Work Week: Nicole’s Story

Hello again KCB Blog readers..

This “Work” week, George sat down with Nicole, a Good Soil industries participant who’s story is one we are grateful to be a part of.

By the time she first walked through the doors of Kingdom Causes Bellflower, life had already taken her through homelessness, addiction, isolation, rehab, and arrest. She carried the weight of mistakes she couldn’t undo and pain she didn’t know how to escape. Like many people struggling to survive.. she had become used to feeling judged long before anyone ever learned her story.. and never imagined that something as simple as being welcomed with kindness could begin changing the direction of her life. But that’s what happened.

Back in 2022, Nicole’s mother was desperately searching for help for her daughter when she discovered Kingdom Causes Bellflower and our social enterprise, Good Soil Industries. At first, Nicole hesitated. Trust does not come easily when life has taught you disappointment. Yet eventually, she stepped inside anyway.

What she found there was something she had not felt in a long time: hope.

By now, you probably know that GSI is more than a work program. Over the course of it’s life, it’s become a place where people who have fallen hard are reminded they are not beyond restoration. Through landscaping work, structure, mentorship, faith, and community, people are given the opportunity not only to earn a paycheck, but to rebuild their lives from the ground up. Some people take it and thrive, and others find that they’re not quite ready yet, but everyone gets the same opportunity.

For Nicole.. she remembers what life looked like before that opportunity ever came to a head.

She was homeless. Unemployed. Lost in addiction. Trying to survive one day at a time while quietly drowning inside.. She had once worked at an Italian deli making sandwiches.. work she actually enjoyed.. but addiction slowly pulled her life apart. Eventually, after an arrest and the consequences of choices she openly admits she regrets, she realized she needed some help.

“I reached a point where I knew I needed support to change my life,” she said.

That decision led her to rehab. But as we all know.. recovery is rarely a straight line.

She had actually worked with GSI before. At first, things were going well. But then came relapse.. Nicole knew what was going on, but instead of disappearing.. she chose honesty. She told our staff that she needed to return to rehab because she no longer wanted the life addiction was creating for her.. and that mattered.

Because when she came back months later.. changed, sober, hopeful, and trying again.. we remembered her not for her worst moments.. but for her humanity and humility in a tough situation.

GSI gave her another chance.

For Nicole, that second chance became deeply spiritual.

“That second chance made a huge impact on my life because it reminded me that God is real,” she shared. “He shows Himself through the people at Kingdom Causes Bellflower and Good Soil Industries.”

There is something deeply biblical about that kind of mercy. You know.. Jesus was constantly drawn toward people society had written off.. we see it again and again in scripture. The broken, the struggling, the addicted, the ashamed, the forgotten. Where others saw failure and scoffed, He saw sons and daughters still worthy and showed love. In many ways, Nicole experienced that same heart through the people who choose to believe in and live for Jesus in all things (including work) and therefore in her even after past setbacks.

And belief can change a person.

Today.. Nicole says stable employment has given her structure, peace of mind, and purpose. The daily routine keeps her focused and grounded. The encouragement of coworkers helps strengthen her mental health. Earning income has allowed her to provide for herself, pay down debt, slowly rebuild stability, and even have some semblance of enjoying the fruits of her labor by buying a few things for herself here and there.

But perhaps even more importantly, she says she finally feels like she belongs.

“The word ‘belong’ means a lot more to me now,” Nicole explained. “Knowing that I belong to a faith-based community where I work helps me stay away from addiction.”

I sat here for awhile trying to find the words to explain this quote..  Because that sense of belonging is difficult to describe to someone who has never lost it.

For people experiencing homelessness or addiction or loneliness or loss, or anything that threatens that sense of belonging, it’s a deep, dark, daily struggle to find the sparks of life that give you confidence to keep going and growing. Losing that sense is an unimaginable ache. But Jesus shows and promises us that He seeks out the lost. That He is near to the brokenhearted.. and that He breaks chains, not promises.

Even basic things many take for granted.. things like hygiene kits, transportation cards, charging stations, access to a computer.. all that and more can help people know they’re not forgotten. And while Nicole utilizes these resources, what she remembers most is not just the “stuff,”

It’s the people.

“The community here is different,” she said. “They don’t judge me. They make me feel welcomed, supported, and surrounded by people who genuinely care.”

Her favorite part of this whole thing is the Bible studies open to anyone in the community. (Every Thursday at 11am in the Community Center)

Somewhere along the way, Nicole began rediscovering her faith alongside her recovery. She now openly talks about how seeking God became central to her healing.. and there’s two personal phrases that continue to carry her through difficult days:

“God direct my thinking because I can’t.”

And:

“A negative mind will never give you a positive life.”

Today, Nicole is pursuing college courses in drug and alcohol counseling with hopes of becoming a peer supporter for others walking the same road she once walked alone. The woman who once needed rescue now dreams of becoming part of someone else’s rescue story.

That is what transformation looks like. A daily death to self and mindset shift to the Father. He doesn’t ask for perfection. He doesn’t tell us to pretend the past never happened. He walks alongside us towards redemption.

The kind that grows slowly.. like seeds planted in difficult soil.

And that is exactly why GSI matters.

Programs like this create pathways toward restoration. They give people meaningful work, spiritual support, community, accountability, and the opportunity to rediscover their God-given worth. They remind people who feel forgotten that their story is not over.

Nicole knows firsthand what that means.

“If you don’t already know,” she said to donors and supporters, “you are truly helping and saving lives.”

Behind every donation is a real person trying to fight for a better future. A mother praying for her child. Someone choosing rehab over relapse. Someone trying again after failure. Someone searching for one reason not to give up.

And usually, all it takes is one community willing to say:

You are welcome here.

You are worth believing in.

You are not beyond God’s grace.

Nicole, believe in these words.. because He believes in you.

Thanks for reading... Until next time...