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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: BLIND (06/03/21)
The small child lay in bed scared, not really understanding why. She prayed to god as she had been taught to, believing there was no evil, so she had to help herself by chanting, ‘There is no such thing as evil,’ continuing to feel scared. She felt she was a failure, and must learn to have more control of her mind.

Years later, she decided there was no god. It was easier now, as her family had given up attending the church and had moved away into a new area. She still struggled with fear and anxiety but was now in secondary school and making new friends. She rebelled against her strict upbringing, and desperate to be popular, she was determined to fit in with the crowd. She soon found herself getting involved with behaviours and activities that she knew deep down were wrong, even dangerous, things that she knew her parents wouldn’t approve of, so she became a good liar. It seemed fun at first, but as time went on she became to hate the way she was living and her self-esteem was very low. Drink was the answer. Her conscience was blurred when drunk, and it helped her relax as she continued her ‘wild behaviours’

Feeling that there was more to life than what we see, she was attracted to the occult, and although there was an excitement in the supernatural, she experienced some very dark encounters that she had to believe were not real, as she attempted to put into practise what she had been taught as a little girl – there is no evil it’s just in your mind. These spiritual experiences caused feelings of oppression and fear, adding to her already low opinion of herself.

Years went by, the little girl had grown up and was married with a small child of her own. She continued to live with fear, guilt, and now she was experiencing panic attacks. Her fascination with the occult had scared her so much, she tried to put it out of her mind. She knew she was not well mentally, and wasn’t able to live a normal life without the help of drink and prescription drugs. She felt hopeless and at times wasn’t sure she wanted to live anymore. She came to understand the ‘religion’ she was brought up in was a cult, and there was some relief in this knowledge, but it didn’t heal her heart. Her marriage was fragile, she was unable to be a good mum or wife, her life was messed up!

You may have guessed I am writing about myself, I was that small scared child that was led astray to fit in, getting into the wrong crowd at school and feeling like there was no hope or help for myself.

Then the God of the Bible walked into my life. Through a series of encounters, I realised He really was the one true God, and He was my answer. Not the drink, or drugs, not trying to control my mind, or hypnosis, or any other alternative therapies I was trying.

Understanding how Jesus gave His life for me, I gave my life to Him. I needed saving, I needed forgiveness, cleansing, and healing. I was desperate to come into the light from the dark life I was living.


There is a bible verse that says, “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel, that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4 NIV)

I was blind, but now I saw everything in a different light. I looked around at the world God had created and fell in love with the beauty of all He had made. I felt hope for the future, and now when I prayed, I felt loved and accepted and not a failure.

Over the years, I have needed a lot of healing from the past, and faithful Christian friends have helped walk me through the battle that has sometimes raged as I sought freedom in Christ.

My Heavenly Father had been watching me all my life, I just hadn’t seen this. I had been so blind. I know for sure He had been protecting me from death at times, patiently waiting for the perfect moment when I would turn to Him, and accept Him as my Saviour.

Dark to light, death to life. What an amazing Saviour we have in Jesus.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Janice Aylor
06/10/21
This is a lovely story. I know it took courage to write it. Thanks for sharing.
Arlene Baker
06/10/21
This is an amazing story of redemption. here are a few suggestions.
1. there is a lot of telling, like recalling facts. Get the reader pulled into that little girl's terror.
2. Use 1st person POV. Get the reader to feel your pain. Your struggle.
3. Focus more on how God saved and delivered you rather than recounting all the failures of your life. Redemption trumps ruin every time!
4. Cause the reader to rejoice with you as you craft a strong conclusion!
Hope that helps. God bless and keep writing!
Laura Manley
06/10/21
Your entry was the story of a lot of people. I personally grew up with so many fears, but mostly the fear of death. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior at the age of 36, I finally knew what freedom was. I think Arlene has some wonderful suggestions for you. I too would suggest that you check out some of the punctuation. A good grammar/punctuation tool is a must when you are writing. Thanks for your honesty in your entry. God bless!
Bea Edwards 
06/15/21
Personal testimonies are so powerful. Thank you for courageously sharing.

As I've noted on a couple of other Challenge articles this week, Arlene is giving out some great advice, I'm learning from her comments myself.
Avigail David
06/16/21
This is an amazing story of God's redemption of your life! Thank you so much! I am so blessed and happy for how our Creator and King of the universe keeps His promise to redeem and calls humanity to faith and trust in His kindness and grace.