F
Well, I've never given my testimony so publicly before. But, I'm going to do it in the hopes that it will encourage someone who's reading it. Four years ago, I wasn't a Christian. Four years ago, my family started this split. It was my mom, my dad, and my sister on one side and me on the other. They started focusing on all the things they thought were wrong with me, instead of building me into a better person. They would tell me things that were hurtful. For example, they've told me that I'm a cruel and prejudiced person. They've told me that I'm unmotivated and I'll never get anywhere in life. It really started to damage me. I had a couple Christian friends, but any time they tried to tell me something that would encourage me to take that leap of faith into God's Word, I would ignore it. Instead, I started "healing" myself in other ways. I bought into the lies of the world. Smoking, drugs, drinking, cutting. I did it all. I didn't think it was affecting me. It took about 2 years of it for me to get a very rude wake-up call and figure out exactly how much damage I was doing. My best friend, who happened to come from a family of strong Christians, invited me over so I could begin to fix the damage I had done there. Me, her, and her mom talked a lot. They were so encouraging and supportive and they tried really hard that night to show me who God was. For the first time, I listened. But I didn't truly understand what it meant to be a Christian until 9 months later. I went to my church's spring break retreat and I fell in love with God there. But, of course, old habits are hard to break. I didn't go back to substance abuse. But, I did go back to my old attitude. The worst part was that I still called myself a Christian. I didn't even realize how far back I had gone with my language and my actions. About 3 months ago, I went to winter camp with my friend's church. I re-dedicated my life there. So, would I say I've been a Christian for a year? Not at all. I'd say I've been a Christian for 3 months.
I've been clean for almost 2 years now. I'm not saying it's not a struggle. It really is. If you're struggling with the same kind of thing, I understand where you're coming from. As far as my family, things are no better. In fact, they're worse. But, I'm getting by. It's by the grace of God that I'm even here today. But, something I've realized: I might walk away from Christ a million times, but Jesus NEVER leaves me. He NEVER will. That's so amazing to me. Quite honestly, I'm not where I need to be. But I constantly thank God that I'm not where I was.
Anyways, if you have any questions about anything I've said, comment on here or message me! If it's something you want a fast answer to, I would suggest a message because I don't always check on my threads right away.
God Bless!
I've been clean for almost 2 years now. I'm not saying it's not a struggle. It really is. If you're struggling with the same kind of thing, I understand where you're coming from. As far as my family, things are no better. In fact, they're worse. But, I'm getting by. It's by the grace of God that I'm even here today. But, something I've realized: I might walk away from Christ a million times, but Jesus NEVER leaves me. He NEVER will. That's so amazing to me. Quite honestly, I'm not where I need to be. But I constantly thank God that I'm not where I was.
Anyways, if you have any questions about anything I've said, comment on here or message me! If it's something you want a fast answer to, I would suggest a message because I don't always check on my threads right away.
God Bless!