Beautiful, smart, great personality, good wife and mother. If you met Courtney Bean today, these are words you might use to describe her. Tuesday at Heart to Heart, Courtney shared the journey that took her from a life of drug addiction and living on the street through her redemption and relationship with God.
Courtney describes her childhood and early teens as one filled with sports, cheer, band – any activity available until she decided to drop out her sophomore year and finish at a private Christian school. Despite all the activities, Courtney never felt like she “fit in.” After losing her high school boyfriend in a car accident, she turned to drugs, which soon led her to Colorado and away from her family.
Courtney thought the move to Colorado would help her get a fresh start, but it didn’t work out that way. At one point, she found herself pregnant, living under a bridge, and working three jobs. That’s when she decided to hitchhike home. She didn’t realize it at the time, but God had his hand on her even then.
At 19 years old, Courtney gave birth to a boy, Denver. “I was just trying to figure out life,” Courtney said. “I knew God, but I didn’t know how to have a relationship with Him.”
Although Courtney never did drugs around her son, he got drugs in his system, and CPS got involved. Courtney went to rehab but didn’t take it seriously until she got out and discovered there was a warrant out for her arrest. At that time, she hated everybody – she felt the turmoil in her life was everybody else’s fault.
Courtney went back to rehab and this time worked hard. After she was sober for a year and had a job, she got her son back. She decided to go to college to become a diesel mechanic. About this time, she met Pat Johnson, who became “Nana Pat” to Courtney as well as a Christian friend and mentor.
“Courtney came into my life eight years ago,” Pat said. “I have always felt a bond with her because of her sweet spirit.”
At one point, a friend told Courtney she could not possibly be a Christian with the lifestyle she had chosen.
“I fell to my knees in the middle of the diesel shop,” Courtney said. She opened her Bible and began reading – really reading for the first time. She found 2 Corinthians 3:13-18, which talks about the veil being lifted so God’s glory could be revealed.
One day Courtney was at Track and Field Day at the school and met Tiffany Evans. “Tiffany helped me learn about repentance,” Courtney said. “I really wanted a close relationship with Jesus.”
Courtney began praying for a husband – a man who would be a spiritual leader for the family. That’s when she met Cody. They married and spent the next year learning how to live in a Biblical marriage.
“Then God told me to quit working at the diesel shop and stay home,” Courtney said. She wanted to homeschool her children, garden, raise chickens, and can vegetables. That’s when she called on Nana Pat for help in learning to can and bake. Pat was also able to share her own dependence on Jesus with Courtney.
“She knows where her help comes from,” Nana Pat said. “She now serves her Lord Jesus Christ and has a heart of service to others.”
Courtney’s aunt suggested she sell her canned goods in a vendor’s market. Two days before the birth of her third child, Courtney set up at Country Fest! While working the booth, Courtney met a woman who shared that she was looking for a church where she could feel like she fit in. That gave Courtney a sense of “mission,” and the idea for Proverbs Kitchen was born. She found a way she could minister to others through her baking.
Proverbs Kitchen found a home at the FROG Market on Highway 115. (Fully Rely On God) Dec. 12 will mark their one-year anniversary.
“God can take nothing and grow it into something huge,” Courtney said. “For the first time in my life, I am closer to where God wants me to be than I’ve ever been.”
The next Heart to Heart will be December 1. Kay Kastner will speak about having a Heart for Hospitality. All women of the community are welcome!
