My Testimony

So, today's Sunday message is going to be a bit different. After hearing a very touching and true message spoken at a youth service last Friday(04/07/17), I felt I needed to write this. I felt I needed to share my testimony, how God has impacted my life and brought me out of the sin-filled life I once walked in. My hopes are that it will inspire whoever chooses to read, and show you that God can help you, no matter who you are or what you've done. Everything written here is true.

When I was seven, I had gotten baptized after returning from church camp, the place I received the Holy Ghost. Being seven, though, I thought that once you got baptized, that you didn't have to do anything again, and that you were automatically saved for the rest of your life. That was not how it was at all, and I learned that the hard way at times. From the time I started school up to 5th grade, I was very sensitive, and cried easily. Because of that, I got picked on a lot. Tired of being treated poorly, I thought I could save myself by trying to be like them. I figured if I was like them, and liked the same stuff they did, that they'd leave me alone. From there, it went downhill quickly. I did, I became a bully. I picked on people, and cared only about myself. I shared their sense of humor, I talked crudely, and unfortunately, profanely at times. I still went to church, though, and eventually stopped bullying people after hearing some heart-hitting messages. However, nothing else changed

I refer to my middle school years as my "depression years", because I was very lost. I felt alone, and I felt like everything and everyone was out to get me. It's a miracle that the friends I had then stayed with me through all I went through. The fact that I was going through the "teenager transitions" at the time didn't help, either. My hormones caused my emotions and my body to change and fluctuate extremely. I was mad and sad a LOT, and switched between the two constantly. Everything changed so fast, and I expressed my confusion and hurt in not so Christ-like ways. I got detention quite a few times, I butted heads with some of my teachers, I fell behind in my studies, I lashed out at my friends, I was a mess. I walked away from God, and I could feel like something was missing. I hid my pain well, though, and rarely ever asked for help. I was still going to church, but didn't pay attention much, and went right back to sin after I left. The worst of the sin-filled life I once had was between 7th, 8th, and 9th grade.

I still had the mindset that I needed to surround myself in worldly things in order to stand out, and what I surround myself with was worse than anything I done so with before. I watched incredibly worldly TV and movies, I listened to music with grotesque themes, lyrics, and music videos, I looked up mature content on the internet, I played dark video games, and I drew horrible things. Blood, horror, and all kinds of worldly things became my life. I couldn't feel God anymore, my heart felt empty, and I felt like I wasn't cared about. My parents could kind of sense this, and told me that I could tell them anything, no matter what. I never did at the time though, and because I bottled up my feelings, I would randomly burst into tears at the strangest times. I didn't think it could ever get any better, and I was sure that I wouldn't come out of it. It wasn't until a special church service that I changed my life around.

The church service was about coming to repentance, and revival, and getting a refilling of the Holy Spirit. It was about confessing your sins to God, telling Him how you feel, and giving your life to Him so the burdens could be lifted. They announced alter call, and I went up. I prayed, and confessed the wrongs that I had done, and apologized for walking away. I had gotten the touch that I had been wanting again for years. I felt the weights lifted, I talked in tongues and cried tears of repentance. Members of my church family came and prayed with me, and I felt restored. Since then, I have learned many lessons. I began taking notes in church, listening intently to the lessons. I changed the types of entertainment I put into myself, changed how I treated people, and did more to help spread God's word to people. I also began reading my Bible everyday. I am human, so I still make mistakes and have had to come to repentance and ask for a refilling many times. But, learning from my mistakes, I have done more to make an impact on others: Drawing clean artwork, making Sunday Picture Day every Sunday, participating in church events, having Bible studies with my friends, and more. God saved me from going under, He forgave my sins, and helped me to increase my faith and change my life around. I thank Him for bringing me out of what I once was, and I wouldn't be where I am today without Him. No matter what you have done, how alone you may feel, or whatever you may be dealing with, God loves you, and cares about you, and is always be there for you when it seems no one else will. Everything that He did for me, He can do the same for you if you ask for it. Have a nice day and God Bless❤