jail.

Michelle:

But, even in the darkest places, in the darkest times, there is hope.

Michelle:

I was only in there eight

Michelle:

days.

Michelle:

And there is a lady that is consistent and she is a mighty woman of God.

Michelle:

And her name is Chris Landry.

Michelle:

And she is from a bounding grace ministries right here in Rutherford

Michelle:

County, and she goes into the jail every single Thursday.

Michelle:

She brings the name of Jesus and she brings worship music and she

Michelle:

brings the gospel into, the most, hardest place in the county jail,

Michelle:

where these women are the most vulnerable . They're the most brokenest.

Michelle:

And she came in and she had known me from my past because

Michelle:

she had seen me in the county.

Michelle:

Cause I had been in there several times.

Michelle:

so, you know, she knew who I was and she told me about what is now

Michelle:

called the Hope Network of Rutherford

Michelle:

If you listen to the other episodes, it should.

Michelle:

But at this point in the story, Hope Network is still called the

Michelle:

Hope Center of Rutherford County.

Michelle:

It had not yet expanded into a network, although it was pretty big.

Michelle:

In the process of beginning that shift.

Michelle:

And Ashley Nichols, who you heard from in episode 3, was

Michelle:

involved, but was not the director.

Michelle:

And in fact, there were several other directors yet to come

Michelle:

before Ashley took the position.

Michelle:

But I'm jumping ahead now, so let's get back to Michelle and hear why she was

Michelle:

now, finally, ready to ask for help.

Michelle:

Well, I just knew that I could not.

Michelle:

Go back out.

Michelle:

I was hoping that I was going to go to prison.

Michelle:

I was ready at this point in my life to go to prison for 10

Michelle:

years if that's what they wanted

Michelle:

to do.

Michelle:

I just did not want to get back out because I did not know what

Michelle:

out or where I was going to go.

Michelle:

And so she tells me about this little program in Rutherford

Michelle:

County and I haven't even been to

Michelle:

court yet.

Michelle:

this was on a Thursday.

Michelle:

It was like Monday or Tuesday that they decided to take me to court.

Michelle:

anytime I had ever been in jail, it was always a process.

Michelle:

So there was always 10 or 20 or 30 days in between the court date.

Michelle:

And it was like eight days and I was

Michelle:

going to

Michelle:

court.

Michelle:

And so I was like, I don't care what happens.

Michelle:

I just

Michelle:

don't

Michelle:

want to

Michelle:

get

Michelle:

out.

Michelle:

And they said, miss Rippy, you have time served.

Michelle:

We're going to release And I started

Michelle:

crying.

Michelle:

I also started thinking and I remembered that Ms.

Michelle:

Chris had given me that phone number for, it wasn't called the Hope

Michelle:

Network of Rutherford County then,

Michelle:

this was 2018.

Michelle:

So, I, connected with a lady that was over the HOPE Network then, her name

Michelle:

was Becky LaFrance, she's no longer with us, she's, she passed away, but

Michelle:

she was originally the first person that I had seen in the HOPE Network before

Michelle:

Ashley

Michelle:

Nichols, Isaiah Gibson, and Misty

Mikel:

Gibson, Misty Nelson.

Mikel:

I called

Mikel:

her

Michelle:

So I called her and I said, I'm willing to do whatever it And this was on

Michelle:

this, by this time it was on a Thursday.

Michelle:

And I said, I just got out of jail and I want to stay clean and sober.

Michelle:

And she said, if you want to stay sober that bad and that much, then you'll figure

Michelle:

out a way how to stay sober from Thursday.

Michelle:

And it was a Thursday afternoon.

Michelle:

She said, I will pick you up on Saturday morning.

Michelle:

I said, yes, ma'am.

Michelle:

sometimes all it takes is for somebody to say yes in your life.

Michelle:

I'm going to pause for just a minute because I want you to

Michelle:

remember what Michelle just said.

Michelle:

Here it is one more time.

Michelle:

sometimes all it takes is for somebody to say yes in your life.

Michelle:

At this point in the story, Michelle has reached a point where she is

Michelle:

finally ready to let go of her old life.

Michelle:

But if it were not for people like Miss Chris and Becky LaFrance saying

Michelle:

yes, I don't know that she would have been able to make it out.

