From Darkness to Light
I came from a dark place Colossians 1:13. Low income housing, mental illness challenges due to trauma, an abusive mother and a father who was never home, mixed race with experiences of rejection for my differences. The main influences in my life were my friends, school and television. When I look back, it was a recipe for disaster. All my decisions were made without any sense of guidance or help. I was told that was life and so was it.
Eventually, I had a baby with my abusive boyfriend not knowing that marriage was important, and I left him when my daughter was 4 months old, and I never looked back. I was a single mother without stability but this was life, so I kept it moving.
When my daughter was three, I met someone who treated me like no other. He made me realize that he really cared and only wanted the best for me but when he left, it broke my heart. This was the straw that broke the camels back so I cried unto God, whoever He was at the time. At this point I was prescribed medicine for depression. God responded to me in a way I never thought was possible in this world. At this moment in time, I had the medication in my hands wondering if I should take the pills knowing that it can be very addictive. At that moment, my TV was on and there was a preacher on TV, and he said, "There is someone who is watching right now wondering if they should take the pills for depression and God told me to tell you that you don't need it but that He (God) can help you”, and at that point, I threw out the pills. This was the beginning of my journey of the calling of God on my life.
I also had a dream of a huge tree that was uprooted and when I went to church a stranger told me that God said that he uprooted me and planted me by the rivers of living water to bear fruit and prosper Psalms 92 Jeremiah 12:2. Months later, Jesus revealed himself to me and told me that He loved me and freed me from many demons and curses through a pastor I never met before. Over time, the Lord has also given me a promise to hold unto in an open vision as a new believer in Christ.
I now realize that the promise is now being fulfilled as I am in a season of flourishing Psalms 52:8 15 years later (which is a testimony of its own). I came to realize eventually that the Bible is true, so I took it very seriously. I got saved and set free and delivered from my darkness little by little, one by one over time. 15 years later, I am still on this walk with Christ, and I can honestly say that this is the best thing that ever happened to me.
I am stable in all areas of life now for the most part but especially in my mind (which I did not realize was like another promise from the beginning). The Word of God has become that seed in my life that is making me flourish in so many ways that I could never have imagined.
Jesus made a way where there was no way, and now my later years are much greater than my former. Now God's promises are coming to pass just like He said from the beginning.
The Lord connected me and planted me in Flourishing in Peace Ministries when I was in isolation. It turned out to be a great opportunity to be in connection with other women in Christ and to receive one-on-one counsel for deep-rooted issues that I was unaware of. This counsel brought deliverance which uprooted lingering issues that were preventing me from flourishing and gave me a new knowledge of what it means to be a queen according to King Jesus and His Kingdom.
I thank the Lord for all He has done for me, and the only way to respond is to do the things that please Him (to live by faith) and keep His statutes and commandments of the law (listen, trust and obey) while living in His marvelous light.
I now realize that the scripture in 1 John 4:19 is true, that says, "We love because He first loved us” is true because I love God now that I experienced his love for me.