Meet Bella from Sydney, she grew up in a spirit filled, God fearing house and through her partner found and joined our church just over a year ago.  Bella reflects here on six key and defining moments in her walk with God so far:

“One of the most significant blessings in my life was the Lord giving me the parents I have”

“My parents were first generation Christians, not having examples of spirit led parenting they felt aligned with God’s word, they depended on the Lord  and trusted him to guide their steps. I believe one of the most significant blessings in my life was the Lord giving me the parents I have.

 1.  I was water baptised at 11 but found speaking in tongues really intimidating. I had a lot of control issues when I was younger and struggled feeling like I didn’t have autonomy over my body. Whenever I would feel my tongue changing, I would stop out of fear. When I was 16, my tongue changed in a quiet and peaceful way and the Lord showed me that it wasn’t something to be fearful of.

 2.  At 18, I started partying a lot, going out 3 or 4 times a week. I had believed a lie that I had no testimony and was terrified of being unrelatable. I wanted it all – the validation of the world and to be considered interesting by its standards, but I also wanted Jesus. I knew I couldn’t have both but at the time I was seeking out how close to the line I could get.  Although I wish i didn’t have to, learning for myself this was a lie was important in my walk.

3.  Around when I turned 20, life changed at home. My brother started rebelling and the home that had always been my safe place, was no longer stable or reliable. My heart became incredibly angry at him & it festered into a depression and anxiety diagnosis. I’ve seen the Lord’s healing hand move completely in this & he changed my heart towards my brother.

“I had a conviction about drinking, but I was still testing the boundaries”

4.  As soon as I turned 21 I moved out of home. I had gone through a trauma and my body was in a consistent state of fight or flight. I was having regular and severe panic attacks and started binge drinking regularly too. I left my family church in a state of deep heartache and anger, and replaced it with a rejection of Jesus. I became further exposed to the party life and the life that I’d become so angry at my brother for having was slowly become my own. Still through all of that, the Holy Spirit would find new ways of unlocking doors of which I’d thrown away the keys.

5.  About 6 months into living out of home, I woke up one morning after a house party and immediately called my Dad. I told him that I was done drinking alcohol – and I stuck to it. It’ll be 3 years in July ’25 since that party. A couple of months later, I had my first experience with taking marijuana (I had a conviction about drinking, but I was still testing the boundaries). I had such a horrible response to the drug, having consumed so much in the form of an edible, that my brain forgot how to to breathe and I’d keep passing out. This resulted in a nurse friend calling an ambulance and an all round long night. I remember begging the Lord to forgive me and to take me. I was so deeply unhappy with where I had taken my life, but I also had no idea how to get myself out of it. The next day I took myself to my parents house, told them everything about the night before and they made arrangements to help me come home.

“I love it here”

6.  After moving back home, my relationship with my brother started to heal, and after a little bit of time, the Holy Spirit really stirred in me a desire to find a church home. After some church-hopping, I met Joey. I knew that he was really committed to his church family and I was intrigued by how different his stories of church were to my upbringing. 4 or 5 months into our relationship, he brought me along to a lip sync night in Sydney where Mick performed as MJ & Alex dressed as an ape. My mum texted me at this event asking how it was and ironically, my response back had been “they’re actually normal”. I love it here.”

Words and photo by Bella P