Three Weeks That Changed the Lives of a Mother and Two Children
Because of her drinking, Tatyana’s life had been ruined to the point that her precious children, Diana and Ruslan, were taken from her. Child protection officials gave Tatyana six months to get free from her addiction and get her life back on track. Otherwise, her children would not be entrusted to her again. Desperate, she arrived at our rehabilitation center.
“I can only blame myself for everything,” Tatyana lamented in a conversation with a worker in the rehabilitation home. “At the age of eighteen, I was already drinking constantly and dropped out of school.”
Tatyana could have blamed her parents’ bad example but said she was nevertheless grateful to them for trying to provide her with everything she needed.
“I remember how my parents drank, partied, and then fought. My sister and I would hide ourselves out of fear. I was ashamed when my mother and I went to the police station to pick up my father the morning after a fight. My mother’s face was swollen and bruised. I was afraid some of my classmates would see us.
“I was twenty-two when my daughter Diana was born. I decided to change the course of my life for the sake of my baby. I didn’t want her to be ashamed of me…”
Indeed, a few sober years followed the baby’s birth. Tatyana graduated from hairdressing school and got a job. She often spoke with Diana’s father about making their relationship permanent, but he was not interested in marriage. One morning, after such a conversation, Tatyana made a radical decision and asked him to leave. He packed his things and left without a word.
“Nevertheless, my life was going pretty well. Diana was a sweet child and the center of my life. Eventually, though, I fell into self-pity and started drinking again…
“There were some better days when I did schoolwork with Diana and we went to the park together. That’s where I met a new man. He was always caring and spoke gently to us.”
This new partner was from Uzbekistan but worked in Russia. He moved in and cared for Tatyana and Diana. Soon their son Ruslan was born, but alcohol was still a problem in the home.
The authorities intervened when the neighbors reported the parents’ drinking. Ruslan had been found wandering alone in the park while his father was passed out on a bench. Police took custody of the little boy and then picked Diana up from school.
“I cried all night. I thought about how scared my children must be. I remembered my own childhood terrors. In the morning I went to the childcare agency, but they told me I could not have the children back until I stopped drinking and got a job.
“The first thing I did when I got home was to collect my partner’s things and tell him to leave.
“I knew I couldn’t change my life on my own, but who would help me?”
As Tatyana was delivering a package to the shelter for her children, one of the workers took pity on the devastated mother and wrote a phone number on a piece of paper. “These people will help you get your children back,” she advised.
Tatyana sat down on a bench outside the building and immediately called our rehabilitation center, crying and asking for help. She traveled the 100 kilometers from her home to the city, where we welcomed her with open arms.
When Tatyana started our one year rehabilitation program, we wrote a statement to the child protection authorities. They were pleased she had come to us. In less than three weeks authorities released her children so they could join her at our center!
During those first few weeks she was with us, Tatyana also heard the gospel for the first time. She immediately accepted Jesus as her Savior!
Life has been going well for the family. Tatyana carefully follows the advice and instructions she’s given. She and her children have made new friends at our center and in the church. Diana is attending elementary school nearby. We rejoice for the change in this family’s life!
