My Testimony - Worthy Christian Forums

My name is Sarah Stelly for those of you who don’t know me. I was born and raised in a Bible believing church. Every Sunday morning my father or mother would burst into my room, turn the lights on, and yell at me to get dressed for Sunday school. And as usual, I would hold my stomach, squint my eyes, and pretend to be sick. But when my bad acting skills would fail me, I would find myself sitting in church listening to Pastor Ted preach about the same thing—God. I believed in God and I believed that everything Brother Ted was preaching was true, but I didn’t live for it. I had trouble in my heart about being accepted by everyone. I was a people pleaser, I thought I had to make everyone happy. So when I was at church on Sundays and Awana every Friday night, I would put on my happy face, be quiet, and pretend to “be” holy. I knew I wasn’t, but I made sure I used my knowledge of the Bible to get the approval and a pat on the back from everyone. Then from Monday to Friday at school, I was a total different person. I was in the world, so I would try to get acceptance from them by being like them. I would go as far as lying about things just to fit in and seem cool to them.
Then the teenage years came. If being a teenager isn’t hard enough, I went through some things in my life that others my age shouldn’t have. My older sister had gotten pregnant when she was 14. I had looked up to her as an example because to me, she was in the “in” crowd. Then when I was 13, I was raped by an older cousin who I had also looked up to. This was a hard time for me, and I hid this from everyone except a handful of friends. Having examples like this in my life, led me to believe this is what life had to be about. I began lying to everyone at school and telling them I had done things that I knew I didn’t. I had become a habitual liar. It got so bad that when it was time for me to go to high school, I begged my mom to homeschool me, but she had no idea it was because I had to get away from the reputation I made for myself. I was trying to hide from myself. That year I made a profession of faith. The next year I thought I was ready to face myself again, I went back to public school. I reverted back to my old ways and took it a step further. I began to date unsaved guys and allowed them to use me. I knew they were not the type of guys I wanted to date, but I also knew it looked good to the world and I felt accepted.
When I graduated high school I started college. At least 3 nights a week I was in a bar or in a club. I moved out of my parents house and moved in with a fellow co-worker, and this allowed me to stop going to church. A year later God allowed me to get so sick that I had to stop working and move back into my Grandpa’s house next to my parent’s house. They knew I was so into the world that we argued a lot. One day my Dad and I were having a disagreement and he said, “Sarah, you know you’re wrong.” And I lost it. I knew I was of the world, but I couldn’t control myself. I started to come back to God by starting the Bible study called 2:7, but after 2 months, I quit and moved away. This is when I started dating my husband Jonathan. He wasn’t saved, but I didn’t care. We got married a year later and a month after that, I got pregnant. Jonathan began saying we should go to church, but he would name churches of other beliefs. I refused to go to any other denomination or religion, but I wasn’t ready to face God nor His people. Then one Sunday I woke up early and I started getting dressed. I woke up Jonathan and he said, “We’re really going to church?” I said, “You have 20 minutes to get dressed!” It wasn’t like any thing I had expected. God’s people didn’t point and whisper, they embraced me just like I knew God would. That day I came back to God. I knew I couldn’t live without Him anymore. There was only one more problem, my husband wasn’t saved. I just knew that when we got in the car, he was going to say he hated it and never wanted to go back, but by the grace of God he said, “I liked it.” WOW! I started praying every morning, on the way to and from work, on my lunch break after my quiet time, and even at night in bed, “Lord, convict him so hard that he isn’t able to sleep or think of anything else but you. Convict him so much that he doesn’t have a choice!” And two weeks later my husband tells me he can’t eat, he can’t sleep, and he can’t think of anything else but God. A month or so later, he came to know Christ. Only ten days afterwards, we gave birth to our baby boy. I’m no where near perfect. In fact, my husband and I are going through some really heavy trials right now. God never said the Christian walk would be easy, He only says we’ll never go alone. And the difference is that instead of running from God when things get tough, I run towards Him with my arms wide open and cling to Him. He is what gets me through this.

WOW, May God bless you and your husband, and that the trials be eased for you... I will keep you in my prayers...

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Welcome to worthy! What a beautiful testimony you have!

Welcome to Worthy!

Hello and welcome!

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Welcome

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Hello and welcome to Worthy

Great testimony! Welcome to Worthy and may He draw you ever close to Him. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/emot-handshake.gif)