Michelle:

It can be hard to help people sometimes.

Michelle:

It requires sacrifice, but when you say yes to someone who needs a helping hand,

Michelle:

you're not just helping one person.

Michelle:

You are helping all of Small Town Friendly and beyond, because the

Michelle:

effects of our actions carry on much further than any of us realize.

Michelle:

If Miss Chris had not gone to the jail that week, if Becky had not given

Michelle:

her a bed, And if Michelle had not found a place to stay for two days

Michelle:

while she waited on Becky, she might not have heard about Hope Network.

Michelle:

She would not be working at Hope House Coffee, mentoring other girls

Michelle:

in the Hope Network, or sharing her story on this podcast right now.

Michelle:

I could go on listing the ways that Michelle has become a benefit to our

Michelle:

community, but I think you get the idea.

Michelle:

God does more with our obedience than any of us could ever imagine.

Michelle:

Now, let's get back to Michelle.

Michelle:

And so there was another lady and she's, she's passed away too now.

Michelle:

But she said, yes, you can stay with me for two days because my heart was genuine.

Michelle:

I said, I want to stay clean and sober.

Michelle:

And I have to stay away from anything that I was used to or anybody that I knew.

Michelle:

And would you help me?

Michelle:

And she said,

Michelle:

yes.

Michelle:

So I stay clean for the two days and miss Becky picks me up on that Saturday.

Michelle:

, the house then was on Vance Price Road,

Michelle:

we went back to that house where there was already other girls

Michelle:

there.

Michelle:

So it was already a program, but I had just heard about it and the

Michelle:

bed, my bed had just opened up.

Michelle:

So.

Mikel:

And what was that like, arriving there, meeting the other

Mikel:

girls, everything, how were you

Mikel:

feeling?

Michelle:

Well, I was feeling amazing because my shoes were, they

Michelle:

stunk so bad from where I had been walking and it had been raining.

Michelle:

I didn't have anything, the clothes on my back and then the pants

Michelle:

that I had had holes in them.

Michelle:

So I looked like the hot mess express and I was just thankful that Somebody else,

Michelle:

you know, the doors were opening because remember, I, you know, eight days I get

Michelle:

out of jail and I'm not on probation and I'm not on, parole and I don't have to go

Michelle:

to prison.

Michelle:

And so that's, these are all positive things, you know, and,

Michelle:

and so then the door opens and I'm now able to come into what this is.

Michelle:

Program.

Michelle:

Mm-Hmm.

Michelle:

, all

Michelle:

I know is that I'm about to stay sober and

Michelle:

that's what

Michelle:

I need.

Mikel:

Yeah, that's your goal,

Michelle:

just to stay

Michelle:

sober.

Michelle:

Yes.

Michelle:

Yes.

Michelle:

Didn't have a goal for anything else.

Michelle:

that was it.

Michelle:

I was gonna be able to stay sober.

Michelle:

And I was truly thankful because I knew that it could only be uphill.

Michelle:

Somebody's going to let me get a pair of socks and a pair of shoes.

Michelle:

When they smell my shoes, they were going to bless me with shoes.

Michelle:

And so that's, you know, I knew that it was going to be

Michelle:

good.

Michelle:

I began going to Element Church because it was part of every

Michelle:

Sunday we went to church.

Michelle:

And, I remember seeing J.

Michelle:

R.

Michelle:

Blanton for the first time preaching and every time I would go to

Michelle:

church and he preached, I felt like he was always speaking to me.

Michelle:

And I was like, this man, like it says my life.

Michelle:

You know what I mean?

Michelle:

I always felt like he was speaking to me He wasn't

Michelle:

preaching this particular Sunday.

Michelle:

it was someone else preaching.

Michelle:

there was an altar call and myself, and I remember a few other ladies,

Michelle:

went down and actually, Kendra Randolph was a part of that.

Michelle:

we gave our life to the Lord and, it was actually myself, my daughter,

Michelle:

my oldest daughter, Tesla, and a few other ladies that were in the program.

Michelle:

Yes.

Mikel:

not

Mikel:

in

Michelle:

She was not in the program, but she was able to come

Michelle:

to church with me on Sundays.

