Anonymous testimony "The Road Well Travelled" on 11/15/2013, 3:48am...
As I move through my 50’s I consider where I am heading rather
than where I have been. Though my past life will never leave me, I am feeling positive about today and my future. In my heart there is something called “purpose” and this gives me a definite sense of direction to my life. I have resolved to value myself and devote myself entirely to what God has in store for me.
As life goes on, I am constantly in a state of change. What I know is that I walk with my arms outstretched while my feet move one in front of the other in seeking the balance only God can provide. I know He is there if I really need Him and He will keep leading me down the path of righteousness. I have let my fear go and now let God take control of my walk with Him.
I have come to realise that there is no key to success, but I do know that I will not be
successful if I try to please everybody. I have chosen to please God and to live a successful life in the fullness of His presence. This is how my life is now and for my future. I choose to love God above all others.
My home is my sanctuary and my place to be free to choose to allow God to direct my life’s path. I Pray daily and Praise God for the wisdom, understanding and knowledge He shares with me. I seek to be free from anger, depression, anxiety, fear, bitterness and resentment. I choose to forgive those who have hurt or offended me and will not judge. I praise God for a wonderful husband who stands firm together with me in God’s presence and together we strive to have a home that is free of drugs, alcohol, foul language and disrespect for self or others.
In October 2012 I embarked on a journey of a lifetime to the USA with my husband.
With Gary’s love and encouragement, and my faith in God overflowing, I was Baptised in Jesus’name and surrendered my life to God in the First Apostolic
Church, Maryville, Tennessee. I received the gift of the Holy Ghost and spoke in Tongues for the first time as I rose from the water. It was a most amazing experience.
I have had time to reflect on my full life’s journey and, though there are many wonderful memories to share, there are also many things that I will never ever have as part of my life again. I was a rebellious teenager who drank alcohol to excess in binge drinking sessions with friends and smoked up to 50 cigarettes per day. I gave that up when I married the first time as I did not want that as part of my children’s lives and I wanted to start a family straight after my marriage. For 20 years, those things were absent from my life, but when my first husband’s love also became absent, the marriage ended and the drinking and smoking began again in earnest.
For the next 5 years I devoted myself to my 4 sons, particularly my 2 youngest who were still of Primary School age. It was a rocky road we travelled together, particularly with their father remaining so absent for much of the time. I found myself constantly having to encourage my sons to maintain a relationship with their father, and though he would never acknowledge that was the case, he has a relationship with all of them today and I am happy for all of them, and pleased that I made the effort. They are all adults and can make up their own minds about everything now and make their own choices in life.
When I met Gary I met a man who did not smoke, did not drink alcohol and the biggest challenge of all, he believed in God. For someone who decided there could not possibly be a God, it was a time of some turmoil and I wasn’t sure this was the relationship for me. Gary persevered with me and me with how this could turn out. We have been through many trials and tribulations, but through it all, our love for each other remained strong.
I thank God for bringing me to where I am today, and providing me with the many opportunities I have had in my life. He stuck by me through all my troubles, even at times when I wasn’t aware He was there. I know He has a lot more in store for me and I will continue to remain steadfast in my Praise of the Lord and be guided by Him in everything I do. I don’t know how this journey will progress, as only Jesus has that answer. I do know, though, that there is a place in Heaven waiting for me and
that is what matters the most.