Hello my name is Erica Marie Stultz, I am 35 years old and I was born and raised in Austin Texas. Growing up I was the youngest in my family. My parents worked very hard to make sure that my brother and I had everything we needed. I was very close to both of my parents. They were married for 40 years and I admired their marriage very much and wanted the same thing for my life.
At a very early age something happened to me that no little girl should ever experience. It was traumatic and shaped the course of my whole life. I look back now and I can honestly say I don’t remember much of my teenage years. I started drinking, doing drugs, and getting involved with boys. I also started skipping school which resulted in me failing all my classes. At that point my parents started homeschooling me. They were trying to teach me right from wrong and give me an education, but I was rebellious and would run away from home.
At age 21 I fell in love, married and now have 3 beautiful children. I thought my life was pretty good I was a stay at home mom, I loved the life I was living!
A few years later my father died of throat cancer, my mom moved away, we lost my childhood home and I was involved in a terrible car wreck. To make things even more difficult I found out my husband of 10 years was cheating on me.
I didn’t know how to handle all that was happening so I did the only thing I knew to do, and that was run. I was running from my problems and ran right into very dark lifestyle of drugs and addiction. I hit rock bottom when I ended up in Travis County Jail with a felony drug charge. I started going to the church service offered in the jail and that’s when I realized what was missing in my life. I started praying to the Lord to help me find a way out of the mess I had created for myself. I heard a fellow inmate talking about Grace House and I thought maybe they could help me, so I filled out an application and sent it in. A week later I had my acceptance letter from Grace House! At that moment I knew God heard my cry for help, I couldn’t believe how quickly He had answered my prayers.
I’ve been at Grace House for a little over a year. I graduated the program in December of 2019 and now serve as the House Supervisor. While in the program at Grace House I was able to complete my High School Diploma as well as learn new skills for living a Godly lifestyle, I accepted Jesus as my Savior and was Baptized by Mr. T. I am excited to say that I AM A CHILD OF GOD. I look back on my life and I know God saved my life. Every day I thank the Lord for what He has brought me through. I can’t express how grateful I am for the opportunity I’ve been given at Grace House. God has healed my mind, my body, and has given me a brand new heart. I no longer run from my problems, I step forward and go over obstacles because I have Jesus Christ on my side.
Romans 8:38 reads….
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death, nor life, neither angles nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”