Skylar’s Story: “I’m a Totally Different Person”
Skylar was only 14 when an accident changed the direction of her life.
She was on a trail ride with her stepmom. She enjoyed riding horses, but she wasn’t very experienced. Her saddle wasn’t tightened enough, and when the horse started running, it slipped.
Skylar jumped off.
Her foot became caught in the stirrup, and she was dragged.
The injury was serious. Two surgeries followed, along with a bone infection.
Then came the pain pills.
“I got addicted to my pain pills.”
What began after a painful injury soon became something much bigger. Skylar started partying. She started getting arrested.
“I just spiraled.”
By 17, she had been introduced to injecting drugs.
For much of her teenage life, Skylar remembers running—from the police, from consequences and, in many ways, from pain she hadn’t yet learned how to face.
There Was Grief Underneath It All
Addiction rarely tells the whole story of what someone is carrying.
For Skylar, there was grief, too.
“I guess I really misunderstood grief and didn’t really know how to express it or accept it.”
Her mother had died, and Skylar says it wasn’t until she was 18 that she truly accepted that her mom was gone.
She was a teenager trying to make sense of loss while addiction was taking more control of her life.
That control can be deceptive.
“An addiction, like you you think you’re in control of it, you know.”
Until one day, you realize you aren't.
For Skylar, things eventually became frighteningly serious.
Her kidneys were shutting down. She weighed around 93 pounds. She was staying in a trap house.
“I had nothing and nobody.”
Still, she couldn’t stop.
“And I could not stop shooting up.”
More Time Incarcerated Than Free
Addiction continued to pull Skylar into a cycle of arrests and incarceration.
She estimates that she has spent more of her adult life incarcerated than free.
It would be easy to look at a life like that from the outside and see only the arrests, the drugs or the choices that led there.
But God saw Skylar.
And while she was incarcerated, something as simple as a pamphlet helped point her toward what would come next.
Skylar had been looking at different recovery programs when she received information about Charis House.
She remembers the timing clearly.
“This is how I know it was God ordained.”
About a week before she was released, Skylar was accepted into Charis House.
“When I saw the pamphlet, I cried because I knew that’s what I needed.”
This time, she wasn't running.
She was ready for something different.
Learning What It Meant to Surrender
Skylar had heard about God before.
She had even attended a Christian school when she was younger and learned about the Lord.
But knowing about Him and surrendering her life to Him were two very different things.
At Charis House, that began to change.
“I got saved. Yeah. For real. Got saved.”
Skylar describes it simply: she had learned about the Lord before, “but I hadn’t accepted it into my heart.”
“And that’s what Charis house really taught me how to do was surrender most importantly.”
That surrender began changing more than her circumstances.
It changed the way she thought.
Charis House gave Skylar a place to begin practicing new patterns instead of returning to the ones that had shaped so much of her teenage and adult life.
And Scripture became a major part of that.
“I ate scripture basically.”
Then she adds:
“And it does change you.”
Becoming Someone New
During her time at Charis House, Skylar was baptized.
But when she tries to explain everything that happened in her life during that season, baptism is only part of what she remembers.
“So much more than that. I don’t even have words.”
“It was an incredible experience.”
For years, Skylar’s life had been marked by addiction, incarceration and instability.
Today, she describes herself differently.
“I mean I’m a totally different person. You would not even recognize me. Seriously.”
And sometimes a new life shows up in things that might sound ordinary to someone else.
Skylar has bills to pay.
She has a bed to sleep in.
She has clothes on her back.
She has people around her who care about her.
Those aren't small things when you remember the woman who once said, “I had nothing and nobody.”
Looking Forward Instead of Running
There is another change in Skylar that may be even more meaningful.
She can look forward now.
For so much of her younger life, she was running.
Today, she's thinking about rebuilding.
“I’m looking forward to mending relationships with my family and just living an upright life.”
Then she says:
“That’s something that I really desire.”
Not running from the police.
Not chasing another high.
Not simply surviving another day.
A life with responsibility. A life surrounded by people who care. A life shaped by Scripture and a relationship with Christ. A life where broken relationships can begin to heal.
An upright life.
A Different Life Is Possible
Maybe you've been running for a long time, too.
Maybe addiction started somewhere you never expected. Maybe there was an injury, a prescription, a loss, a relationship or simply a choice that became something you couldn't control.
Maybe you've been in and out of jail.
Maybe you've tried before.
Maybe you've lost relationships and years you wish you could get back.
Or maybe, like Skylar, you've reached a place where it feels like you have nothing and nobody.
Your story doesn't have to stop there.
Skylar couldn't undo what happened when she was 14. She couldn't erase the addiction, the arrests or the years spent incarcerated.
But through Jesus Christ, she could surrender what came next.
Today, she has a bed to sleep in. People who care about her. Responsibilities to handle. Relationships she wants to mend.
Most importantly, she knows the Lord she once only knew about.
Her words say it best:
“I’m a totally different person.”
And by God's grace, her story is still being written.
A different life is possible. If you’re ready to leave addiction behind and begin rebuilding your life with Christ at the center, we invite you to learn more about Charis House and apply today.
