Category: Testimonies

A Story of God’s Mercy

Well I have been raised in church all my life at a pentecostal church. But I was a very rebellious teenager and wanted to do what I wanted to do. I put my parents through the mill. At the age of 16 I met this guy and got married at 17. It was 1996. It was a horrible experience. Before I got married I had a dream about a snake and it was about him. But I didn’t want to think about that. Well, needless to say I got married anyway and it was a living hell. He was on drugs and all his money went to that and mine went to finances. He was raised in church also but didn’t go, he was backslid too.

In 1997 of January we seperated and filed for divorce which was final in August. In July of 97 I lost my best friend to a car accident. After that i really went down hill. I blamed God for her death, she was backslid and was living in sin. The guy she was with was my ex best friend, she got mixed up in the wrong crowd. She used to be the best witness and she knew her Bible, I was always shy and wouldn’t witness but when I met her I started to come forth. But when she died I couldn’t take it. I don’t know if she made it to Heaven or not. Well for the rest of that year I partied and went with a lot of guys. I almost went to jail for vandalism, there was so many times I could have been killed.

In late 98 I got back in church and rededicated my life. In the beginning of 99 I met this wonderful guy at a sing whom he played the guitar for. At the end of the service they had an altar call, but it wasn’t for sinners it was like for getting a touch from God. So I went up there and the leader of the group prayed for me he said, ” Shannon, I don’t know you only by name but I see this book and it opened and the pages are torn and ragged, and then I see a hand and the hand reaches out and throws the book away, then I see a new book and the pages are brand new and only a few are written on.” That was Gods way of saying I’m giving you a brand new start for your life. Well me and that guy are married now, he still plays for that group and are active in our church and have a 2 month old little girl. I never knew how much I could love someone until I had her. And now I realize how my mom felt all those years I rebelled. I thank God that I am alive today b/c I could be in hell today had it not been for his grace and mercy. Sometimes the devil tries to remind me of my past but I’m reminded of the verse in Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to be apprehened: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, And reaching forth unto those things which are before. When we fall we need toget back up and start over again you can make it all the way with the Lord.

I hope my testimony helps someone. Love in Christ.

Shannon

Siseyes0906@cs.com

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Healed as a Baby – though not expected to live

I have a story that I really don’t remember, but it certainly has effected me for a long time to come. When I was born, I was almost a month premature. I was only about five pounds, but lost down to barely four. I had quite a few little things that made me sick, but the main problem was that I was born with a hole in my heart. The doctors told my parents that I wouldn’t live over a few weeks, and if I did, I wouldn’t live past seven or eight years old. My parents took me to a few heart doctors and got the same response from all of them. My parents have always been very spiritual, and faithful to GOD. They took me to the little country church, that they are still attending, and done as the bible says. They had everyone that knew how to pray to come and lay hands on me. They took me back to my next appointment, and when the doctor came out he told them that the hole had “grown up”. He may have thought it grew up, but me and my family know what really happened. I slightly surpassed the doctors guesses on how long I would live. I just turned twenty this past year, and I am proud to tell anyone and everyone how I am still alive. It goes to show how powerful God and prayer is, and how He can change things in an instant. I hope you continue to post stories, and I hope that your site is up for a long time to come. Gods love can only get sweeter and stonger. I also hope he will bless you for having such a wonderful site like this.

Sincerely,

Allen Watts

Lomery Allen Watts

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I’m Only Six Months Into My Marriage, and I Already Think Something Is Very Wrong I was completely inexperienced with sex before, so this is very confusing. ADVICE BY RICH JUZWIAK JAN 23, 2022 6:00 PM

Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Getty Images Plus.

How to Do It is Slate’s sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. It’s anonymous!

Dear How to Do It,

I’m a 23-year-old woman, very much in love with my husband of six months. He’s a 32-year-old man. I’d say the marriage is a very happy one, and things are going well. We waited until marriage for sexual intimacy, and it’s since become a daily thing. My husband had previously been in relationships, some that were sexual, but this is all my first experience with it. I’m starting to worry something’s wrong with me. I’ve not enjoyed it once, in our entire marriage. My husband is a very sexual man. He’s easily turned on by me, even when I’m not trying, and he’s very happy to have sex a few times a day, when he can. I don’t have any problem with that; in fact, I greatly enjoy knowing I can please him so well, but I never feel anything. He’s tried a few different things, from oral stimulation, to fingering me in different ways, but I’m unable to feel anything except the occasional bit of pain. I also have never been able to become aroused, emotionally or physically, for him. I love to please him, but sex just doesn’t matter to me itself, and neither does seeing him naked, for instance. He’ll prance around the house, in a desperate attempt to get me going, but it does nothing. He asks what worked when I masturbated in the past, but I never did. There was just never any interest, on my part. That really shocked him.

The more I think on it, the more confused I get. I think he has a very handsome face, but that’s where it ends. I’m not attracted to him sexually. I’ve never been attracted to anyone sexually, and I’m only just realizing that. I have no desire to kiss or do anything physically intimate with anyone. It’s not just him. I haven’t exactly explained that to him yet because I’m honestly scared. He’s so sexual, and he’s distressed enough as it is, thinking he can’t please me, but I don’t know if it’s possible. Am I broken somehow? I have absolutely no experience in sexual matters, and I’m so confused. I’ve lived such a sheltered life, I don’t know what to think. I’m scared he’ll regret marrying me, if I tell him he’ll never be able to please me the way I do him. It means so much that he cares, and wants to please me, but I almost wish he didn’t. If he just focused on enjoying himself during sex, it’d be better for the both of us. I love to make him happy, and I’m not sure I’ll ever feel anything anyway.