Michelle:

And she was able to, come to see me

Michelle:

and actually

Michelle:

spend the night with me in

Michelle:

the

Michelle:

program.

Michelle:

So there's different,

Michelle:

yeah.

Michelle:

Um,

Mikel:

And how long was this after you

Mikel:

first

Mikel:

got

Michelle:

there?

Michelle:

pretty soon?

Michelle:

It was pretty quick.

Michelle:

Yeah, it was pretty quick.

Michelle:

maybe within a month,

Michelle:

you know.

Michelle:

Yeah.

Michelle:

because I didn't, it was all new.

Michelle:

It was all brand new.

Michelle:

Sometimes, all it takes is someone to say yes.

Michelle:

Becky said yes to Michelle, and Michelle said yes to Christ.

Michelle:

Now, if you're thinking that the story is over, and I'm here to tell you

Michelle:

to subscribe and share the episode on Facebook, I don't blame you.

Michelle:

That's what a lot of people think about salvation, that it is the end.

Michelle:

It's the goal.

Michelle:

Once somebody gets saved, the story's over, and we move on to somebody else.

Michelle:

That's definitely the idea that Michelle had, as you're about to hear.

Michelle:

But the truth is, it's the other way around.

Michelle:

Christ says that we have to be born again.

Michelle:

That means that when we accept him as our Lord, We're not at the end of our story.

Michelle:

We're at the beginning.

Michelle:

We've just begun a new life.

Michelle:

And that new life, while amazing, is gonna have some problems that we have to face.

Michelle:

As Michelle quickly discovered.

Michelle:

I think I thought that once I got saved and now I'm sober, that

Michelle:

it was gonna be pixie dusted rainbows.

Michelle:

And, that's not at all

Michelle:

what it

Michelle:

was.

Michelle:

No.

Michelle:

I thought that was the.

Michelle:

I thought that that's the whole goal.

Michelle:

I was going to get saved and sober and I reached it.

Michelle:

that, is not at all what

Michelle:

it

Michelle:

was like.

Michelle:

it was just the beginning of my life actually.

Michelle:

It was really the, the beginning of the rest of

Michelle:

my

Michelle:

life.

Michelle:

Inactive addiction, A person will definitely, wreak havoc and

Michelle:

have a lot of rebuilding to do.

Michelle:

so I had lost my driver's license indefinitely.

Michelle:

I had child support that was up in the ten thousands.

Michelle:

I could never hold a job and I had had.

Michelle:

probably a job at every place in the county.

Michelle:

Nobody wanted to give me a chance at a job because I wasn't

Michelle:

consistent in my work history.

Michelle:

and so now I'm sober and saved and now time to begin

Michelle:

rebuilding that.

Michelle:

Well, driver's license was off of the table.

Michelle:

because there were so many things, fines and assessments and

Michelle:

the assessment

Michelle:

and then the assessment hours and then hearings and, and so It was

Michelle:

just the beginning of a long process.

Michelle:

and, and people would always tell me to trust the process.

Michelle:

And, I hated hearing that, you know, but what God was

Michelle:

doing was God was refining me.

Michelle:

He was, he was, you know, he was working everything

Michelle:

If I would have, I would have gotten everything back suddenly.

Michelle:

I would have messed it up because I would not know how

Michelle:

to live life.

Michelle:

Trust the process is a phrase that you've probably heard before, and it

Michelle:

probably frustrated you at some point.

Michelle:

I think we all have a tendency to want things faster.

Michelle:

We have very little tolerance for slow growth.

Michelle:

But like Michelle was saying, if she had gotten everything back immediately,

Michelle:

it would have been overwhelming.

Michelle:

What we want rarely lines up with what we actually need.

Michelle:

Think about it like this.

Michelle:

If you're building a house, you can build it fast, or you can build it right.

Michelle:

And the house built quickly won't last.

Michelle:

And a life is a lot harder to build than a house.

Michelle:

Michelle ended up being a part of the Hope Network for five

Michelle:

years as she built her new life.

Michelle:

And if you remember from earlier episodes, the program at Hope Network

Michelle:

is only supposed to last a year at max.

Michelle:

But God brought Michelle into Hope Network at a very specific time when

Michelle:

Hope Network was undergoing some changes and going through several

Michelle:

different directors as they determined the best way for the program to run.

