From Recovery to Love
When Laranette and Tony entered the Harbor Light Center in 2021 they were strangers, but both had a clear focus: bettering themselves. Little did they know as they entered the rehabilitation program that just a few years later they would say “I Do” and become partners in life.
Laranette had learned about the Harbor Light Center through Alcoholics Anonymous. When she learned about the structure and support it offered, she knew it was a place that could help her put her life – and her family – back together.
“My family is first for me,” Laranette shared. “I wanted to get clean for both of my sons. I wanted to be there to better my relationship with them.”
Tony’s path to the Harbor Light Center began with the desire to be part of a faith-based program. He moved to Indiana from Texas to get away from the environment that had enabled him in the past. While Tony had to overcome a few obstacles before he could enter the program, once there, he immediately knew it was the place for him.
“I talked to Envoy CeCe in the first couple days of entering Harbor Light,” Tony recalled. “She taught me how to hear God and let Him lead me.”
As Laranette and Tony continued their journey to recovery they got to know each other and became friends. They learned about each other through worship service, events around the corps, and other recovery meetings.
“I admired so much about Tony. He is family-oriented and a man of God,” said Laranette. “That was something I wanted for my partner in life.”
“The last thing I was thinking about was to be with someone else, but I believe our relationship is divine intervention,” said Tony. “I think God said you two are meant to be.”
On March 29, Laranette and Tony got married at the place where both their recovery journeys began: The Salvation Army Harbor Light Center. Surrounded by the people who had supported them through the hardest times of their lives, they pledged their love to each other and promised to continue the path of recovery together.