Transformations

Many times in scripture, we see God testing and purifying the hearts and minds of believers to accomplish His work through them. Often this process occurs over the course of many years, well before the person begins the task God was preparing them for. It’s difficult to describe how and when the “vision” of Transformations started. We can look back and see God’s hand at work, orchestrating this path in our personal lives and eventually in our marriage. God brought together two broken people with vastly different personalities and lots of baggage.

We both had major mistakes in our pasts, but, once we decided to marry, we were committed to living for God and sharing the Gospel. We surrounded ourselves with godly mentors and attended church regularly, but just showing up on a weekly basis did not keep us from having conflict with each other. Instead of sharing with others, we spent most of our time trying—without success—to change each other. For years, our deep-seated pride allowed the enemy to keep us focused on each other’s flaws and kept us ineffective for the Kingdom. Chad’s mentor, Mac Owen, encouraged him to join a Celebrate Recovery step study.

I’d heard about CR, but since I didn’t struggle with addiction, I didn’t think it was for me. Chad completed the study and then began leading step studies. The changes I saw in my husband convinced me to join the women’s step study group.  As we learned to turn our focus towards working on our own flaws, we were freed from trying to control each other. God had begun to transform our hearts, and He had a plan for us to share this hope with others.

Approximately 16 years ago, Celebrate Recovery was started at White’s Ferry Road Church. As it grew, there became an increasing need for safe places to recover. A men’s recovery home was started, followed later by a women’s home. Little did we know, God was setting wheels in motion that would upset our own plans and guide us to serve in this process. We both had full-time jobs and were raising our four children. We were also starting a real-estate company. Our plates were full. One day, in a real-estate discussion, we were asked to buy a house that would be used as a women’s recovery home. We agreed and, having no idea what this actually meant, the seed of Transformations had been planted without us realizing it.

There was soon a group of ladies who moved in. They all needed to find jobs, but most had no driver’s license and no transportation. We found ourselves trying to get 14 ladies to 14 different jobs, with no one having a driver’s license. Ladies were working in public places all around town and still had their cell phones, which meant they were often still in contact with unhealthy relationships while trying to recover.

Over the next three years, we had 100 ladies come through this type of arrangement. The average stay was about five weeks. There were five ladies who stayed a full year. One thing these ladies had in common was a safe place to work. We knew that was a key to a solution. We needed a business where everyone in the program could work, but what business can you start and immediately hire 14 employees who are all straight out of jail or 30-day rehab?

This is where the Transformations Thrift Store idea took its roots and where we had the opportunity to trust God and have faith. We initially rented two small rooms in a local strip mall to get started. The ladies now would have a safe place to work. Working alongside the ladies during the day, it was apparent how their phones affected their mindsets. A single text could send someone into a downward emotional spiral, and much of the day would be spent talking ladies through the numerous toxic messages they would receive. The new program would have to have a no-cell phone policy if it was going to work.

Lives began to change…

For the last eight years, God has tested and strengthened our faith in ways we could not have imagined. We’ve endured floods, road construction that blocked store entrances, Covid outbreaks and lockdowns, hundreds of plumbing issues, broken AC in the summer, shop lifters, break-ins, and financial tests. No matter the struggle, God has consistently provided for every need. Most importantly, though, we have watched lives changing right before our eyes.

Transformations Thrift Store has steadily grown and now financially supports five recovery homes, seven vehicles, fifteen residents, ten full-time employees, and has recently purchased the store campus. All donations and sales go directly back into the ministry, which allows Transformations to provide long-term residential recovery, free of charge, to ladies for a minimum of one year. Ladies have a safe place to live and work while they heal. Many decide to stay longer and join our team—serving as mentors to the new ladies as they come in.

For many, Transformations is a safe haven from those who would try to harm them; it’s a place to finally rest without being in survival mode. It’s a place to process and heal from past trauma. It’s about dying to the self and learning who God is and how to trust Him. It’s discovering who they are in Christ and how that affects their daily lives and transforms their families.

We’ve been blessed to watch as mothers—awarded custody of their children back from the state—form healthy, loving homes. Families are being restored after years of addiction and burned bridges had torn them apart. We could have never imagined the joy it brings to watch ladies walk out of slavery and into freedom through the grace of God the Father, by the blood of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to serve you by serving others. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Chad and Debbie Johnson have been married for 25 years, with four children and two grandchildren. Debbie is a registered nurse, and Chad is a maintenance supervisor with Graphic Packaging in West Monroe, LA. Longtime members of WFR Church, they began volunteering with the Celebrate Recovery ministry 13 years ago. After opening the first sober living house in 2013, Transformations Ladies Recovery Program and Thrift Store began in 2016.