A miraculous change
A big congratulations to Nyree, who has just graduated from Destiny Haven! From a spiral of deep depression and severe mental illness, Nyree has now found true joy and freedom, and has a loving relationship with God that has changed everything for her.
Nyree struggled with unhealthy relationships, drugs, alcohol, gambling, excessive working and overspending for many years, fuelled by multiple traumas. In 2014, her life descended into severe mental illness, self-harm, and multiple suicide attempts.
Nyree remembers, “I began hearing voices and could not manage more than three days without them. I spent long periods of time in high dependency units in acute mental health hospitals, with one recent year being in there more than out. I was in a Brisbane detox and was rejected from all of the rehabs in Queensland as they said they were unequipped to deal with my severe mental illness. There was a pamphlet for Destiny Haven, and I applied and was accepted. I came to Destiny Haven in 2016 but left prematurely, never completing the program.”
But just a few years later, Nyree says, “My life spiralled to the point I had completely given up on people and life.” She decided to reach out to Janine again and ask if she could come back to Destiny.
While reluctant about accepting Nyree back, Janine and Lewis had faith that God could work miracles and so decided to let her return to Destiny. And this time, God worked a BIG miracle.
Nyree says, “God healed me instantly of the voices that had plagued me.”
With the support of the Destiny team, Nyree threw herself into living for God, and God has rewarded her faithfulness.
“My life has been radically changed,” Nyree says. “My fear of large crowds, especially shopping centres was taken when we all attended a conference and I experienced the Holy Spirit for the first time and laughed and cried like I never had before. I had prayed to connect with my emotions, so He gave them all to me that night. My depression has been turned to joy and I now prefer to be with people rather than isolating myself like I did most of my life. I love feeding the cows at 6:30am and I have a prayer seat on the corner of a little hill. I love starting my day off in communion with God, praying for my Destiny family and all my loved ones outside of our gates. I ask the Holy Spirit to search my heart during the day and help me speak kindly and act in love towards others.
I will be honest, I would have walked out like the old me if I was not in such a beautiful relationship with God. I have chosen to fully trust God’s direction for my life and I’m so grateful for the new life I now live.”
Of course, such transformation, while miraculous, doesn’t come easily. Nyree explains, “Community living is difficult as there are so many different personalities, and we all have multiple triggers from previous trauma. The hardest part for me is having to rely on others to make appointments or attempt to meet my needs. I don’t like to rely on anyone for anything so initially, I avoided coming to the office at all costs.”
But thankfully, Nyree has developed a deep trust of the Destiny team. “Janine, Lewis and the team are living examples of God’s transforming power which encourages me to walk more intimately with Him. Correction is always done from a loving place as staff only want me to succeed in life and be the best version of me.”
And now, she’s chosen to stay on at Destiny for a one-year internship, so she can be that person for other women. Nyree explains, “I hope to grow and learn more about myself and how God wants to use me as an ambassador in His Kingdom. I want to be a willing and faithful servant as an intern in this beautiful ministry and support other women through their program into a life with purpose, healed and whole. I hope to be accepted into a Bachelor of Ministry this year and most importantly I wish to continue to expand my faith and reach even deeper levels of relationship with God.”
When asked what Nyree knows about herself now that she didn’t before, she says, “I do have a purpose in life, to fulfill God’s will for me, to put Him first and to learn to love others. Now I know why I was created, and believe I’m worthy of love. I’m comfortable in my body and I’m eager to live as my authentic self.
God has been by my side in all of my tough times, and I’ve learned to go directly to Him if I can’t do something in my human strength. He tells me to stand firm, wait and watch Him at work fixing a difficult situation, and I can feel His presence. Trusting and waiting patiently has seen me through tough times in the program where I was willing to give up and leave prematurely again.”
Praise God for Nyree’s extraordinary transformation, and for giving her the patience and strength to overcome her past traumas and struggles to enter the life of joy and freedom she now has.
