Hi! My name is Amarah. Kids are important to Jesus, and they’re important to me, too.

“Kids like me” are kids and adults of all ages whose parents are, or were, drug addicts, and alcoholics; kids who have suffered, or who are suffering, abuse and neglect on multiple levels; and kids who are victims of bullying.

I want to start off by saying it isn’t easy to bare your heart and soul to strangers, much less, family and friends. The male and female inmates who are willing to sit down and talk with me are demonstrating courage. They are reaching out to help prevent others, maybe you, or your son or daughter, from making the mistakes they made. Remember Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV), “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. And “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7, NIV).

Annetta

My wish to sit down and talk with someone I love and care about was granted, but I won’t sugarcoat my feelings. I feel disappointment with the fact she thought she would get rid of her anxiety and depression by using drugs. Her path (and everybody else’s!) could have been totally different if she had opened her heart to Jesus and gotten with a counselor. She has a wonderful family who loves her and a precious little son who adores her but, like Sarah (my mother) she’s ‘not there.’ I asked Annetta if she was using drugs when she used to babysit me. She was honest, “Yes, I was.” Wow.

Annetta shared with me she was born in Oregon, had both parents when she was growing up; neither of her parents drank alcohol, smoked, or used drugs. She had siblings, grandparents, and a beloved dog named Trix.

Annetta enjoyed arts and crafts, “I was crafty,” she said, and she was artistically inclined. She played piano, wanted to be a singer and dancer when she grew up, “I was a dreamer. I wrote poems about love.”

Annetta said she, “did ok” in school, her teachers were good with her, and she had school-friends.

Annetta attended church when she was growing up but said she didn’t really have a trusted adult she could talk with when she was a kid.

Somewhere in all of this, Annetta’s dreams were shattered when she was sexually abused. She began drinking alcohol, using meth and heroin, “for fun and hanging out with ‘friends.’”

Annetta said she has used alcohol, meth and heroin for 10-years, but she wants to stop using drugs and “maybe” stop drinking alcohol. “Drinking alcohol and using meth and heroin is now an addiction. I need it to feel ok. It has taken a toll on my family. I would never want my son to use drugs.”

Annetta has a 5-year old son, but “I don’t really have a relationship right now with him. I don’t take him to church but I try to teach him about Jesus. I know I’ve hurt him emotionally because I keep leaving him. I’m very sorry for it and I do want to make things right with him. I know I need to spend more time with him so we can start building a new relationship. And, I will do it.”

“If I could change anything in my life, I would never try drugs because I put them before my relationship with my son and my parents.”

“My advice for parents who are addicts: We matter. And there is hope for us. Take it one day at a time. I’m trying to believe in God. With God, they say all things are possible. I am really starting to believe that. When you think you can’t go on, Hope whispers, ‘Try it one more time!’ Junkies lives matter!”

“My advice for grandparents of kids like me: Don’t give up on us. We do things we never would have done before we let addiction take over our lives. It becomes a mind-change. Please, be patient. We still love you. Please, don’t stop loving us.”

“My advice for ‘kids like me:’ We love you no matter what you think. We all are dealing with addiction instead of putting you first, like we should.”

“If I woke up tomorrow morning and everything in my life was like I want it to be, I would have my son and a way to support him. We would have our own house and be able to travel. And, we could get crafty, like we like to do. Then, maybe, I’ll meet my soulmate.”—Annetta.

Jesus Loves You, Annetta. I Love You, too. Thank you for your honesty and for talking with me.

Thank You, Sheriff Jackson and Corporal Sanchez!

Until next time, remember, Jesus Loves You, and JESUS IS LORD!