A young widowed mother has much to be thankful for this holiday season, most particularly that she has been drug free for seven years.

Brandi Bonds, 35, of Roland said she is also thankful for her children, Joshua, 14, and Jacob, 10, who were returned to her after she completed drug court; her friends and family; her pastor and his wife, Randy and Denise Freeman; and all those who have helped her remain clean and sober through some of the worst circumstances a family can face.

“I lost my husband of 14 years just two years,“ Bonds said as Thanksgiving approached.

Bonds said if she could make it through her husband’s death without being tempted by drugs, she, with God’s help, can make it through anything.

Bonds’ descent into a drugged life was not the usual path, and she makes no excuses.

“I had a good family, a Christian family, I was (and still is) a firm believer in God, I went to church,” Bonds said.

But during her senior year in high school she began to experiment with drugs.

“I just stepped into it and couldn’t get out,” Bonds said. “I had an abusive boyfriend at the time. Maybe that was why I began to do drugs, to get away from that life.”

Bonds said she began with marijuana and then went on to methamphetamine, one of the most addictive illegal drugs. For 10 years she used and dealt drugs.

“From then on I was pretty much in and out of jail, for drugs every time,” Bonds related.

But about seven years ago, while incarcerated in Sequoyah County Jail, Bonds was told that God still cared for her.

“A missionary, Sally Melin of Sallisaw, came in and ministered to me and I found the Lord that day, and I haven’t looked back,” Bonds said. “I was facing (a sentence of) 20 years to life. It was scary, and I lost my kids.”

Not only did her Christianity give her support, it also led her to the Sequoyah County Drug Court program.

“The district attorney at that time reviewed my case, and sent me to drug court. Judge Dennis Sprouse was so good to me,” Bonds said.

Because she had lost everything, her home and children, Bonds had no place to stay. Drug Court personnel directed her to The Outreach Center operated by the Rev. Randy and Denise Freeman. The center, at the corner of Wheeler and Chickasaw in Sallisaw, offers a place to live to the homeless and hopeless. But Bonds wasn’t hopeless. She knew what she wanted — to be clean and sober for herself and her children. And she proceeded to devote herself to recovery. Bonds said as she worked her way through the recovery process, with the help of The Outreach Center and the drug court program, she was never tempted again. Her children spent several weeks in foster care, then were turned over to her mother, where Bonds was able to visit her children as often as she wanted.

“Not once was I tempted,” Bonds said of the two-year drug court program. “I had no setbacks. I totally succeeded in that program. And I re-established my relationship with God.”

Because of her drug addictions, Bonds said she had learned a life lesson.

“Every time you are jailed, you lose everything. Every time you are incarcerated people come in and take your home, they take your belongings,” Bonds said, “I had to rebuild my life several times after being incarcerated.”

She wasn’t going to let that happen again. Bonds said she stuck with the program, and stuck with God.

And she hasn’t been ignored by Him either.

As she continued her recovery her children were returned, and she and her husband set up a home near her parents. Later, after her husband’s death, she needed a place to live.

“There were too many memories there,” she said.

A new home was provided.

“There was a brand new home in Roland, but I needed a $20,000 down payment,” Bonds said.

She grinned when she added, “Someone paid that $20,000 for me out of the kindness of their heart.”

Bonds said that person wishes to remain anonymous.

She has also found a good job, and has worked her way up to being an assistant manager at McDonald’s in Sallisaw, and hopes to make that a career.

The Sallisaw McDonald’s, owned by John and Jane Hadley, Bonds said, has been extremely supportive of the Sequoyah County Drug Court program.

“I’ve been at McDonald’s seven years now, and they have been very good about providing jobs for the people in the drug court program,” Bonds said.

The program requires that participants either be seeking or have a job. The drug court program, instituted and overseen by Special District Judge Dennis Sprouse in Sallisaw, gives convicted and admitted drug and alcohol abusers a second chance. If they remain drug free, and cooperate with the court and parole officers and the Eagle Ridge Institute treatment counselors, they may become productive members of society without having spent time in jail. If not, their assignment to the drug court program is revoked, and they go to jail.

Because of her experience with the drug court program and The Outreach Center, Bonds is giving back to her community. She now serves as director of The Outreach Center, and praises Judge Sprouse and drug court for her sobriety. She is also the praise and worship director at Freeman’s church, Living Word Full Gospel on Choctaw in Sallisaw.

“I also sing and play piano,” she said, laughing, and adding that it is hard to say no to Pastor Randy after he and his faith have given her so much.

Now Bonds gives back, but it was a bit hard.

“After my husband died, I swore I’d never help another addict again,” Bonds confessed. “I was mad!”

But the anger passed, and Bonds understands her anger was a part of the grieving process. She is now back into helping addicts through The Outreach Center and her church. She also still works with the drug court and Eagle Ridge Institute, which provides psychological counseling, with those in need through The Outreach Center.

“For the most part, it’s the mission, the lost, reaching out to those in need.”

Bonds said that, after living at the mission herself, she said, “I wanted to put something back, for what was given to me. I try to help them, teach them they have to take care of their responsibilities, to love on their own two feet.”

Helping those who have been where she was, and from where she escaped, is now her mission in life, Bonds said.

“I tell them that it’s just one day at a time, and you can’t do it yourself. You have to rely on God just to get through it. There’s a song that says there’s a God-shaped hole in everyone, and you just have to fill that hole. You can’t fill it with anything other than God.

“And If I can do it, anybody can do it,” Bonds emphasized.

Bonds said she likes keeping busy, both on the job, helping the lost and homeless, and with her two sons. And she wants to stay that way. She also has a boyfriend now, Bryan, who interacts with her children in a positive way.

“He takes the kids hunting and fishing. He’s a good Christian man who cares about my kids. He helps me at The Outreach Center,” Bonds said. “He’s a big part of my life.”

Bonds said she and Bryan plan for a happy, long-term future.

“That’s the story of my life,” she said.

“I love people,” she said. “I like to pour it into other people.”

Thankful? Yes, Bonds said, “I am thankful for my sobriety. I am thankful for my peace of mind. I am thankful for my pastor and my church. I am thankful for my friends and family. I am a thankful person.”