Seeing transformation for what it is can be difficult at times: change is scary, and it's often so much easier to retreat back into what we know rather than embrace the unknown. But through faith, we find that with God at our backs we can weather any storm, and come through on the other side not just stronger for having been tested, but with brand new worldviews and perspectives, and oftentimes brand new lives.
This is why we celebrate Transformation Tuesday — Hope Center's weekly opportunity to celebrate personal transformation through faith in the lives of one of our residents. This week we celebrate the incredible testimony of Florence, SC Women's Center Director Traci Nichols!
Traci's life prior to coming to Hope Center was, in many ways, defined by her substance abuse. She states that her relationship with drugs and alcohol began at the age of only 13, so as an adult, there were very few times when she wasn't caught in the grips of one substance or another.
Unlike some others who struggle with addiction, Traci had actually attempted sobriety before: she even managed some success when pregnant with her son. However, when she found herself struck by one of the worst tragedies a mother can ever experience, that sobriety fell apart; In 2012, Traci lost her baby boy.
The death of her son triggered a spiral in Traci, one in which her primary drug of choice, meth amphetamines, seemed to be her one saving grace amidst a storm of pain and anger at the world around her. This spiral resulted in numerous periods of incarceration, during which she continued to use; after all, what was really the point in stopping when drugs were so freely available in prison, and when the only reason she'd had for quitting was already gone?
On March 3rd, 2022 however, Traci's life would change forever. She had been out of prison for a time, but was still struggling with active addiction, when an off-duty police officer who knew she had active warrants for her arrest spotted her while out in public. Traci once again found herself behind bars, but with one incredible difference: during this final arrest, she found herself freed from the compulsion to continue her cycle of abuse — she was finally ready to change.
Traci enrolled in college courses while incarcerated, knowing that the strict drug testing requirements for staying in these courses would help keep her on the straight and narrow through her stint in prison. Channeling her faith and her drive to better her life into a new outlook on the world, Traci found herself presented in December 2022 with the option of coming to Hope Center Ministries. Blessedly, she accepted.
Only 2 weeks after coming to our Purcell, OK Women's Center Traci had set herself apart as a resident, being named as a Community Leader while still in the first phase of her program. She utilized her knowledge of her own journey, as well as her openness and unashamed nature, to help the women around her overcome their own struggles, and soon realized that she had found more than just a recovery program: she had found a calling.
Following her Graduation from Hope Center's recovery program, Traci has become the Campus Director for our Florence, SC Women's Center, where she now continues the work that she started in Purcell each and every day: to inspire others to stay strong in their own recovery, and to never let setbacks define the worth of your life.
Traci credits one of the most powerful lines of scripture she knows, what she describes as her 'life verse', with defining the ethos that she takes towards both her role as a Campus Director and towards the journey that she's undertaken in recovery: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." - Genesis 50:20.
By turning her pain and her suffering into an incredible force of change, for the good not only of herself but for all of those around her, Traci's story is a resounding example of exactly why we do these Transformation Tuesdays in the first place. It's one thing to experience personal transformation, it's another thing entirely to then use your own transformation to inspire change in the world around you; and God Almighty, do we at Hope Center love to see it!
Thank you Traci for all that you do for the women of the Florence, SC Women's Center and beyond, and for all, a very happy Transformation Tuesday!
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