Andrea’s
Testimony
My name is Andrea and I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ who is in
recovery due to bad habits, compulsive and destructive behavior patterns in my
life. My life consisted of sexual and physical abuse, abandonment, rejection
and incest.
When I was four years old my mom went through an abortion which ended
badly. While my mom was in the hospital,
my dad sold our property and went to live with another woman, abandoning me and
my 2 younger brothers. We were placed in the care of our grandparents and
uncles. Physical and sexual abuse started here. My grandmother was blind so she
could not protect us from what was happening in her own home. Here they practiced spiritual cleansing and
other superstition and spiritualism mixed with Catholicism.
My dad came back for us one day but after 3 years he left again. We were living with our aunt but she did not
care for us. We would often go to bed without eating, she would humiliate us.
We were made to feel unprotected and very alone. My mom did all that she could
to provide for us and when we were able to live with her we saw that she was a
very strong woman; she never left us. Because we were sent ‘here and there’ my
life was filled with highs and lows, feeling loved and being rejected.
When I married my first husband I brought codependency behaviors with
me. When my husband left me I did not know how to deal with the rejection.
Being unsuccessful in saving my marriage brought more uncertainty in my life. A
failed marriage and a past of abuse took me to a place where I adopted a life
of promiscuity. I allowed people to take advantage of me and I passed this on
to my daughter. Ten years later I married my second husband where my daughter
and I lived through a nightmare of domestic violence. It was so bad that I sent my daughter away
from me to protect her. Years later I
escaped with our son only to get involved in yet another toxic relationship. As
the years went by I began to be filled with anger, resentment, paralyzing fear
and unforgiveness. The absence of love
in my life was taking a toll on me. I sank deeper and deeper into depression.
A young woman new to the company I was working for shared the Word of
God with me one day. In 2008 I have my
life to Jesus Christ. Jesus met me as I
hit rock bottom in my life. It was here
that my road to recovery began.
The Celebrate Recovery program has helped me open my heart and free
myself of the heavy burdens that have enslaved me. Through the program, I have come to
understand that God loves me and that He has the power to cleanse and restore
me to be the woman He created me to be. I identify with Principle 3, which
says: "Consciously choose to commit
all my life and will to Christ’s care and control." In the past I unconsciously
made foolish decisions that only brought sorrow to my life, but now I have
consciously decided to put my life under the care of God as I have experienced
that His grace frees me and enables me so I can do what He wants me to do. God
has freed me from the lies and darkness and called me into his marvelous light.
Now I have the firm hope that I'm not alone.
Thank you for letting me share.
*all names have been changed to protect their identity
