By the time I was 15 I was drinking and partying every weekend. I had a child and was in an abusive relationship so asked God to get me out of it – and He did. But I still felt lost and started taking drugs. Then I met someone who talked about God as a friend…

I was brought up a Catholic and would go to church every Sunday with my family. When I was eight my parents broke up and my Mum stopped going to church. When I was thirteen I also decided to stop going because I didn’t feel that God was there.

When I was fifteen, I got into an abusive relationship that lasted until I was twenty-two. Throughout that time I felt lost and would go out drinking and partying most weekends. I thought it would solve my problems. When I was twenty I had a son, and thought this might fix our relationship but it didn’t. I started to pray at night and ask God to end the relationship because I didn’t want my son to be brought up in an abusive family. Shortly after that prayer, my partner found someone else and we broke up. But I still felt so lost and depressed, because that was all I had known since I was fifteen.

I remember telling my friends that I had no purpose or direction. They would party and take drugs so I started to do the same. One day I accidentally overdosed and all I could do was call out to God. I knew He was the only one who could help me. I remember saying, “Please help me! I promise I won’t take drugs or drink anymore!” God did help me that day, but I still had severe depression and anxiety. I kept asking God to show me His light and bring me closer to Him.

In 2015, my cousin and I decided to go to church so we could change our lives because we couldn’t do it ourselves. We went to a Pentecostal church but we still couldn’t find God. Then I met a guy in a shoe shop who told me he was a Christian. There was something different about him and he seemed to actually know God. I wanted what he had, but after we spoke in the shop I realised I didn’t know who he was or where he lived. I finally tracked him down on Facebook and we met up to talk about the Lord. I went to a Revival Fellowship meeting with him in Wollongong, and by the end of it, I wanted to be baptised. The following week, on 17April 2016, I got baptised and a couple of weeks later, on 29 April, I received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. I felt so much joy and happiness that day.

God has blessed me so much since then. I now have a purpose and to know God is amazing! God took away the drugs and alcohol and the desire to go out clubbing. He has brought me into a loving family of God that is kind and understanding.

After I was baptised and spirit-filled, I told my Mum, Dad, sister and friends about God and now they have all received the Holy Spirit too. One day I went to my ex-partner’s house to pick up my son, and his girlfriend answered the door. She started to tell me about their problems, and all I could do was get my bible out and tell them both what had happened to me. They listened and came to a meeting with me. My ex-partner’s girlfriend received the Holy Spirit that day.

Jesus has taken away my bitterness and replaced it with joy. I am so thankful for what the Lord has done and can’t wait to see what He has in store for my son.