Michelle:

And it was partially due to this transition that Michelle

Michelle:

was able to stay for so long.

Michelle:

I praise God that, that it was, my walk was different.

Michelle:

And a five year stay in the Hope Network is not, ideally the plan for women.

Michelle:

but God had a different plan for me and a different walk

Michelle:

for me.

Michelle:

so I like to say I'm like the senior citizen

Michelle:

of the program

Michelle:

because I have been, with the Hope Network for, over five years now.

Michelle:

And so throughout each executive, while they were rebuilding the program,

Michelle:

or building a program and what it was going to look like, the Lord was

Michelle:

doing work in and through my life.

Michelle:

I was able to go back to school in 2020.

Michelle:

I began getting my substance abuse counseling and COVID hit.

Michelle:

and so then I stepped back out of school.

Michelle:

I was able to get my peer support specialist.

Michelle:

throughout this program, I now have my license back.

Michelle:

Mm-Hmm.

Michelle:

. Although I have a breathalyzer, my kids are reunited back with me.

Michelle:

I just came out of the program in December after five years and moved into my own

Michelle:

place for the first time ever in 43 years.

Michelle:

The day Ashley Nichols became the executive.

Michelle:

She was like, she sent me a thing for an apartment.

Michelle:

I was like,

Michelle:

I'm

Michelle:

not ready for

Michelle:

an apartment.

Michelle:

I didn't know how because you know, I, Didn't know how to go and pay bills

Michelle:

and so, and I definitely didn't know how to work a job, pay bills, have

Michelle:

a car, and insure express lizers, all it and be able to balance it.

Michelle:

People are are uniquely fit to, Have the positions or jobs that they have

Michelle:

in Ashley has been like a blessing as the executive of Hope Network She came

Michelle:

in and where I had been stagnant like saving money, but not a lot, you know

Michelle:

Just sort of kind of going with the

Michelle:

flow Ashley came in and she Steps behind me.

Michelle:

Like, she just, she gives everybody a push.

Michelle:

She pushes us.

Michelle:

And I didn't like it at first and I didn't like her

Michelle:

And I told her, but now I love her so much.

Michelle:

she has been a big, impact in my life.

Michelle:

Ultimately God, but God has used her in my life.

Michelle:

he's also used J.

Michelle:

R.

Michelle:

Blanton in my life as well to speak truth.

Michelle:

when I needed to hear truth, in a loving way I'm truly grateful for them

Michelle:

and for the hope network for me to be able to be who and where I am now

Michelle:

my Children as well.

Michelle:

It's funny to me, now, as someone who knows both Ashley and Michelle, and

Michelle:

has spoken with both of them about Michelle's time in Hope Network, to

Michelle:

think about them not getting along.

Michelle:

But, when someone's trying to push us to step out of our comfort zone,

Michelle:

we can tend to push back a bit.

Michelle:

I have a clip of Ashley talking about Michelle that I cut from my initial

Michelle:

interview with her for episode 3.

Michelle:

And I cut it because, like I mentioned in the beginning, I wasn't

Michelle:

sure if this episode with Michelle was actually going to happen.

Michelle:

But I'm so glad that I get to play it for you now.

Michelle:

I've just enjoyed seeing people come through and then turn around and mentor

Michelle:

other people and like Michelle is another example I know you said you're gonna

Michelle:

talk to her, but she's come through all this and she Really is just such

Michelle:

a good example for the other girls.

Michelle:

And she's always willing to help them, to mentor them.

Michelle:

And that just, it really, it impacts them to see somebody else who's been

Michelle:

through the same things they have been through and come out the other side.

Michelle:

So Michelle actually came before I was an employee, but I was, You

Michelle:

know, still around like on the board.

Michelle:

And so she's just made a complete turnaround in her, honestly, her

Michelle:

like enthusiasm for the Lord is just inspiring sometimes she's.

Michelle:

She's one of those people that, like I said, a new creation, like she's a

Michelle:

completely different person and she is willing to tell anybody and everybody

Michelle:

that she meets her story and she just has no shame or anything about it.

