So here is another chunk of my testimony... 
First let me start of saying that my dad won custody over me when I was 1 year old. That's not a typical outcome to a hearing like that...but it was a good outcome...'cause otherwise I'd be a mess these days..
Growing up my mom wasn't a good mom figure/role model. She did all sorts of different drugs, smoked cigarettes and was an alcoholic. She would spend most of the time she had with me so wasted she'd sleep the entire time and I'd hang out with my little sister eating cereal from the box and watching tv or playing Barbies. If she wasn't sleeping she was normally either working at one of the many bars she was employed at or just hanging out in bars with us. A lot of my childhood was spent in either a bar or Alcoholic's Anonymous.
Pretty much every Monday morning I was dropped off to elementary school late because my mom was so hungover..I couldn't get her out of bed. It made me so mad and sad...'cause I loved school at this point and I hated being late! ..not only that but I was a well-behaved kid and my mom still yelled at me more than bad kids get yelled at by their parents...I look back now and realize that was actually quite a bit of verbal abuse she gave me and my lil sister back then.
Another thing my mom dragged me through was dozens of relationships. Every time I turned around she had different guy hanging around our house or living with us. I wasn't so upset about that when I was younger...'cause I had a father figure in my life...but my sister didn't. So she was put through a ton of emotional pain...going from dad to dad. Anyway with these relationships came a distorted view of how a woman was supposed to be treated. My mom met every guy at the bar...therefore they were also alcoholics and usually drug addicts...and they would steal from us and leave. And one guy my mom married...beat her when I was there. I still remember seeing her smashed into her favorite framed picture and the glass breaking everywhere. ..to this day it's probably a big reason I haven't dated yet. I'm afraid to pick someone like those guys.
Anyway...yes I'm getting to the God part haha I'm just trying to lay a foundation of understanding first.
As I entered High School I pretty much hated my mom. She had quit drinking alcohol and then started again..stronger than at some points of my life...she was still picking up guys at the bar...and sometimes I could still smell marijuana floating through the vents. I didn't really care to spend the weekends with her...so I was glad she slept late...but I did like hanging out with my sister....who is pretty much the funniest kid I know.
Fast forward to the semester before graduation. I was pretty much set on where I was going to go to college: Bluffton University in Bluffton, OH ..right down the road from my dad's house. ..until one day my mom asks totally out of the blue...Do you still want to go to Lee University? I thought for a second and said, well yah, but it's in Tennessee and I don't want to move away from home and have no one around. Then she asks...if I were to move down there...would you think about coming with me? I said yah I'd like to...but I've got to think about it.
Why in the world would I move from the house of my loving father...out of the state into a house with the mother I hated? ...the answer is...because I thought it was a God thing. That door opened so randomly...and yet it all screamed "this is an opportunity from God!" I'd get to go to a Christian University, I'd be able to hang out with my sister all the time and be a good role model for her, and maybe...just by chance I'd mend that relationship with my mom.
You know what happened? God mended that relationship. During convocation at my school (pretty much like Revival for my Christian University) I found that I was holding all that hatred inside because of all the stuff my mom dragged me through...and I gave it to my Father in heaven...and asked Him to take care of it. He did!
So now I can talk to my mom about stuff, I can ask her for stuff when I'm in a bind, and I can give her my opinion on things...and tell her what I disagree with. It's nice. She is married to an alcoholic jerk right now (and even though I don't condone divorce...), but she's thinking about moving with me to Arkansas this coming summer to get away from the guy and start over. I'm excited. And I thank God for helping us get along.
First let me start of saying that my dad won custody over me when I was 1 year old. That's not a typical outcome to a hearing like that...but it was a good outcome...'cause otherwise I'd be a mess these days..
Growing up my mom wasn't a good mom figure/role model. She did all sorts of different drugs, smoked cigarettes and was an alcoholic. She would spend most of the time she had with me so wasted she'd sleep the entire time and I'd hang out with my little sister eating cereal from the box and watching tv or playing Barbies. If she wasn't sleeping she was normally either working at one of the many bars she was employed at or just hanging out in bars with us. A lot of my childhood was spent in either a bar or Alcoholic's Anonymous.
Pretty much every Monday morning I was dropped off to elementary school late because my mom was so hungover..I couldn't get her out of bed. It made me so mad and sad...'cause I loved school at this point and I hated being late! ..not only that but I was a well-behaved kid and my mom still yelled at me more than bad kids get yelled at by their parents...I look back now and realize that was actually quite a bit of verbal abuse she gave me and my lil sister back then.
Another thing my mom dragged me through was dozens of relationships. Every time I turned around she had different guy hanging around our house or living with us. I wasn't so upset about that when I was younger...'cause I had a father figure in my life...but my sister didn't. So she was put through a ton of emotional pain...going from dad to dad. Anyway with these relationships came a distorted view of how a woman was supposed to be treated. My mom met every guy at the bar...therefore they were also alcoholics and usually drug addicts...and they would steal from us and leave. And one guy my mom married...beat her when I was there. I still remember seeing her smashed into her favorite framed picture and the glass breaking everywhere. ..to this day it's probably a big reason I haven't dated yet. I'm afraid to pick someone like those guys.
Anyway...yes I'm getting to the God part haha I'm just trying to lay a foundation of understanding first.
As I entered High School I pretty much hated my mom. She had quit drinking alcohol and then started again..stronger than at some points of my life...she was still picking up guys at the bar...and sometimes I could still smell marijuana floating through the vents. I didn't really care to spend the weekends with her...so I was glad she slept late...but I did like hanging out with my sister....who is pretty much the funniest kid I know.
Fast forward to the semester before graduation. I was pretty much set on where I was going to go to college: Bluffton University in Bluffton, OH ..right down the road from my dad's house. ..until one day my mom asks totally out of the blue...Do you still want to go to Lee University? I thought for a second and said, well yah, but it's in Tennessee and I don't want to move away from home and have no one around. Then she asks...if I were to move down there...would you think about coming with me? I said yah I'd like to...but I've got to think about it.
Why in the world would I move from the house of my loving father...out of the state into a house with the mother I hated? ...the answer is...because I thought it was a God thing. That door opened so randomly...and yet it all screamed "this is an opportunity from God!" I'd get to go to a Christian University, I'd be able to hang out with my sister all the time and be a good role model for her, and maybe...just by chance I'd mend that relationship with my mom.
You know what happened? God mended that relationship. During convocation at my school (pretty much like Revival for my Christian University) I found that I was holding all that hatred inside because of all the stuff my mom dragged me through...and I gave it to my Father in heaven...and asked Him to take care of it. He did!
So now I can talk to my mom about stuff, I can ask her for stuff when I'm in a bind, and I can give her my opinion on things...and tell her what I disagree with. It's nice. She is married to an alcoholic jerk right now (and even though I don't condone divorce...), but she's thinking about moving with me to Arkansas this coming summer to get away from the guy and start over. I'm excited. And I thank God for helping us get along.
Thanks for putting this up Betsy!