Our small group shared our testimonies a couple months ago and it was such a blessing. In the spirit of that, here’s my Testimony… if you would like, add yours in the comments.

My Childhood

I was a healthy kid, had brothers and sisters to play with, we lived in a safe neighborhood, and we had plenty to eat. However, our family had some serious anger issues that manifested itself in many harmful ways. Fortunately God is willing to free us from generational sin so long as we identify the problem and are willing to follow his leading.

I always had great potential acedemically, but couldn’t concentrate (I still battle that). It was never diagnosed as ADHD because I was a “smart kid”. In retrospect it could be a blessing because I never had to take mood-altering drugs.

After years of being called lazy and an underachiever by authority figures in my life, I pretty much gave up. I moved my rebellion from private to public arenas and became a grade A “jerk”. I went off to college and my trouble continued. Though I was free to start writing a new future, all I did was multiply the effects of my sins with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex.

An Encounter with God

One summer in my college years I had a job as a roving supervisor. Driving around one day, I happened across a Christian radio station where they taught about God and the Bible. I began to listen to the various programs. A pastor said one day over the air, “Are you lost? God knows where you are and he will help if you turn your life over to him.”

I had somewhat of an intellectual knowledge of God, but no real understanding in my heart. My family sporadically went to church as a child, I went to Sunday school and we put up all the Christian stuff around holidays, but we never read the Bible, or even talked about God in our house. My relationship with God was like watching a TV show - very detached, and I would wonder if he was even real. As a result, God wasn’t a tangible force in my life, just like characters on TV.

These various ministries spoke of a different God than what I knew of. They were all from different denominations and areas of my country, but the God they spoke of was consistent, and loving. As I listened, it was like little pieces of a jigsaw puzzle began to fall into place, and I could see more of God’s character and that he was indeed real.

I took the first step and became a Christian that summer - nothing dramatic, I just prayed one day for God to take my life and change it. I didn’t know what that meant in a practical sense, but something was different - at least now I had hope. I learned more about God in those three months than I learned in all my life up to that point.

When I returned to school, I got caught back up in my destructive behavior and forgot about that summer. As I went through my 20’s I moved to a great town and got married, my health started to decline from the years of heavy drinking. That enormous potential I always heard of as a child seemed so far away - a speck of light at the end of the longest tunnel I had ever seen.

The Prodigal Son Returns

One day I was at work, struggling to stay awake at my desk, thinking, “There has to be more to life than this!”. Then, I remembered that summer 8 years before. I knew that God could change everything, but would he take me back? After all, I knew about him and willingly walked away for years.

I started listening all day to sermons over the Internet and got the Bible on CDs. Not only did God take me back, but He really spoke to my heart and healed those old wounds. I found answers to every question I had in life in the Bible, and God began to rebuild me into a new man.

My wife and I started praying together and began to realize the power God places in a marriage that is dedicated to him. We were attending a church, but now the message and music seemed to come alive! We found like-minded believers in a small group that we could meet with for fun, fellowship, and growth. Time with God became a joy.

Looking to the Future

I’m not saying life is perfect now. As the saying goes, “I’m not where I need to be, but I’m not where I was”. If it was possible for me to fix my life, I had 28 years to do it and didn’t. With God though, all things are possible. God has saved me and will in the future. He has never let me down, but rather exceeded anything I could ask or imagine. This last year and a half have been amazing, and it’s only just begun. When I am done here on earth with whatever God has planned, I’ll be in heaven with him and the rest of his children forever!

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