Secrets Revealed

Coming Clean

For years I've listened as foster and at-risk teens have told their stories. I've watched their expressions as they revisited their most painful moments, and I've had to pray every single time to know what to say because each story is tragically unique. It belongs to someone precious. I realized recently that I've done a lot of listening but not as much talking as I should have...about my own story. I buried a secret for decades about a terrible and utterly humiliating event that happened to me in my first marriage when I was very young. It was only when I dug really deep to find the courage to talk about it with my current husband of 19 years that I finally felt free. That incident happened decades ago, and it stripped me of my dignity, squashed my pride and stole the essence of who I was meant to be. I still refer to the first husband as "the mistake." I told my now-husband, Brian, about it in detail. Oh, did that take humility! He showed a level of love, compassion and wisdom that helped me discover something I hadn't anticipated. Brian showed me the courage and strength that I'd exhibited on that awful day, and he didn't stop talking or asking questions until the whole picture was in plain view, and I could feel we had retrieved what had been stolen all those years ago. I felt humbled, but I also felt the victory. I finally felt at peace. That's what coming clean does. I learned it from those wonderfully forthcoming and courageous JP youth. If this applies to you or someone you know, please pass it on. It's a feeling that's utterly exhilarating in the end!

Walking Your Talk

At Jeremiah's Promise, we seek to get to the root of whatever is blocking a person from being who they're meant to be with revitalized hope and a workable plan for maintaining what they've gained. We routinely direct nonprofit and youth programs leaders, social service agencies, mentors and volunteers to do - actually DO - the very same navitents our teens and young adults do daily. After all, how can they know how to support a young person who's been through so much pain if they aren't taking care of themselves at the same, deep level, a level of engagement that promotes deep and lasting change? What's a navitent, you say? It's step-by-step, daily, interactive, online guidance that's relationally-driven, leading foster and at-risk youth to discover workable solutions to core challenges they often face in crossing the bridge to adulthood.

We Ask 3 Things

You're an important part of our team. We ask three things of you in this season of hope and redemption:

1- Do an honest gut check to see if there's something that you're hanging onto that needs to be discussed in detail with another human being. We're human beings, so feel welcome to contact us!

2- Pass along this eNewsletter to a teen, organization, youth program or mentor who would like more ammo to make them more effective at what they do and love.

3- While we remain dedicated to California foster teens and organizations with similar missions, we've made ourselves available to support Hawaiian teens and nonprofits, as well. This is a great benefit of being online. We can do more. To this end, would you please keep us in mind as you're making your 2026 giving plans so we may offer many, many others their opportunity for hope and to have their pain redeemed?

You're Part of Us

We extend our wholehearted appreciation to all of you supported us financially last year and into 2026! So many of you have done so for years, and we recognize and appreciate your giving spirit that has helped us to do what we do since 2003. We would like to take a special moment to thank the Ronald and Ann Williams Foundation for their December grant of $70,000, the fifth year of their exceptional grant awards! We would also like to acknowledge William and Stella Coker for their many years of giving. They even kept us in mind for a farewell gift that was matched by their corporation as they left that professional venture and embarked upon new career paths.Thank you, everyone!