Stories Week: Lisa’s Story

Hello again KCB Blog readers..

Every so often, I get an opportunity to look around and write about something going on within the life of Kingdom Causes Bellflower.. It can anything from a housing story, a GSI story, something going on with Margarets House, to the Community Center or anything connected to our work.. and we call that week “Stories Week.” Today, that’s exactly where we find ourselves.. and I’m honored to be able to tell the story of a woman whose life has been marked by pain, addiction, surrender, and ultimately, the grace from a merciful Father.

Before we begin, I’d like to personally thank this woman for her transparency, vulnerability, honesty, and more importantly, her visible faith in God.

These topics may resonate painfully or stir difficult memories for some. We honor your story too. If engaging feels heavy, please pause, pray, or reach out to a trusted friend/pastor. The hope here is real.. but your well-being matters first.

With that being said, I’d like you to meet Lisa Toves.

Lisa grew up right over in Norwalk, the middle child and only girl in a family that unfortunately fractured early. Dad left when she was 2, leaving mom with three kids and no financial resources. At that time, they moved in with grandpa, who started showing glimpses of his true self, a raging alcoholic. Lisa remembers growing up around such uncertainty and tension filling every room of that house. To make matters worse, a legalistic form of Christianity lived there too. The people who she was forced to learn from and trust preached down hellfire and brimstone and a fear that became a constant part of her life.

At 10, Lisa’s dad returned.. but he was now an addict, he was angry, and he was scary. The home stayed broken through years, and as a result.. Lisa escaped. But she chose the route of rebellion. At 15, after getting around the wrong crowd seeking freedom and validation, she got pregnant.. But even at that point, she did her best to be a mother. Continuation school in Bellflower followed, and after she graduated she worked wherever she could.. places like Knott’s, Staples, Home Depot.. just to provide for her child. For a while.. Lisa was at least on a track of a sort. No major trouble.. just focusing on her kids and trying to take next steps towards something better.

As a cashier turned supervisor at Home Depot, she thought she finally had it all figured out. But then came distraction. A relationship at work ended up with her cheating on her husband with an older man she met there. That decision led to more decisions, and soon, that man introduced her to meth at age 30. “I thought I had arrived.. my life was great.. I was unstoppable.” The drugs changed the way she thought about a lot of things.. including the one thing that kept her away from that life for years, her kids. She abandoned them for that life, and would end up losing everything.. including the new relationship, which ended in betrayal.

Lisa would go on to try to build a life through the ongoing battle with addiction. She entered a relationship, and four boys came along (now ages 20, 18, 17, and 10.) They lived on-and-off in Lakewood, with stretches of sobriety interrupted by the pull of old patterns and habits. Parenting suffered in the instability, but she kept trying, holding on to whatever fragments of normalcy she could.

For five years she stayed clean.. and in that time, she made real strides toward reclaiming her life. She went back to school, determined to turn the pain she’d always known into something that could actually help others. And after working hard and holding fast to sobriety, she became a drug and alcohol counselor! For the first time in a long while, she began to regain some confidence, and almost a deep sense that her past could be redeemed into something with purpose. But confidence, when it grows too quickly or rests on shaky ground, can leave room for old habits to creep back in. And like so many seasons in life’s pull, she stumbled.. and relapse came like a thief in the night. Pride, distraction, and the familiar escape found an opening, and what she’d rebuilt started to crumble again. Sin crept in quietly at first.. until she opened a door she never intended to walk through so far. It destroyed what she’d rebuilt. She lost her license, lost her job, lost the independence she’d fought so hard to regain. Shame moved in like a tide and swallowed her whole. She felt disqualified from the very calling she began to live out. She was broken.

But God.

God saw Lisa. He was with her the whole time.. and on January 22, 2025, she surrendered at Salvation Army. She’s been sober ever since. “The person I am today is not the person I was,” she said. “Today I am loved. I love others. I want to help from a whole different place.”

So where does KCB come in to the picture through all this? Well, as Lisa began to rebuild again, this time with a strong foundation on Jesus, she started figuring out ways to pay back her debts and get caught back up in life.. A past-due light bill brought her to our Community Center, and that’s where this all started.

As I sat with Lisa and processed her utility assistance, I felt a strong pull from the Spirit to begin talking to her about Jesus.. and we did just that. When Lisa began talking to me about her recertification and desire to impact the Kingdom through counseling, I again felt the Spirit move and knew the Love Thy Neighbor Fund could help. And it did. Through that fund, we were able to cover the fee that was the last step after all the rebuilding.. and Lisa was overwhelmed with emotion. “I know it was the Holy Spirit leading me! It was life changing.”

Now.. she’s back. She’s clean, she’s recertified, attending our weekly Bible studies, and more importantly, stepping into her calling again and now looking for impactful work that honors the Kingdom of Heaven.

Lisa’s story reminded me of a recent study I did. In Isaiah 61 verse 1-3.. it says The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners… to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

When you know the context, what I’m trying to say makes sense.. Isaiah was speaking to exiles. Broken people, captive people, mourning people. But God saw them.. and promised to anoint His servant to bring healing, freedom, and beauty from ashes. The promise was and is for the brokenhearted, the captive, the mourning, the Lisa’s of the world. Lisa was there.. broken by relapse, captive to shame, and mourning her lost calling. But God met her there. He anointed her again.. not because she earned it, but because He’s faithful and merciful. He traded her ashes for beauty, and her despair for praise. And she’s living proof now.

Practically, that means showing up clean every day. Trusting His time, not hers. Believing she’s chosen, called, not of the world. “I don’t know where He’s taking me,” she said, “but I’m so good with wherever it is for Him.” It means loving others from a whole different place because she knows what it feels like to be the one falling apart with no one believing in her. When I asked her what she was excited about.. she so passionately said she just wants to bridge the gap between addiction and Jesus for people who had no one else believing in them.. and we’re here for it.

Lisa.. or anyone else reading this that resonates.. your past doesn’t disqualify you. Your lowest point didn’t end your story. God used it to deepen your compassion, to sharpen your purpose, and to remind you that there’s nothing He can’t rebuild. You’re not the person who relapsed. You’re the person God is making beautiful from ashes. So keep serving. Keep loving. Keep showing up.. The calling on your life doesn’t go away.. because the Father doesn’t go away. And for that, We’re so thankful.

We’re proud of you, Lisa. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your journey.

See ya at Bible study on Thursday!

Thanks for reading.. Until next time..

If you're walking through similar challenges, know you're not alone. Local resources include churches, sober-living homes, Celebrate Recovery meetings, the SAMHSA Helpline (1-800-662-HELP), or even our own Community Center team. Please reach out if you need help.