WORDS ARE WEAPONSThis is my story. The story of how I found God and how things have been going since.
I guess I'll tell you more about my background first. My parents met in '87 when my Dad was on a business trip in Holland. They fell in love and 9 months later I was born. By the time I was born, my Dad was already back in the US and my mom was left to raise me by herself. She's a great person who sacrificed a lot to raise me and if I may say so myself, she did a great job.
In the summer of '95 I met my Dad for the first time and my parents fell back in love. My Dad divorced his wife and my mom and I moved to the US in December of '96. I loved the fact that my parents were back together and I felt so safe. But, it didn't last long, my parents seperated again in the summer of '97 and my mom and I moved back to Holland.
That's when my rebellion started, at the early age of 9. I started mouthing off and I was so angry. My Dad was all the way in the US and I blamed my Mom for their break-up. I felt abandoned and alone.
By the age of 12 I smoked cigarettes and pot. I was in 8th grade and started skipping school, so I could hang with my "friends" and get stoned. We were the bad kids your parents warned you about. I longed for my fathers love and tried to find that with boys. That left me even more hurt and I just got more and more angry.
I continued down this road until I was about 17. I finally saw that this kind of behavior wasn't getting me anywhere and it wasn't making me happy, either. I started to distance myself from my "friends" and quit smoking pot. I still didn't go to school though, but I started working. I was still clubbing and doing all sorts of dumb stuff, but I was changing for the better, slowly but surely.
When I was 18, I knew this wasn't good enough. I heard about being saved, but I didn't think it was possible for me. I'd done so many horrible things, how could God ever forgive me for that? How could He forgive me for hurting the people who truly loved me?
I started reading the Bible online on BibleGateway.com. I read how God forgives, I read about His Love, but also about His Hate. He Hated the things I was doing. It kind of made sense, but it didn't click yet. I continued my search and landed on Danielle's blog. I started reading, but I didn't just take her beliefs and made them my own. I started comparing her statements to the Bible and discovered that she was speaking the Truth!
I was so happy! I wrote her an email and she wrote me a long email back. I turned to her with all my questions, my fears, everything. She reached out to me and helped me with all of it. She gave me advice, encouraged me to keep reading the Bible and find things out for myself, but she was always there when I needed help.
This happened about 8 months ago. Danielle is now one of my best friends, who continues to encourage me and teach me. I repented of all my sins and I've never been happier. God has been so great to me, I never imagined I would find this kind of happiness. But I did.
It's been a long road and there's still more to come, but I know with God on my side, I will survive anything.
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As Christians we are used to being ridiculed, insulted and laughed at for our beliefs. We stand up for Truth, but are often called liars. At times it can be hard not to get discouraged, but we must remember that all that we do is in Christs name.
We lose people around us, "friends", family, because they don't agree with our views. They claim to be "tolerant", but don't tolerate our beliefs. They can reject us as hard as they reject the Truth.
It's often hard for them to understand why we give up our wordly pleasures, because they can't see that the happiness God gives us is way better! We suffer for our faith, but we suffer in His name! Rejoice my brothers & sisters!
Philippians 3:7-11
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Never lose faith, we all suffer, but Christ suffered for us! Is it to much to ask to "suffer" in return for all He has given us? He died for us, for our sins!
Put on His armor, stand up for Truth, because NOTHING is better than to bring Glory to our LORD!
1 Chronicles 16:29
Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
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