My Testimony - by Leah Abney
I have learned to trust Jesus, my Lord. I depend on Him for everything. He walks with me and He talks with me, and I have come to expect and to rely on His guidance. I MUST have it. Now, I can truly say--and remember–that I have tried just about everything, and living life with Jesus Christ is the ONLY life worth living.
I have tried almost everything this world has to offer, in my search for happiness. As a pre-teen, I began my quest for happiness with a mail-order witchcraft book (unknown to my parents, of course) casting spells for love, money, and happiness. Naturally, none of that worked; so as a teenager, I began experimenting with drugs and alcohol. That lifestyle was fun–at first–and I thought I could live like that forever. Instead, I ended up losing my job, lots of friends, my car, everything–all for the drugs that were killing me. I had to stop!
Next, I tried relationships, exercise, and healthy living for awhile, still trying to find that happiness. After a few years, I held on to the exercise and healthy living, but traded the relationships for an education, having discovered the only relationships I knew how to have made me miserable. I really got into college! I majored in psychology, searching for answers to many questions about life and happiness. Seven years later I had a master’s degree but was still just as confused as ever about that "elusive happiness." I got a great job, went to counseling, tried every kind of anti-depressant imaginable. I got married. Still no happiness. I got divorced. I moved around a lot. And things just kept getting worse and worse. I was contemplating in-patient depression treatment. Then God changed everything!
In 1999 I agreed to visit a friend’s church located in Paoli, Oklahoma. And though I didn’t know much about Pentecost, I knew the people who attended that church had what I needed. And, somehow, I knew I would find TRUTH there. All the answers to all the questions I’d ever had were somehow connected to the church. Impatient at first, I wanted to know everything RIGHT THEN! I wanted all my family saved RIGHT THEN! It was just so wonderful to know that I could trust in something. And I knew I was a sinner in need of a Savior, wondering how God could possibly love me. The more I learned about Him and His ways, the more I realized what a mess I’d made of my life. But God DID love me, and He forgave me when I turned my life over to Him in repentance. I was baptized in the name of Jesus, and all those sins–that heavy load–were lifted. What a great deal!! In early 2000, God filled me with His Spirit, and my life has never been the same, nor will it ever be.
For prayer or a free Home Bible Study,
contact the Paoli Pentecostal Church at (405) 484-7200
