I come from a very broken home. My mom was a drug addict who couldn’t hold work. My siblings and I each had a different dad and I bounced around constantly from staying with my dad to aunts and uncles to friends and everywhere. I didn’t have a role model or a strong leader guiding me in the right direction at any point.
Naturally I fell in with a bad crowd. By the time I was 16 I was hanging out with gang members and drug dealers who were in their 20’s. Eventually that progressed into me doing drug runs and sex work for them for money. It was the only time I’d ever felt like I belonged somewhere and I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t realize how deep I was in.
I rose through the ranks of this crew when it came to dealing. I got trusted with higher and higher quantities of supply and cash. The sex work became more frequent too, both for gang members and clients. Eventually they began bringing me along on strong arm robberies and we committed several over the course of about a year before one day we finally got caught.
I was 21 when I was arrested. None of my “friends” bothered to bail me out of jail or testify on my behalf at all. I was sentenced to eight years inside. I was 22 when the sentence was handed down. I got out when I was 30.
Prison life was more monotonous than anything. I never really feared for my life or safety while I was inside. I just had a lot of thoughts and not enough time to occupy them. I had become friends with a girl on my cellblock who was a Christian, and she would tell me how important it had been to her to pray and read the scripture, and I became interested.
So every day I started reading the Bible. I checked a little pocket version out from the prison library and paid to keep it long term by doing laundry and janitorial work. Every day I would just read and pray and read some more and I couldn’t believe how at peace it made me feel. I could just feel God watching over me and guiding me. He had forgiven me for the awful sins of my past and had given me salvation. I was baptized in prison when I was 27. It’s one of more impactful days of my life.
I got out of prison in February 2015. I was 30. I managed to convince my sister to let me move in with her. I had some work to do to convince my family that I was a changed woman. I found work as a private tutor and French teacher but I still want to get involved with the ministry in a more formal way. I want to preach the gospel to kids from broken homes like me and get them on the right path before they end up like me.
While out celebrating my birthday in December 2017 I met the most incredibly guy. He was handsome, he was a gentleman, he was funny, and I could not stop looking at him. We chatted for a couple hours that night and he asked me out on a date for the next weekend. He’s also a Christian, and I know that God put him in my life because he’s meant to be there.
We found out last summer we were expecting our first child and he proposed on that day. Our son was born in February and he is a perfect angel. The ultimate gift from God. What a perfect angel our baby boy is. My fiance is an incredible dad and I just cannot thank God enough for putting them both in my life.
My life can be divided up into chapters: Before accepting Christ and After accepting Christ. The person I am now is completely different. I’ve left my life of crime in the past. I’ve changed for the better in every way. I talk to my mom about the scripture when we talk now because I want her to know it isn’t too late for her to turn things around. She still struggles with addiction and is constantly in and out of drug rehab.
God bless you all, friends. May God bless you with happiness, good health, and inner peace.
Source: Believers Portal
Last modified: April 6, 2024
