Valerie Gurley, Development Director
One of the most defining seasons of my life was walking through my son’s addiction and watching him go through two residential treatment centers before he turned eighteen. It was a season filled with fear, heartbreak, and countless prayers. I desperately wanted to fix it, control it, and guarantee a certain outcome, but God was teaching me something deeper: to trust Him no matter what.
That season deepened my faith and strengthened my relationship with Jesus in ways I could never have imagined. It softened my heart, taught me true surrender, and showed me what it means to depend on Him daily. It continues to shape how I love and serve at Steelbridge every single day.
Today, I serve as the person I once prayed God would send to my own son. I understand the fear, the hope, the exhaustion, and the faith that families carry. I know what it feels like to want certainty and instead be called to trust.
Because of that, I serve with empathy, patience, and grace. I don’t take lightly the courage it takes for someone to enter recovery. I know how much it matters to have one safe place and one faithful person walking beside you.
In this season, I see God using my story to remind others, especially parents, that we are called to trust Him no matter the outcome. Walking through addiction in my own family taught me that I cannot control everything, but I can surrender everything to Him.
Now, I serve from that place of surrender. I see God using me to encourage families to keep praying, to stand firm in faith even when the future feels uncertain, and to remind residents that their lives are ultimately in His hands.
I hope residents walk away knowing they are not alone and that they are deeply valued. I hope they feel believed in.
Most of all, I hope they leave knowing that no matter what their past looks like and no matter how uncertain the future feels, God is still at work in their story.
God has redeemed my story by taking one of the hardest seasons of my life and turning it into purpose. What once felt like fear and helplessness has become compassion and calling. He has shown me that nothing is wasted in His hands, not the tears, not the waiting, not even the uncertainty.
My work at Steelbridge matters to me because I get to live out the trust I once had to learn and be part of the answer to the prayers I once prayed.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5–6
