My life seemed normal growing up, but once I graduated high school, everything started to shift for me. I played tennis, basketball, and soccer my entire life but then all of that was gone. I started developing distorted eating patterns and began to restrict different food groups little by little. I also got in the habit of over-exercising. I was a perfectionist in everything I did, even growing up. I wanted the approval of everyone and tried to please people all the time.
Later, in my mid to late twenties, I began to recognize that my family wasn’t like other people’s families. I experienced verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse. I would also experience violent outbursts, which became my breaking point. With help from professionals, I made the decision to move out on my own, which was not acceptable to my parents. Once I made the decision to move, I opened up for the very first time to a friend about the past sexual abuse I had endured from a young age. It was at this time that I started having many flashbacks and nightmares about the abuse. My world had been flipped upside down. I had suicidal thoughts, began to experiment with self-harm, and felt hopeless. As I discussed all of this with my counselor, he told me about Mercy.
I was reluctant to go to Mercy at first, but as I learned more about the program, I saw that the benefits far outweighed the freedoms I thought I would be losing. I arrived at Mercy feeling confused about my life, uncertain of who I was, broken, ashamed, and scared. However, as I trusted the process, I gained so much. I learned to hear from God through two-way journaling exercises. One of the most important things I learned was my identity in Christ. Knowing what God says about me and knowing that I am a daughter of the King changed my whole perspective. I learned to identify the lies I had been believing and replaced those lies with the truth.
Working through the Keys to Freedom study has forever changed my life. I learned to invite the Lord into any situation I was facing, big or small. I felt God’s love like never before, and everything felt so real. I was being transformed from someone full of shame into someone who was full of joy. I longed to worship God and sit in His presence.
I walked out of the doors of Mercy a completely different person than when I walked in. I plan to share with others how God has worked in my life. I plan to be a school librarian at an elementary school and write children’s books. At some point in my life, I would also love to work in ministry. I am forever grateful for Mercy and the staff and how they have led me to Christ!
Thank you for your support, encouragement, and donations. It is so encouraging to know someone is supporting us and providing what we need to get healing. It speaks volumes about how much people care. I honestly can’t thank you enough.