Michelle:

She'll just randomly tell anybody, like one time there was this girl we were

Michelle:

trying to help and her car was stranded at a gas station, not in this town.

Michelle:

And.

Michelle:

It just cracked me up because this guy, we needed assistance with that.

Michelle:

Like we needed a screwdriver, maybe a wrench or something to

Michelle:

take a tack off or something.

Michelle:

Anyway, she asked this guy and he came over there to help us.

Michelle:

And she was like, do you know Jesus?

Michelle:

And he's like, I mean, I've heard of Jesus.

Michelle:

And she was like, well, let me tell you something.

Michelle:

I was on meth for however many years.

Michelle:

Like she just lays it out.

Michelle:

Like.

Michelle:

I'm like, she doesn't even ask you anything.

Michelle:

She just jumps right in and like a share in the gospel as

Michelle:

soon as she meets somebody.

Michelle:

So I think that's just an inspiring thing about her is that it's impacted her so

Michelle:

much that she wants to tell every single person and we all should be that way.

Michelle:

Like she doesn't want to meet a person and not tell them her story

Michelle:

and she's just so raw and real about it that I think it takes people off.

Michelle:

You know, people are just like not expecting it.

Michelle:

And so it really gets a reaction from people.

Michelle:

Michelle's story is so incredible and I'm so glad that we were not able to

Michelle:

record this episode before now Because if we'd recorded it when I first spoke

Michelle:

with Michelle about recording I would have put out her interview much earlier

Michelle:

and it wouldn't be serving as such a perfect Capstone to the stories of Hope

Michelle:

Network and Hope House Coffee again It just goes to show you that we have

Michelle:

to trust the process, and trust that God's timing is better than our own.

Michelle:

We haven't spoken much about Hope House Coffee yet, but Michelle has been working

Michelle:

at Hope House almost since its creation.

Michelle:

But there was some doubt about hiring her, as you're gonna hear.

Michelle:

I was never consistent in keeping a

Michelle:

job.

Michelle:

Sam Siegler had actually given me a chance at the Chick fil

Michelle:

A and, I was very impulsive.

Michelle:

And so I decided one day that I wasn't going to go back in to Chick fil A.

Michelle:

because that had been what I was used to doing, being impulsive and just

Michelle:

quitting.

Michelle:

and once that happened, I had a few people, Ashley

Michelle:

and JR, speak it to my life.

Michelle:

Like, that's not how we do things And, I began growing in that area and

Michelle:

I was like, what am I going to do?

Michelle:

Because.

Michelle:

I don't have a good work

Michelle:

history.

Michelle:

And so, I remember going into the Hope House coffee one day and, and this

Michelle:

was before it was opening and, they were all in there doing work and I

Michelle:

was like, JR, you should think about giving me a job So to fast forward,

Michelle:

they ended up giving me an interview.

Michelle:

And I think a few of them.

Michelle:

probably didn't think I was gonna make it.

Michelle:

but, it has been an amazing experience at Hope House Coffee.

Michelle:

I think that Hope House Coffee has an eternal value.

Michelle:

there are things, That the Lord allows me to see and a

Michelle:

restoration taking place in there.

Michelle:

and just, it's like a hospital that sells

Michelle:

coffee.

Michelle:

And so I am truly blessed.

Michelle:

I have been there since they have opened.

Michelle:

I am passionate about my job.

Michelle:

I love it.

Michelle:

And everybody that comes through the door is my

Michelle:

friend.

Michelle:

If you ever walk into Hope House Coffee and somebody yells, Hey friend!

Michelle:

that's Michelle.

Michelle:

Now there were some concerns when she first started about

Michelle:

her inconsistent job history.

Michelle:

And just like the clip you just heard from Ashley, I actually have

Michelle:

a clip that I cut from the very first episode of this podcast of

Michelle:

JR talking about hiring Michelle.

Michelle:

And I'm going to play it for you now so you can hear JR's side of the story.

JR:

You know, those folks.

JR:

I could say things about Carl, I could say things about Michelle, for sure.

JR:

I got a story that's about Michelle, probably that, is a

JR:

little self deprecating on my part.

JR:

one of the things is, I was very cautious about, especially in the

JR:

beginning, who was on that team.

JR:

You know what I mean?

