In Loving Memory
A Woman of Inspiration
This website is a memorial to honor Serena Christian 12/2/1978 - 06/12/2023. Serena dedicated her life to helping and giving back to others. We hope that her kindness can inspire others to do the same.
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Serena. Always giving from the heart.
In the Beginning
This beautiful woman, being the first to stop me in me tracks on a very cold December night in 2014, is the inspiration behind, “Give a Sock”!
She was living in Eugene, Oregon under the Washington/Jefferson bridge on 1st Ave when I first saw her, looking about my age and out of place huddled under the bridge in the cold darkness. It really upset me so I stopped and gave her a sweater and snacks. She had one of the most beautiful smiles I had ever seen and she thanked me so graciously. I wanted to do so much more, not out of pity but she immediately felt like a friend and I wanted her off the street! At the time, I was living with my Sister & family, working as their nanny and even using their vehicles, but I knew I could do something! I asked others to bring me what they weren’t using from their closets and many people brought me clothes and snacks so I was able to stop daily and say hi and give what others gave me to give. I would worry when I didn’t see her but then quickly hope she had a safe and warm place to go. At some point I gave her my number which she somehow held on to and called me when she had a place to go to. I was so excited hearing from her and cried really hard. She made it!! She got help, created a support system and worked very hard having two jobs, getting her education and volunteering too! When you are down to almost nothing, you have to fight harder to survive and get to the next level. She’s had many struggles and has had to fight hard battles on a daily and continues to win by not ever giving up!
She lives in Portland now and just celebrated FIVE YEARS free from drugs and alcohol!! She inspires hundreds of people on a regular basis to change their lives and is a Recovery Mentor, helping people battling addiction. It was so beautiful to witness her last week in a packed room surrounded with people full of love, admiration and happy tears, all celebrating her daily achievements over the last five years. She did all the hard work, including loving herself with fierce determination! She gives out socks in Portland to those in need and donates money to, giveasockorg. on a regular basis. Full circle giving - paying forward and/or backward is such a beautiful thing to see!
Dikeeshea Witherspoon changed her life in more ways than I can keep up with. It takes a lot of guts and courageous to stay clean for a day, a week, a month, Years. She IS the meaning of the Serenity Prayer...Accepting the things she cannot change and having the courage to change the things that she can! She changed my life for sure too and I am forever grateful to her and her friendship! I really admire her courage, strength, Grace and just totally adore her!
Here is some of her physical transformation over the last five years starting at the bottom! She is a gorgeous, bold, very bright young woman, with a brilliant huge smile and even bigger heart, with an amazing life ahead of her! Here she comes World and she’s got it all!
Our Vision
Devoted to creating a social movement by empowering those in need with information & care. We hope to inspire those we help, along with anyone else able, to distribute care wherever needed!
Delivering sock care packages to fellow town members since 2013!
17 years
I will be celebrating 17 years this Saturday, and with the way things have been going, this coming year will be a big deal for me. It also means your birthday will be coming up in May again.
God is reliable. God is not partial. God doesn’t play favorites. I am working on being more God-centered. When you were alive I really battled the idea of how people treat one person better than another. Humility is difficult when someone treats you special. I was just another person and so were you. In knowing that, we were free from obligation to one another. We did not expect anything from one another. There were no conditions on our friendship. We loved each other just the way we were.
Now, at 17 years, I am living that kind of love with those around me. Most of them are so used to expectations being placed on them, they might not understand my love for them. It is a godly love. They are free to do as they choose, much like people are free to believe in God or not. I will continue on my walk with God. I plan on continuing treating everyone equally. It has been working very well so far. Love you!
How Real
I shared about you today. The topic was on love. In addiction, that was one of the main things that was missing in my life. It is hard to love anything in that state of mind. I especially had a hard time loving myself, let alone the world around me. Years and years had passed and love was still absent. It was really a challenge waking up each day. The exact timing is a little fuzzy, but I can count almost 14 years in that state of mind.
When I moved to Eugene in 2008 I was so done with how I was living. I put the drugs and alcohol down, but I was far removed from a life containing love. I spent another several years not really liking myself, but I continued doing the deal. One night, it was a Friday, everything changed. One second I look down at the floor, the next second I lool up amd you were there. I had no idea how you got there or where you came from. Your hair was white as snow.
It is hard to explain everything that happened after that, and I had no idea that you would be the best female friend I ever had. I come from a background where if you know a female, she is either your girlfriend or she is not. I had so many dude friends, but I never really had any female friends. You were so loving to me. You taught me so much about love. It is so powerful. You changed me forever. I still talk to you in the present tense. You broke my barrier in an instant, just by your existence, and there was no one that could get through my barrier. I sharpened my fortification for years. Nobody was allowed through. Then you literally went through it like it wasn’t even there. How dare you be so loving to me. Who are you to do that to me and then take on another form?
I miss you so much. I can only imagine how your family feels. I was just a good friend, but they are blood. I still experience what you left me with. You taught me how to love. I don’t take that for granted. We were friends for many years. We were like recovery buddies. Anyways, whenever I hear about love, it reminds me of you. You weren’t just loving to me, you spread love wherever you went. You embodied love. God required your assistance on another plane. As for me, I’m rolling in the 4th dimension. More will be revealed.
xxooxxoo
A Ripple
Missing you do much, deary. My birthday came and gone, and your birthday came an gone. It is 12/12/24. I renewed Give a Sock again so it is online another year. A friend asked me to be a guest on their podcast. I talked about my story a lot, and of course, I talked about you, anonymously. You were a big part of my recovery. You were my most trusted female friend, and I am not really friends with that many women. I have a lot of acquaintances, but most of my friends are guys. You taught me how to be in a really solid friendship with a woman. You also taught me how to feel love without expectation. Not many people will ever experience love like this. It is something I am so grateful for having, and it kept growing and growing with no end in sight, at least, until you had to go, which we all get to do some day. Being loving unconditionally is something I try to practice these days, because of you. Some people don’t understand it. They are so used to people expecting something from them. Maybe we are all on the path of self-destruction, who knows? I do know, the world was a better place because of you.
Love,
Nino
Serena
So fortunate to have gotten to see you last year and give you the biggest hug ever! You were such a beautiful person inside and out……that smile! So contagious! So sorry for the family you’ve left behind. I know you are so missed Serena. I wish I could give Carrie and your dad a hug every day! You’re always in my thoughts and prayers……….Laura
Today
I want to thank Nino for making this blog possible. Today is and was a special day for Serena. A day she celebrated and a day that she earned ….one day at a time!
She is missed and loved by all…..
Love Dad
Never Forgotten
In memory of the sweetest, most loving, most caring, most beautiful, most true, most funny, most amazing woman to ever grace my life. You changed me to my core. You showed me love is possible. I cherished you. I adored you. I loved you. I would have done anything for you without a second thought. You will always be my angel, now. Just remember, when you watch over me, to give me some privacy when I need it like if I am going to the bathroom or something. LOL! I will try and carry your message you gave to me to others to the best of my ability.
With love,
Nino Arbasetti
