Arrow Highlight – Kristy
Growing up in Alaska surrounded by amazing beauty, Kristy gained an appreciation for the wonder and majesty of God’s creation. But only in recent months as she has settled into the family at Providence Heights, has she begun to appreciate the God-designed beauty and majesty within herself.
When Kristy’s family relocated to Idaho in the middle of her senior year of high-school, she had to let go of a lot of plans, hopes and friends. She graduated and went away to college but struggled with both school and the social scene. After one year she left and moved to Oregon where she found a good job and what she thought was a good roommate. But it was this relationship that became a doorway to methamphetamines; an entanglement that for her was immediate and powerful. It became a driving force behind her life choices – choices that led her in and out of abusive relationships, in and out of jobs and eventually in and out of prison. And yet through all of these ins and outs, the presence of her heavenly Father pursued and protected her.
She found help through rehabilitation centers and churches and friendships. She built a cosmetology career and climbed a mountain (a literal mountain!) She discovered a love of teaching as she was given a chance to teach at a beauty college. But stresses and strains in life pushed her back toward substance abuse. Yet something deep within Kristy refused to let go of hope for a brighter future for both herself and her daughter.
She reached out for help again at just the perfect moment – the moment that Providence Heights was opening its doors for their initial cohort group of women. In the atmosphere of encouragement and opportunity she has encountered here she is discovering who she is and why she is the way she is – a strong, beautiful leader filled with wisdom, strategies and purpose. She has stepped into the lead position of the Providence Collective helping to steer the direction of the coffee business. The confidence she earned doing this reawakened a childhood dream to make and sell her own jewelry and thus was birthed Esther Skye Designs – a bold and beautiful line of custom jewelry filled with messages of fearless faith – just like the woman behind it.
