A Cry for Help, A Life Transformed

It was 1980, and I was just 16 years old. Like many teenagers, I was struggling to find my place in the world, but for me, those struggles ran deep. I battled feelings of low self-worth, depression, and a constant sense that I didn’t fit in anywhere.

In an attempt to escape, I started smoking and drinking and began surrounding myself with people who were heading down the same destructive path. I knew I was going the wrong way, but I didn’t know how to turn around.

Around that same time, my mom was going through her own battle. She was overwhelmed with despair and had reached a point where she felt like giving up on life altogether. But in her desperation, she cried out to God and told Him she didn’t want to die. That cry changed everything. The very next day, an old friend unexpectedly came to our home and shared the Gospel with her. She accepted Jesus into her heart that day—and from that moment on, she never again felt suicidal. She was filled with a new hope and peace that I couldn’t deny. When she shared her experience with me, something stirred in my heart. I started going to church with her, and it wasn’t long before I, too, received the Lord into my life. Everything changed. The depression that had weighed so heavily on me began to lift.

I no longer felt worthless or lost. Instead, I felt loved, seen, and filled with a purpose I had never known before.

Looking back, I see how God's hand was on both my life and my mom’s—even in our darkest moments. He rescued us, redeemed us, and gave us a new beginning. I’m so thankful for His grace, and I’ll never forget the transformation that began with one simple cry for help.

I gave my life to Jesus, and everything changed—I no longer felt depressed or worthless. God gave me a new life, full of hope and purpose.