—Never Hot, a Little Bothered

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“Coming Out” – My Journey with Anxiety by Hara Howard

I remember it like it was yesterday. My first panic attack. I was 8 years old, and I felt like I was dying. The worries in my mind had taken over my body and it was as if I had no control over what was happening to me. Growing up, anxiety was not talked about often or understood by most people. The stigma, embarrassment, and shame led me to keep this part of me hidden. On the outside I was a typical child with a bubbly personality. On the inside I was dreading daily life and focusing on the uncomfortable sensations that permeated through my body.

I did not have the tools to either express or cope with my inner struggles. My inner anxiety had so much power and control over my life. It seemed like no one understood, and I felt angry when they didn’t. My journey through my adolescence was similar with the exception of my growing ability to mask my secret better. While I was extremely lucky to have parents who tried everything in their toolbox (psychologists, therapists, etc.) to help me, I realize now that it was not until I accepted my own anxiety that my life was able to take a turn. I say a turn, because that is exactly what living with anxiety feels like (twists and turns, highs and lows). I do give a lot of credit to finding the medication that was best for me. Whether you are a proponent of mitigating measures or not, I strongly suggest being open minded to the possibilities of change that come with anxiety medication.

As I got older, I felt that so much of my life was “ruined” by my anxiety. I couldn’t go back, but I did want to give others what I was missing. I wanted to be a person who DID understand what they are going through. With complete irony, I decided to spend my days in the place that caused me so much anxiety as a child. I am now an elementary school counselor and licensed professional counselor. I promote and educate mental health to all students. I am doing my part to help both struggling students as well as educating compassionate allies for them.

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My Journey With Anxiety by Gina Bell

My journey with anxiety has been a process filled with loneliness, shame, and growth.

When we share about these things not only does it help us not be alone, but it normalizes something that is a common experience and challenge for so many of it. It can remove the shame and start the healing!.

My journey with anxiety has been going on my entire life but exploded five years ago in the form of an anxiety attack. I had just landed in Hawaii and started to feel sweaty and sick to my stomach. My breathing became rapid and short.

We collected our bags and went to urgent care. I was having an anxiety attack, but I did not know it. I had no idea why or what was happening, and I was far from home.

We tried to stay for a few days, but it was useless I was not having a good time nor was my husband. We came home, the roughest trip of my life.

There were a few trips to Hawaii after that all of them landing me in the ER or urgent care. This took a toll on me both mentally and physically.

I was no longer the pillar of strength my husband had married so many years ago. Was he going to leave me? He did not understand this “anxiety”.

I tried to get out of bed some days but just could not. I was crying all the time, feeling shame and embarrassment.

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Believe in yourself, you CAN get out of dark world of depression/anxiety by Vedant Vyas

I had done various kinds of blood tests but mostly everything was coming normal except Vitamin D. I took OTC Vitamin D but provided no relief and it worsened my health. I then started seeing a therapist for CBT but still had no relief in physical symptoms. I then started seeing a psychiatrist and was put on antidepressants. A couple of antidepressants didn’t work and, on the contrary, made me feel worse. I started having body pains all over my body, had low libido, no motivation to do any work, and difficulty getting up and going to work. I was also given anti-seizure meds, pain reliever meds, nerve damage meds, and so many other meds but nothing worked.

I was the only bread earner in my family and I had to feed my wife and child. Despite all these difficulties, I still went to work every day to feed my family. At my workplace people didn’t care much about me. Unfortunately, my parents, my wife, my brother and his wife provided absolutely no help to me. They did not understand my condition and what mental health does to the body and mind. I had even been mocked by my own parents a couple of times, saying that I had become a negative person and that they would provide no help in raising my children. I was against the whole world and no one was with me.

Instead, my parents continued supporting my brother’s family and everyone in my family pretty much broke relations with me. My in-laws live nearby and instead of providing help and understanding the situation, they did little as well. Despite me begging my wife to get some help from her parents as they were nearby and in good health, she did not reach out to them because she wanted her parents to enjoy their life instead and not bothered about our situation. My family failed to understand that if I died, who would take care of others in the family and my children?

Despite seeing so many doctors, nothing concrete was coming out in the medical diagnosis except that I also have IBS and there is no medicine to help it.  I have always been good my entire life, why did all these sufferings happen in my life? I don’t have an answer to this question, and none of us ever will find an answer to that question.

However, in this whole experience, I became a spiritual person. I started praying to God. I participated in a couple of webinars offered by ADAA. In therapy, I often heard that family and friends are the best resources to reach out first. But what happens when your own family and friends ditch you? It creates even more shock to the patient and worsens the situation. I learned that people move on as a situation changes but only I can help myself.

Slowly and steadily, I crafted a strategy to fight the situation. I believed that all these negativities around me can be overcome by positivity and focusing on the good things. I read motivational books, change how I perceive things, accept the bad days but don’t let it take over me but instead I learn to swim out of it, do my prayers, etc. The bad days are not over yet, but I am a more capable person than before to tackle the challenges.

Today I would like to shout out to those strong people out there who struggle every day in their life and no one is with them, not even their family and friends stay with them unfortunately. Stay strong, believe in yourself, and believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Good days will come!!

Share Your Story and Voice and Help #breakthestigma Around Mental Health

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Rape Victim Stories: Real Stories of Being Raped

Rape victim stories can be very difficult to read, frightening and emotionally draining for some but stories of rape show other victims that they are not alone in their struggles. Rape stories detail the many abuses that some people suffer and yet survive and go on to succeed in recovering and regaining control of their lives. Rape victim stories can help others to realize that there are other survivors that have been through exactly what they have and come out the other side a whole person.

The following rape stories contain scenes of abuse, sexual assault, incest and violence. The people in these rape victim stories have been badly wounded by these events and yet have the courage to stand up and say what has happened to them. Each of these rape stories speaks to the courage of the person who has shared it.

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