Laura’s baptism is one of four incredible baptism celebrations that we have witnessed over the past two weeks! Read her testimony and be encouraged, church. The Lord saves!
I didn’t grow up going to church, but I did have people in my life, like my grandmother and grandfather, who would tell me who God is, what Jesus did for us, and what He has done for them in their life. They would tell me all the time as I was growing up, but I never had the ears to truly hear them or appreciate it. So, I spent most of my childhood trying to deal with things alone and wish I hadn’t. I was bullied at school for about 8 years. During that time, I developed severe depression, anxiety, a very unhealthy relationship with food, and a lot of self destructive habits. Instead of turning to God, I turned to things of this world thinking they would bring me peace, but they only created more problems.
Once I got to college I was able to move on from everything, but I still had these deep wounds inside of me and I was struggling to truly find peace. Until one day, while I was on a plane going back to school, I met my husband Nick. Meeting him was honestly a gift from God because he led me towards a new and beautiful path of life. Nick has been a huge contributing factor towards my relationship with God. He would take me to church, play worship music for me, and he would sit and read the Bible to me and answer any questions I had. His mom would also share what God had done for her and always told me that it’s available to me as well. It seemed like God was constantly knocking on my door in little ways, but I was too closed off to see or accept it.
It wasn’t until last year that I finally opened that door. Nick had left for a 9 month deployment to a place of uncertainty, and I didn’t know if he would make it back home to me and our son. I was not mentally prepared for that deployment at all. I could not stop crying during the first week of his absence, and there was a pain in my chest for days. From the moment I woke up, to the moment I fell asleep I felt like I couldn’t take a full breath. There was an intense feeling of grief, anxiety, and guilt for things left unsaid. I remember wishing I could just sleep through the next 9 months because it hurt so much.
Nick left on a Friday and on the 7th day of his absence, I fell to my knees and prayed. I cried out to God for the first time in my life and I welcomed Jesus into my heart. I prayed for the pain to go away, I prayed that Jesus would fill the emptiness in me, I prayed for strength and peace, and I surrendered everything to God. Whatever His plan was, was now mine too.
It’s hard to describe what happened in those moments, but a wave of peace washed over me and filled me. The pain I had felt in my chest was gone. He took that away instantly. This feeling of peace was unlike anything I’d ever felt before, it made no sense. I bought my first Bible the next day and began my walk with Jesus. As I started reading my Bible and praying more, I could finally see all that He had done for me throughout my life. He was there through every single battle. He has always been faithful, even when I couldn’t see it. And He has always loved me, even when I didn’t love myself.
For 23 years I searched for something in this world to bring me peace, to make me feel happy, to make me feel loved. But that is not found in things of this world. It is found through Jesus and I wish I had known Him longer. I wish I was saved sooner. But I know that God’s timing is perfect and that deployment brought me to Him. He gave me the strength to get through it, and it gave me the time to be with Him and get to know Him on my own. I have healed parts of myself just by talking to God, and it is such a blessing that we have the ability to do that through prayer.
This is my testimony, and I pray that whoever hears it, if you’re not a follower of Jesus Christ, I pray that you call to Him in your darkest of moments. I pray that you can see just how faithful He is and trust in His plans for you.
Thank you.