Dottie Wjhosit

Domestic Violence/Sexusl Assasult Advocate, CDP

My name is Dottie and I am from Seattle, WA.  I was born, March 21, 1953, at Doctors Hospital in Seattle.  The hospital no longer exists.  My parents were not the kind to just sit still; so they traveled around so my dad could find work.  My dad was and is a proud Marine!  He was a very hard working man, a cabinet maker in his mid life and before that and after his service to our country, he worked building houses  and he was known for his finishing touches.  One of the most significant losses in my life was when my father died at the age of 46 from heart disease.  I was so angry at him for dying; however, the lord in all His mercy and grace, intervened and helped me.  I didn't know who He was or what it meant to know Him then, but I knew something happened in my life that I knew to be miraculous! I was just 18 when my father died.  I was addicted to drugs and alcohol and it was the only life I knew or wanted at that time.  It made it so I didn't have to care about the pain I was in or all that it was doing to my body, mind, sand soul.  One day however, I was dead, suddenly from an overdose.  I was delivered from drugs and alcohol on July 1, 1971!  I said I died and I did, but God had another plan for my life and now, I came to know Him.  I was so hungry for Him  and for His word, I devoured every word I read, what I heard, and what I seen in action, I could not get enough of God!  I had the "thirst" God talks about, you know, the one, the one you cannot quench!  I called upon the Lord Jesus to deliver me from drugs and alcohol, with no withdrawals, that was a deal breaker for me back then, I was not going to go through withdrawals.  Guess what, He was able to do that for me and I went through an experience that changed my life forever!  I gave all of my trust to Him and in return, He showed me the way out of addiction.  My experience may not be what others have experienced, but I know it happened and it changed me.  God spoke to me and I heard His voice and the more I heard His voice, the more I began to recognize Him and how He walks with me, always.  I know that in the process of getting me clean, God used a man I had gone to college with named Jim.  Jim saw me one day walking down the streets of the U-District of Seattle and i was not looking so good, I was in fact, dope sick.  Here's what my friend Jim did for me that day, he took me to an AA meeting!  It wasn't just any AA meeting, it was as "Fremont" meeting, everyone in AA knew about Fremont, they knew about Fremont in Denmark! I'm not going to go into Fremont, AA, or any other thing, because what I want you to get out of this, is this: God saves us! He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves!  I have learned to trust God in every way possible.
      God has been there for me through 8 major car accidents; in which I was at a complete stop in everyone of them!  Do you think the devil is trying to stop me from sharing with others my experience, strength, and hope.  I learned in AA that we share our experience, what it was like, our strength, what we know now and how it is, and our hope, for the unseen future and all it holds for us!  God has shown me through His word and His communication with me daily how to live for Him.  No, I do not like the parts that are hard to deal with,like losing my first born child, my beautiful daughter Sarah; or the loss of my two nephews in their early thirties. my sweet niece at 3 months from SIDS, or.... and on and on.  I have had my heart taken out of my chest to save my life and God was there with me.  
     I know if you are hurting, you feel lost or trapped, you don't feel love from anyone, anywhere, or you think you are too bad for God, I want you to know, He will lift you up, raise you from the ashes of your life, and show you how to live if you believe in Him, ask Him to enter your heart, your mind, and restore your soul, then He will come in, He will restore you and heal you, He will teach you how to train your thinking and to set your mind and thoughts on Him always.  He is faithful, He never leaves us nor forsakes us, and He restores our souls.  He gives to us a sound mind and we learn how to care for it according to His will.
     So that is some of my testimony.  Who am I? I am still living and learning who I am everyday as I turn my will and life over to the care of God.  I go where He leads me and I love that He has chosen me to work as a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocate for the past 42 years, it has blessed my life and taught me to be humble and give all the glory to God.