Wolfenden testimony

[wolfenden]

Well to begin, I grew up without knowing Christ. Although myself and my siblings were baptised as babies, God was never discussed and my only knowledge came from what I heard from media, which wasn't a whole lot. Growing up, Christmas meant worldly commercialism. Santa Claus, and spending all our money on gadgets and the latest fad toys, etc. Just trying to lay a background here.My parents were alcoholics and though I thought we're were normal, we were what people call a dysfunctional family. At 8 years old, my parents taught me how to mix drinks for them so they could send me to the kitchen for refills.Anyways, as soon as I hit my teen years, I set a pattern of self destruction that would follow me through a lot of my adult life to date. At the age of 12 I began smoking. At 13 I began using alcohol, and by 15 I was using drugs. Pot, hash, mushrooms and LSD. From 15 to 17 I probably dropped acid almost every weekend. Became sexually active at 14, and also became under the influence of black metal bands. I was easily swayed and became interested in devil worship. Thankfully, my interest never went beyond reading about it and listening to the music, but even that was bad in itself. By the time I was 18 I was using cocaine, and as years went by I became progressively worse. I became homeless, surfed couches when I could, or went to shelters. Somewhere along this point, I know that Jesus tried to help me though I was blind to it. I managed to get myself off drugs and get a place to live. Slowly I tried to get my life back on track, not knowing that there was a power guiding me. I stopped getting involved with crime (through my youth and early 20's I was frequently in trouble with the law) and began holding a regular job. Things improved, and I made all attempts to mend my evil ways. Volunteer work, caring for people, but I was still a sinner. I didn't know that if I died right there, I would still go to hell. Many people remember the person or circumstances that led them on the road to accepting Christ. The one that fished me out was my son at his birth. Born over 10 pounds and strong, as I stood crying in the delivery room, it was then I believed in something more. My son was fishing me out. Long story short, I began emailing a pastor at a church close to me. He urged me to just go and check out the services. We had some coffees, and asked me if I was ready to accept Christ into my life. I wasn't sure, so I said no. I kept attending church, read more of the scripture, and weeks later we had coffee then. We talked and discussed things, and then he asked me again if I was ready to be saved. I was 99% sure I was, but told him I needed total and utter conviction before I said yes. Its easy to say yes with your mouth and no in your heart. One day, I was reading the Book of Luke when it felt like someone turned on a light switch inside me. And that's when I surrendered myself joyfully to Jesus.