Gratitude and Hope After Grief

Jeffrey, pictured right, proudly displays his Life Change Program graduation certificate. 

When Jeffrey Pooler’s wife died, he faced a grief so deep he thought he would never recover.

“I was married to the love of my life and she went through a protracted illness that took her life. From there, things went completely sideways,” Jeffrey recalled.

“The pain of her loss led me to believe that God was this callous, fickle, uncaring creator. I made a conscious decision that I was going to be under the influence of everything I could because I couldn’t handle the pain.”

One autumn, Jeffrey was watching television and he kept seeing commercials for the Eugene Mission that featured Life Change Program graduates. He never thought he might be one of them.

Through the program, he began to address his pain and bitterness toward God and his substance abuse. He finally surrendered and came to understand God loved him and had a plan for him.

“God is just awesome – everyone who lives in the recovery house where I’m now staying is a Life Change graduate, including one of the men who was in the commercials,” Jeffrey said. “I’m so grateful for the simple fact that the program existed. I don’t know what I would have done if not for them – they just loved me.”