Megan’s Redemption Story
When a woman and her children arrive at The Dwelling Place, they leave everything behind. Megan, an alum, shed her past and rebuilt her life on an unshakeable faith.
Megan drove with her five kids in the backseat, and she had no idea where she was going. Her husband, after seven years of marriage, was in treatment, and she had nothing—no job, no home, no savings. She’d been living with her kids in the basement of a friend’s house. As she tried to pull her emotions together, Megan prayed, “God, I’m blindly trusting you that this is where I’m supposed to go.” But she felt like she was driving into a daunting wilderness.
This wasn’t the first time Megan had to overcome and be brave. She grew up with an alcoholic father, her parents separated several times, and she was a victim of sexual assault. When she was 17, her entire life changed, and she became a mom. “That rocked my world and brought me back to God,” she said.
Still just a teenager, she rented a home and started attending church. There, she met her future husband. “He came from a rough background with an abusive mom,” she said. “But he was free from past addictions and had just started seeking God.” Together, they dove into their church and started sharing their faith with others. Megan was 19 when they got married.
Right away, they had a lot to balance: three children, two jobs, and Megan was attending school. “Life just hit us in the face from the beginning.” Her husband started questioning his faith and fell back into old patterns: drugs, alcohol, and anger. “All this anger came out, and he blamed it on me because I looked like the variable.” He screamed, broke things, kicked, slapped, and told Megan that she wasn’t a Christian.
His addictions drained their savings, so they moved into the basement of his mother’s home. Old wounds from his maternal relationship were split open, and Megan’s home became a dark place. “That’s when I was closest to God,” she said. “I had nothing but Him. He used that time to draw me to Him.”
One night, her husband shouted at the top of his lungs and broke a lamp near Megan. She ran to the top of the stairs and sat crying with her back against the door. She had sat like this so many times before, but it was at this moment she had the courageous thought, “I’m going to do it. I’m going to call the police.” That same night, her neighbor called the police, too. “It was a sweet confirmation from God that I did the right thing,” she said.
Her husband left, Megan was sick with a high fever, and her mother-in-law came downstairs and told her to leave by the next day. Megan was shocked. “Marilyn, where am I supposed to go?” She had five kids, was a stay-at-home mom, and had no savings.
For months, they lived in the basement of a woman from her church. Then, Megan got a call that would change everything. It was her husband. He said, “I need help, you and the kids need to heal, and you need to be somewhere I can’t find you.” He told her about The Dwelling Place.
“This is where our story differs from most,” said Megan. “We both were committed to healing, and we both left everything behind to get there.”
“We both were committed to healing, and we both left everything behind to get there.”
Her husband checked himself into MN Adult and Teen Challenge, and Megan and her children spent two years at The Dwelling Place. “It was my own space to take a breath and not have to figure out how to pay rent, where to work, or worry about being a burden to someone,” she said. “It was an oasis, and I’m so grateful for that place.”
Megan saved, got daycare assistance, and took time to rest and heal, attending classes and therapy tailored specifically to help her recover from abuse and build new habits.
Megan had a high school diploma and years of experience as a full-time mom, but she was determined to build a career. After facing multiple rejections, she finally sat down for an interview for a property management role. The interviewer asked, “Why should we hire you over someone with more qualifications?” Megan paused, then confidently replied, “I may not have all the skills on paper, but I’m coachable, eager to learn, and I’m committed to working hard to improve myself.” That honesty and determination earned her the job, and she has steadily advanced in the industry ever since.
After two years of intentional healing and growth on their own, Megan and her husband reunited. “When we got married, we were such broken people,” she said. “We were evangelizing to others, but we needed to humble ourselves and allow everything about us to be changed before we were commissioned. Just like before Jesus started his ministry, he was tested in the wilderness.”
That wilderness, Megan says, made them stronger and more grounded in their faith. In 2024, they celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary. Today, Megan’s greatest hope is to raise her children with a firm foundation in God. “I want them to be so much more equipped than I was,” she said. “The world is so intentional in capturing our kids, so we can’t afford not to be intentional in how we raise them.”
At The Dwelling Place, women prioritize their personal safety, building a relationship with God, and equipping themselves with tools to identify abusive patterns and set healthy boundaries. We praise God that both Megan and her husband left everything behind to focus on healing and growth. Because of the cyclical nature of domestic abuse, full reconciliation with a previous abuser is rarely safe, and most stories do not end that way. However, every woman’s story begins and ends with being fully loved by Jesus Christ.