JR:

It's like, I just knew we didn't have time to deal with staff drama.

JR:

Michelle or God's given me a couple of words of encouragement for her of the

JR:

years just as You know seeing the work that God's doing in her life has been

JR:

amazing to see that but also I knew that Michelle struggled with Consistency

JR:

in the workplace specifically, like it's kind of a revolving door for her

JR:

and part of that's her story and her story to tell of what was with that.

JR:

But, I wanted her.

JR:

To work at the coffee shop right out the gate, but I Did not want her to

JR:

be full time Like I didn't think that it would be good for the coffee shop

JR:

to be dependent upon her And I didn't think it would be good for her to be

JR:

upon depended upon the coffee shop and I was wrong You know, I was like

JR:

they just missed that one completely.

JR:

it became clear fairly quick that she was an exceptional

JR:

person to have on the team.

JR:

her attitude was great, her effort was amazing.

JR:

Really set a good example on, how to do just the simple mundane things of

JR:

cleaning and taking pride in the shop.

JR:

And she's actually phenomenal.

JR:

at building relationships with the customers.

JR:

Really gifted.

JR:

a lot of the patrons there, I mean, they love, they love Michelle.

JR:

So, so then it become very clear that, you know, I had it completely wrong.

JR:

I was like, no, we need to make her a key person.

JR:

part of, having some leadership roles on the team and that we needed to get as

JR:

many hours outta her, and she's probably, with the exception of Carl, put in more

JR:

hours, on the clock than anybody else.

JR:

what she's trying to do with this opportunity and because she believes

JR:

in the vision of the coffee shop that, that you get that from her.

JR:

So it's, a huge win.

JR:

It's a huge win, for her.

JR:

I think she would say that and it's a huge win for us.

JR:

you get humbled real quick because you realize, I don't

JR:

know all the right decisions,

JR:

Michelle is an incredible woman with an incredible story, and I hope

JR:

that it has been encouraging to you.

JR:

But before we wrap up this episode, there's one more thing

JR:

we need to hear from Michelle.

JR:

I asked her if there was one thing that she could say to all of

JR:

Rutherford County, what would it be?

JR:

And this is the message that she wanted to share.

Michelle:

just the fact that you're not ever too far gone.

Michelle:

if there's someone listening or that's someone that listens to this,

Michelle:

if you have a heartbeat, you're.

Michelle:

Not too far gone.

Michelle:

God has a plan

Michelle:

throughout the time at the Hope Network, and

Michelle:

up until

Michelle:

this time now, everything had to be the way it is.

Michelle:

Jeremiah 29 11 has been, a verse of mine.

Michelle:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

Michelle:

Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.

Michelle:

Plans to give you hope and a future.

Michelle:

And I have held on to that.

Michelle:

And in the Hope Network.

Michelle:

We are not just statistics.

Michelle:

We learn our identity in Christ and that we are daughters of the Most High King.

Michelle:

And that we are valued, that we are loved, that it's not just about being,

Michelle:

a member

Michelle:

of society or, a statistic.

Michelle:

we have identity.

Michelle:

We have worth.

Michelle:

We are valued.

Michelle:

We are, daughters of the most

Michelle:

Surrendering to the Lord and what his will is for a person, who is lost, who

Michelle:

is struggling in addiction, who doesn't even understand maybe their relationship

Michelle:

with the Lord or what that looks like.

Michelle:

there is hope

Michelle:

his

Michelle:

name is

Michelle:

Thank you for listening to this episode of Small Town, Big God.

Michelle:

If you're listening today and you need help, if you need hope, and if you

Michelle:

want to know Jesus Christ, reach out.

Michelle:

Come to church.

Michelle:

It doesn't have to be element, although we would love to have you,

Michelle:

but we live in an area where it's difficult to drive a quarter mile down

Michelle:

the road without passing a church.

Michelle:

There are a lot of people who want to help you.

Michelle:

Who are willing to say yes?

Michelle:

Don't be afraid to ask.

Michelle:

And thank you for being a part of Small Town Friendly and thank you for

Michelle:

being a part of Small Town Friendly,

Michelle:

and thank you for being a part of Small Town Friendly.

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Small Town Big God
Stories of God at work in Rutherford County

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Mikel Collins