About our Founder - Melanie



Life has been a journey for me, but that’s the way it is for everyone, right?! To understand me, you must first understand the chaos that ensued from the beginning. Like most young ladies, I had dreams of being a wife and mom. Early on, it seemed those dreams had come true…it wasn’t the way I had pictured it being, but I was living out my deepest desires. I married young and by the age of 25, I was every type of mom possible raising: foster-mom, adoptive mom, step-mom, biological mom, and “just because” mom. Who does that?! It seemed so logical back then…the part about having 8 kids and only being 25. I can’t seem to wrap my mind around it now, but I know it was my faith that sustained me! As time went on and dreams fell apart, I found myself a divorced single mom to my final 6 kids. 5 adopted and 1 biological. At the time of my divorce, I was working 2 jobs, was a fulltime college student, and my total bring-home pay was not enough to make the mortgage payment.
A few years before my divorce, I had a vision that I would one day have homes to house women and children who were escaping sex trafficking or family violence situations. At that point in my life, I had no interest in abuse ministry. I had no personal connection to it, had never experienced it on any significant level, and was busy doing other things, so I pushed that vision to the back of my mind and forgot about it. Ignored it, really. So the divorce happened, things were hard, and it took quite awhile to adjust to the new normal. After a year and half, I finally felt like we were settling into a groove. One morning during July of 2016, I sat on my back porch for some quiet time and was praying; asking God for what was next. I told Him I was ready for the next season. Immediately that long-forgotten vision came back to my mind and I answered, “God, I don’t know why You’ve given me this vision or what You want me to do with it, but if You’ll show me what to do, I’ll be the hands and feet. AND, in case You forgot, I am REALLY busy with these 6 kids You’ve given me, so I’m going to need You to do most of the work.” I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
Only a few hours later that same day, I had a knock at my door that would forever change my world. This young lady, who was once our teenage babysitter, shared that she had been abused many years before in my house by my ex-husband. Over the next 3 days, in 3 separate incidents that could have only been aligned by God himself, I learned just how closely connected to abuse I was. There were many girls who had been abused, including one of my own children.
That’s how life often works, doesn’t it? God calls us to big things and wants us to step out in blind faith. It is only after we take that leap that He gives us every single thing we need to equip and qualify us for the job. This particular connection was one I wanted to give away for a long time. I have learned that it is the broken, most shattered pieces of life that God will piece together into a beautiful mosaic to become the launching pad that thrusts us into our greatest destiny.
As I navigated the justice system, tended to the emotions of my children, buried my own emotions, and fought off the humiliation that comes with “big news” in a small town, I found myself challenged.
“Melanie, will this be your story or your shame?” I wasn’t sure of a lot of things during that time, but the one thing I did know was that under no circumstances did I want my children having to hang their head in shame for circumstances that were beyond our control. I felt like a lone shark in a giant ocean, but as I learned more about abuse statistics, I realized just how many are affected. I had an amazing support system, but I began to think about howmany people traveling the same road have no familial support. There weren’t a lot of resources available or offered to me and I am not sure I would have made it through without my family.
It felt like a slow process, but eventually, I founded Mission Righteous Roots, a faithbased crisis resource center. We provide free services and resources to any individual dealing with the effects of past or present abuse of any type.
What started out as a single, overwhelmed, and broken mom leading emotional support classes in a back office has grown into a full-blown nonprofit organization with paid staff. It is a testament of how God qualifies the unqualified. You see, when this journey started, I had been a stay at home mom for years and had just barely begun working as a paraprofessional. I had no college degree, no certifications, nothing. All God needed was a “Yes” and with blind faith, he began to lead me to the qualifications needed. During the time of starting Righteous Roots, I completed a degree in Management and later went on to complete a Masters of Education with a focus in School Counseling.
Righteous Roots now serves Coryell, Bell, McLennan, Hamilton, Lampasas, and Bosque counties. Each year is a year of rapid growth, so we are always developing. We’ve been able to purchase our very own property that leaves room for our corporate offices to grow. We do not yet have the small homes to house women and children who are escaping abuse, but that is our long-term vision. Housing is no doubt our greatest client need. We continue to pray and know that when the time is right, God will provide us with the property, houses, and/or funding needed to achieve the original vision.