Work Week: Salina’s Story

Hello again KCB Blog readers..

It’s “WORK” Week.. and I’ve been thinking about how differently we talk about “work” in different ways depending on our perspective and experiences.

In this Western culture we call home, work is tends to be about productivity.. climbing ladders.. getting ahead.. making a name for yourself. It’s usually measured in hours or titles or even paychecks and how much you can hustle. And I’m not saying that’s inherently wrong or bad.. it’s part of how we live and provide for our families.. but it’s just one lens. When you look at work through the lens of Scripture, it takes on a deeper meaning.

From the very beginning in Genesis, God Himself worked..  He created, He ordered, He even rested. He then put Adam in the garden to “work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15) long before sin entered the picture.. so work was never intended to be a curse. It was a gift.. a way to partner with God, to reflect His image, and to care for all creation.

Even after the fall, work didn’t lose its value.. it just got harder. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” That changes the picture. Work shifts from being about surviving or succeeding to a form of worship. It becomes stewardship. It’s becoming more like Christ in the daily grind of our work.

Sometimes it’s about finding purpose again when life has stripped it away. When the grind is not only physical but spiritual, emotional, and restorative. That’s the whole point of GSI really.. to help rebuild the core of who you are while giving you an opportunity to work diligently.

That’s Salina’s story.

Salina came to Good Soil Industries after the shelter she was at referred her. “They told me this would be a good program for me and that it could really help me get back on my feet,” she said. She’d heard the buzz.. how GSI helps people turn things around.. so she took the leap and applied.

Before GSI, she was in a freefall. She’d had a steady job for four years, doing well for herself.. until her fiancé passed away. “After that I just felt like I didn’t have a purpose anymore. I stopped caring about anything.” For six months she was in that “forget everything” mode.. and she lost it all.. and then homelessness hit. “I was out on the streets, and it was awful and not safe at all. It was taking a toll on me physically, mentally, and emotionally.”

But then GSI stepped in and gave her an opportunity. “Having stable employment has kept me off the streets and kept me busy,” she said. “By the time I’m done working, I’m tired and exhausted, so I don’t even have time to be out there anymore.. and that feels really good.” The green shirt became her accountability. “People recognize it everywhere. I don’t want to make the company look bad.. especially a place that’s given me so much and helped me get back on my feet. It keeps me accountable to always do the right thing, because you never know who’s watching.”

Salina was conforming to the pain, the loss, and the streets.. but GSI gave her a new pattern. Things like workshops, trainings, one-on-ones.. and renewed her thinking by showing her she could grow from her flaws. “It’s made me realize there are a lot of things I still need to work on,” she said. Practically.. that means things getting her driver’s license (GSI helped), maintaining sobriety through Little House (KCB connected her), and her biggest goal: getting her grandson to live with her to help her daughter. (She enrolled into our ICMS program with Sam)

Small steps.. but she’s dreaming big again.

One moment that showed her the heart behind the work was when she had to go up north to help her daughter with her newborn granddaughter. She was going to be gone a while, so she sat to ask Gene how things would work. “He told me to take care of what I needed to, and that my job would be waiting for me when I got back.” That grace hit her hard. “It showed me that he cared. Not many places would do that.”

Beyond the job, as previously mentioned.. KCB connected her to New Hope shelter, in-house ICMS case management, and Little House Recovery.. resources that have been huge for her sobriety and future. “It meant a lot to me to know there was a community willing to help,” she said. “It made me feel seen and cared for, instead of thrown to the side.”

If she could give a lesson to other women walking in her shoes, she’d say “Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you can’t do a man’s job. If anything, it pushes me to work harder and be better every day. You’re capable of more than you think if you’re willing to try and keep going.”

At the end of the interview, Salina left George with Jeremiah 29:11.. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In context, God’s speaking to people in exile.. far from home, feeling forgotten.. promising He’s got a plan even in the mess. Salina’s exile was grief, street life taking over, loss of a close loved one.. but she’s claiming that future now. She’s letting go of worry, and letting God handle it.. “I’m learning to do that more and more every day.”

That’s Salina.. a woman who went from feeling purposeless to showing up every day in that familiar green shirt, accepting accountability, staying motivated, and believing for her grandson. She’s being rebuilt from the inside out.. and we’re all here for it.

So let’s keep Salina in our prayers.. for her sobriety, for her grandson, for the strength to keep growing. Pray for Gene, George, Sam, the whole crew.. to keep being the hands that lift people up and show another way.

Salina.. keep going! We’re proud of you.

Thanks for reading.. Until next time..