Roberta Long Like Night and Day R oberta Long’s early years were filled with
poverty and heartache. She never had new clothes, only hand-me-downs or used items provided through charities. Her dad left the family, and her mom struggled to raise Roberta along with her three sisters.
Growing up, Roberta had difficulty in school, failing many of her courses and eventually dropping out. “I had a hearing problem that wasn’t diagnosed until I was older,” Roberta said, “At the time I just thought I was stupid because that’s what everyone was calling me. I didn’t think I could do better.”
Roberta turned to alcohol and drugs in an attempt to ease her pain. “My life was horrible. I married and had two children, but I could barely manage to take care of them. I was angry, abusive, and a terrible mother. It was a nightmare. Then I had two more children whom I decided to give up for adoption.”
Roberta found herself at the lowest point in her life. “I wanted to end my life but I heard a voice inside me say, ‘Where are you going?’ I wondered if there was a God? I began to read the Bible and realized that when I died, I would be going somewhere, either heaven or hell, and it was a choice I needed to make. So I accepted Jesus and got saved. The most amazing thing was how God delivered me from all those drugs,” Roberta said.
Right away, Roberta started building positive relationships with the couple who adopted her two youngest children. From their earliest years, the children got to know Roberta as their birth mother. She even reached out to both her ex- husband and her father.
Roberta also went back to school, graduating with a 3.7 grade point average from an adult high school in Dinuba, California.
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“My graduating just proves those people were wrong when they said I was stupid,” Roberta said.
Roberta’s neighbor, Nathan Jefferson, works for Express Employment Professionals. He admired the way she was turning her life around. When he heard that Roberta and her children were about to lose their home, Nathan got her a job interview.
“Express got me in for an appointment really fast,” Roberta said. “They got me work so that I could pay some of my bills. The people at Express went out of their way, even helping me with groceries and gas.”
Unfortunately, Roberta and her family were evicted and were homeless for six months. During those months, Express kept calling Roberta back and finding her temporary jobs. Eventually, they got her a steady job at a bakery where she packs pretzels, tracks boxes, and takes care of paperwork.
“I love what I do at the bakery, and it’s awesome that I can actually pay all my bills now,” Roberta said. “My kids and I are together again in a nice apartment, and I just bought my first car. I’m not trying to have more than I need, but I’m just so thankful to the Lord and to Express that I now have enough to support my family. It’s wonderful to take my kids out to eat and let them pick whatever they want off the menu. Mostly, I want to give them the opportunities I didn’t have growing up. I want them to have paths to whatever careers they want.”
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