- [Narrator] Sarah Myers' home life

was one filled with dysfunction.

She grew up in poor Crossville, Tennessee,

where her father left when she was young,

leaving Sarah alone withher alcoholic grandma

and her mother, who struggledwith drug addiction,

bipolarism, and alcoholism.

- When she was there mentally,she was a great mother.

When she wasn't there, I felt alone,

misunderstood.

- [Narrator] Sarah foundbelonging with kids

from other broken homes.

As she grew up, heridentity was found in drugs

and a toxic boyfriend.

Then, at only 15 years old,

hope entered the picturein the form of a pregnancy.

- Thinking that for once in my life

that I was gonna be ableto do something right,

I was not gonna be the kind of mother

that I had growing up, andso I stopped using drugs.

- [Narrator] She gotclean and began to make

positive changes in her life.

But when she went intolabor three months early,

that hope began to fade.

- I had him, and they brought him to me.

He was lifeless and a little baby.

I felt completely hopeless,

and I felt like that I hadbeen dealt a life of pain,

and that God hated me.

My way to find comfortthrough my pain in my heart

was to do more drugs.

- [Narrator] Sarah wouldspend the next seven years

using IV drugs andheavily abusing pain meds.

She would have three children by 22,

weaning herself off drugs just enough

during the pregnancies.

- If I didn't have a painpill, I couldn't get up

out of bed to change my son's diaper.

I thought I was okay in my justification

because I wasn't an alcoholic.

- [Narrator] After she wascharged with meth manufacturing,

her kids were relinquishedinto foster care.

Worried she'd lose her kids for good,

Sarah once again tried to get clean.

- The shame and thepain of abandoning them

was eating me alive,

and so for eight months Ifought to try to get them back.

I got a job, I almost had my own place.

- [Narrator] When she learned her son

had broken his leg in a foster home,

Sarah felt the pain of not being there.

- It pushed me over the edge,

and I went and I got a case ofbeer and I started drinking.

My drinking led to mecompromising with pills,

and then I was shooting up immediately,

within two hours.

- [Narrator] Now in jail,serving a year-long sentence

for burglary charges,Sarah began the inevitable

and painful detox process.

She was forced to face atruth she had long ignored.

- I had the understandingthat all of a sudden

that I had became mymother, but 10 times worse.

And so what I thought about Sarah

was that I was a hopeless drug addict

and that I was gonna die that way.

- [Narrator] Searching forsomething to keep her busy,

Sarah began attending afaith-based recovery program,

where the women told herhow much God loved her.

- And I kept thinking you don't know me

and you don't know thelife I've been dealt.

Don't tell me God loves me.

Their consistency toshow the love of Christ,

about the fourth class in,turned my heart to mush.

The teacher of thefaith-based 12-step class

stopped the class and saidthere's someone in here

who wants to give their heart to Jesus.

Then I knew that God was talking to me,

and I received Jesus that day.

- [Narrator] Sarah had every intention

of continuing to follow Christ.

Upon her release in 2011,with few places to go,

Sarah was back in her old environment

and soon relapsed again.

- I remember thinking God,

I'm so back into this and I don't know how

I'm gonna get out of it.

High on meth, been out for three days,

I remember saying God, do for me

what I cannot do for myself.

And about 24 hours later,

I hear boom, boom, boom, boom.

- [Narrator] It was the police.

Sarah was arrested for parole violation

and was looking at four years in prison.

Awaiting sentencing, Sarahhad an unexpected visitor,

the woman who had adopted two of her kids.

- I said what are you doing here?

And she said I came to bring you hope.

I said okay, God, all right,

so if I go to prison or if I go wherever,

I'm gonna serve you.

- [Narrator] The court ordered Sarah

to the drug abuse recoveryprogram, Teen Challenge.

She followed through on her promise

and began to face herpast, and devote her future

to study and pursuing the Lord.

- I learned who I was, and my root issues

and why I used drugs to begin with,

was abandonment, rejection, insecurity.

- [Narrator] Aftergraduating from the program

and working on staff at Teen Challenge,

Sarah returned to Crossville, Tennessee.

There she founded Invitation Ministries,

where they do faith-basedprogram placement

and addiction recovery.

Not only is she enjoyingher second lease on life,

but she's also able to see her kids,

and have a second chance at being a mom.

- Me and my kids today havea beautiful relationship.

God has mended what was broken.

To know that I have brokenthe cycle with Jesus,

from many generations before me,

is so rewarding.

I get to share hope.

It's more rewarding than anything

that I could ever do with my life.