Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Bowerman.
Megan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Maryland with two parents and two siblings. I was the oldest of three. My father worked a full-time job and my mother was a stay at home mom. My childhood seemed pretty normal to anyone looking in. However, I experienced a lot of physical, emotional and verbal abuse growing up. I was a very bitter and angry child. I pushed everyone away and spent most of my time in my room. To make matters worse, I also experienced trauma in school by being bullied and never quite fitting in. I hated school and barely passed my classes due to not applying myself.
I was unaware of my identity and reacted to all of the issues in my life with extreme anger and resentment. As a result of childhood trauma, in middle school, I started acting out sexually. I sought the attention of boys to validate me and make me feel worthy. Soon after, at about 15 years old, I was introduced to drugs. I felt I had finally found an outlet for my pain and for a while, I thought it worked. I started using hard drugs immediately because they were an easier escape from my reality.
My parents and younger siblings had moved to Florida in 2002 and I did not go with them. I was 19 and dating someone at the time and thought it would be a good idea to stay with my bad circle of friends. After a couple of years of continued drug use and bad decisions, I thought running to Florida would solve all my problems. In 2004, I moved to Sarasota, Florida closer to my family. I got a job as a bartender and immersed myself into the nightlife. Sarasota is a small city and so I quickly knew everyone at every restaurant, bar and strip club. This life of sexual promiscuity, drug use, alcohol use, and anger, continued for the next five years.
In my mid-20s, I made the decision to get my Insurance license. Again, I thought that a career would force me to get my life together; and again I was wrong. I continued to be what we call a “functioning addict” (or so I thought). I would sell life, health and annuity insurance for the next six years while nursing a horrible drug addiction. I was living a double life. I used drugs with a few of my coworkers but for the most part, I would pretend I was normal. I dated men and hid my addiction from them. The relationships, naturally, always ended in disaster. I had no idea how I was ever going to make it out alive. My life consisted of using and selling drugs, using my body to get what I wanted and manipulating those around me. All the while, I was working in a beautiful office on Main Street, wearing a business suit and heels to work. I felt like I was screaming and nobody could hear me. For years, I wanted to find a way out but I didn’t know how. I miraculously managed to keep myself out of prison, but I was on the brink of death.
In the summer of 2013, I hit my bottom! Everyone’s bottom is different. I was fired from my job, my boyfriend had left me, I was dead broke, dope sick and my electric had been shut off due to non-payment. I was finally ready to make changes. I admitted myself into rehab in Davie, FL where I stayed for 30 days. However, that wasn’t the end of it and four months later, I relapsed for a little over a year. I completely returned to my old self and picked up a few new habits along the way. I spent that year getting high in Broward County and living in shame, guilt, and regret.
I hit my bottom again in March of 2015. I made a commitment to get clean and I gave my life to Jesus Christ. The Lord drastically changed my life and I dedicate my life to serving Him. I turned from all of my addictions, got involved in church, attended numerous small groups and started mentoring other women. I am now over 4 years free from drug addiction and I give God all the glory for what He has done in my life.
Throughout my entire journey, there was one person that was always with me through everything (good and bad) – my best friend Melissa Kovacs. I had met her at 19 when my parents moved to Florida. After 17 years of friendship, getting clean together and dedicating our lives to serving the Lord, we share a common passion to help others. Our non-profit, Wholeness Ministries, was birthed in Feb 2018 after the death of her son and the overdose of a very close friend. Wholeness Ministries provides hope, healing, and restoration to those struggling with abuse, addiction, and trafficking. We currently provide restorative housing in Broward County and surrounding areas.
I can now say that I am grateful for my trials and tribulations because I am in a place to show others that there is hope of a future after addiction and trauma. I am currently planning my wedding for December 2019 where I get to marry an amazing man. Life is never easy, but I am happier than I’ve ever been.
Has it been a smooth road?
Although the Lord has provided grace and mercy in my situations, there have definitely been obstacles. I have experienced personal obstacles in dealing with the roots of my trauma. It’s never easy to dig up past wounds, but God is faithful to deal with our past at a pace that we can handle. I have gone through 12 step programs and sought mentorship and counseling along the way. Healing from our past requires courage, strength and the dedication to dealing with the pain.
There have also been financial obstacles. Coming out of darkness is difficult because you are then left to pick up the pieces from your past. The consequences of late payments, debts and financial hardships haunted me. It took a while for me to get to where I am now and I am still not where I want to be.
In regards to business, we also experience financial struggles. As a non-profit, we rely solely on donations, fundraisers, and grants. To help these women in the way that they need, we need money! God has always been faithful to provide for our needs and we know that He will continue to do so. We can only pray that more people will step forward and give of their time and resources to this great cause.
We’d love to hear more about your organization.
Wholeness Ministries provides hope, healing, and restoration to those struggling with abuse, addiction, and trafficking. We provide restorative housing to those in need. Our homes are set up in a family model setting, unlike other halfway houses in Florida.
Our homes are different! Aside from the fact that we show residents a Biblical way of living and help them build a foundational relationship with Jesus Christ, we also provide programming and resources to help them get back on their feet.
Our program believes in a Whole-listic approach that focuses on the human body as a “whole being”. We believe that we are created as spiritual beings, clothed with a body, mind, emotion, and will. We promote wholeness by first addressing the spiritual needs of an individual through Biblical principles by adding prayer, study, and application of the Word of God. We address wholeness through the body by exercise, eating healthy and the implementation of scriptural healing. The Word of God says to be transformed by the renewing of your minds. We promote wholeness by renewing the mind through art, music, and animal therapies, along with individual and group mental health counseling. Wholeness Ministries promotes wholeness to emotions by instinctively changing the way one views their circumstances. We teach individuals to reject, resist and replace negative thoughts, which restores the peace of one’s mind. Our team promotes a healthy will by implementing case management, along with continuing education, career counseling, life skills, and re-entry services. Wholeness Ministries also has an in-house Career Development program with extensive job placement.
Common halfway houses in south Florida currently lack these additional resources that residents need to give them a fair shot at rebuilding their lives and becoming a productive member of society after trauma or addiction. As a result, residents are relapsing, getting arrested and in many cases, dying!
Wholeness Ministries seeks to implement permanent change to this problem in the community, one house at a time.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I believe that the characteristic most important to our success is definitely integrity. The moment an organization compromises their integrity for money, fame or power, is the moment they begin to plunder.
In this field, it is unfortunate how many rehabs and halfway houses are out for the money and not the client. Insurance fraud runs rampant!! Currently, there are men, women, and children dying because organizations choose money over the individual. Our heart is to help people and see them succeed in life after their trauma. If you keep your eyes and heart focused on what matters, the money will automatically follow!
Integrity and honesty are paramount to this type of work.
Contact Info:
- Website: wholenessministries.net
- Phone: 5615711568
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: wholenessthrujesus
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wholenessthruJesus/
- Other: https://wholenessministries.givingfuel.com/tree-of-life
Image Credit:
Al Lehman
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