My testimony

I've shared bits and pieces of my testimony before but I thought I would take a few minutes and lay it out.
I was raised by my mom primarily. My dad is an alcoholic and has been on and off drugs for years. He was mentally and physically abusive to my mom. I remember times where they would physically fight, as well as constant screaming. There have been more times then I can remember that we would have to sleep in my room with the door blocked because he had a gun and was threatening to kill her/us. We lived with him on and off until I was 7. I still had to visit him and I remember all the times we would have to meet at the police station so he would not hurt my mom yet they made me go every other weekend. I ended up going to 8 different schools so I never really got in with the good crowd.
              Fast forward till I was in the 7th grade. I started hanging out with the bad crowd and smoked Marijuana for the first time. I lied to a boyfriend and told him I was 16 and we dated for a long while. He introduced me to ecstasy, meth, and cocaine. I started sneaking out  and skipping school to be with him and get high. When I was in 8th grade I got busted selling baby aspirins as school passing them off as ecstasy. The school gave me an option of going to Drug counseling or permanent suspension. I ended up going but it was just because my mom made me. I ended up transferring to Valley Springs and that's where the real trouble started. I got caught with a guy who had busted out of juvenile hall and breaking an entering with him to get high. I was so lucky they found him and the cop gave me a good rough frisking and talk but they didn't press any charges on me. I was constantly trying to find anyway to get away from my family. I had a friend Josh who lived next door and he would come up and we would smoke in my bathroom while I was babysitting my little sister. I started dabbling in witchcraft and met some friends who really got me into it all. Eventually my mom got into church. I was raised in and out of church but we never stayed in more then a few months and it was all a joke to me. We started going to Mt Zion and I was starting to enjoy it but I didn't want to part with my old friends and ways. One day after I had gotten suspended my mom asked Pastor Cecil if he would talk to me. She had already gotten saved and was trying to keep us in church.
              When I went to meet with Pastor Cecil I was SO mad. I refused to talk to him and just sat there. I will never forge he had a painting that was a deception of Heaven and Hell. I asked him what was up with the creepy picture and he explained it to me. I laughed and we just kinda talked. I always thought he was a nice guy. Well that night when I laid down it weighed heavy on my heart. I kept thinking what if it's true. What is Hell was real. My mind was filled with lies and Satan so it kept trying to convince me that it was all fake. But I had let God slip a foot in the door of my heart and Praise God he KICKED it open. In the period of about 3 weeks I had alot of questions that pastor Cecil was amazing about answering. Then in Feb 2001 I gave my heart to the Lord.
                MY hardest struggle was getting away from my past. I tried to distance myself from my friend because that was the only way I knew how to get away from them. Some took it in stride and moved on without me. Others held on for dear life and almost drug me back in without even knowing what they were doing. I was struggling heard with my addictions so my mom decided to start me in homeschool. My sister had been doing it for a while. It was the best choice we ever made. I was able to focue on school but more importantly focus on my savior!
                 When I was 16 I met Alan. We started dating in 2003 and got married in 2004. I'm so thankful to God he brought me from the dark places I had been. While this story is brief it is still the story of amazing grace. I once was lost and now I'm found! Everyday I wake up is another day I've been blessed with and I plan to do my best to glorify him in every way!