“At that moment, I knew God had literally saved my life,” Heather Knox explains earnestly. This transformational moment came nearly six years ago after years and years of destruction and recklessness consumed Heather’s daily life.

“From a very young age I was very rebellious and stubborn,” she explains. “I never had a sense of who I was or who I wanted to be. God was never part of my life and I never once thought to pray for help from Him.”

Heather was only 14 years old when she began heavily indulging in alcohol and drugs and surrounding herself with people who encouraged her behavior. Although she felt shame and guilt about her actions, she continued in a sick cycle of covering her guilty feelings with addictions.

The cycle continued into adulthood and, at one point, Heather lost her car, apartment and possessions because of her behavior and addictions. “After losing everything, I had to move to North Carolina from California to live with my parents,” Heather explains. “My mom was attending Forest Hill at the time and convinced me to come visit a few times with he, but it wasn’t anything I was interested in.”

However, life became increasingly more difficult for Heather as her eyes were opened to the type of person she had become. She was conflicted about whether or not to change her lifestyle. For one year, she made an effort to clean up her act, but on her own she could not succeed.

That’s when the “moment” happened: “One morning I woke up in the backseat of my car, in the middle of a field with no purse, no shoes, the car doors wide open and no one else in sight. I had no idea what had happened or where I was.” Heather recalls. “I immediately drove back to my parent’s house scared and afraid of what I had done.”

At the end of her rope, Heather fell to her knees and cried out to God to help her – something she had never done before. “That’s the moment I knew God had saved my life. I didn’t know why I was crying out to God, I just knew He was the only one who could help me,” she explains.

On August 12, 2003 Heather began her road to recovery and enrolled in a rehabilitation program. Slowly, she began learning to give her insecurities and feelings of guilt to God.

Fast forward almost six years later and Heather has blossomed into a fully recognized child of God. Heather explains that after that “moment” of saving grace, “I had been living with an angry voice inside of me for so many years – yelling at me and clouding my thoughts. All of a sudden, that voice was gone and everything was different. The sky even looked bluer!”

Heather began attending Forest Hill again and reading her Bible for the first time in her life. She began to understand the story of God’s redemption plan and why God had saved her despite her years of running from Him and denying Him.

After joining a women’s LifeGroup three years ago, her desire to know God on a deeper level has grown. “Since attending Forest Hill and joining my LifeGroup, I know now who God actually is and what He desires for me as a follower of Him. I will always have a strong love for God but, without my LifeGroup, I would be immature spiritually,” Heather explains.

In addition to growing spiritually with her Forest Hill LifeGroup, Heather also met her husband, Bill Knox, at Forest Hill. “We both attended Saturday night services and were introduced by a mutual friend.” After attending many services together, and eating dinner afterwards in the Charis Room, Heather and Bill were married in the Mansion in April 2007!

“I think about where I was headed and who I used to be,” says Heather. “I’m still in awe that God would redeem me and bless me with a wonderful husband and two beautiful children!”

Amazingly, Heather sees her previous way of life as a blessing from God. She is now able to share her testimony with others who may be struggling with the same addictions and feelings of guilt she experienced.

“I can tell people with confidence that God is gracious to forgive and transform through the blood of Jesus!”

If you would like more information about Forest Hill LifeGroups, click here to learn about Starting Point.