Josh Alley - March 2025

At birth, we’re consumers. It’s all an infant cares about—consuming milk, diapers, sleep, a blanket, to be rocked, etc. Only later do we begin realizing that higher calling to be a producer. Unfortunately, because of trauma, broken relationships, and poor charity work, many get locked into a mode of consumption, delayed from becoming the producer God intends. So it was with Josh whose consumption was more literal—a life-long addiction to alcohol—until he drank himself into a health crisis and homelessness. That’s when he discovered Watered Gardens.

“I drank so much that I had a stroke in my 30s. And then I got kicked out of a recovery program for relapsing—but that’s when God opened a door for me at Watered Gardens. They’ve helped me find faith in God, and Dan, the kitchen manager, has become like a brother. Even when I was drinking, I always worked, but Dan’s helped me see it’s not just work; it’s service. His attitude’s really rubbed off on me and made going to work each day so much more meaningful.”

Josh has shifted from consumption (of alcohol) to production (in the kitchen). Your support was a part of that transformation. Thank you. I’m happy to share with you that he’s been sober for more than 3 months and, in part, it’s because he’s embracing this biblical truth: he is made in the image of God with a purpose…to produce.