I cannot imagine a greater pain for a saved parent, other than perhaps the death of a child than to have their precious child leave the comfort and safety of home and church and go deeply into the world of sin. Saved mothers and dads raise their children to love God and live for Him. They pray that their goal of going to Heaven will be adopted by their children. They believe Proverbs 22: which says:
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Parents often make great sacrifices for their children, sending them to church-based schools, for example, attempting to keep them from the world’s influence. They pray over them and seek God for them. But, in spite o all of their efforts, some children choose to go the way of the wild. Their parents literally have to lean on Proverbs 22: 6 when their children grow up and act like they never knew God.
Today’s post presents the testimony of a beautiful young woman, KS, who decided to do things her own way. Read her story, written in her own words, and see what God can do when we raise our children, then put them in the Mighty Hands of God. She calls her story Prodigal Daughter because of the similarity of her story to that of the prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. “Backslider, You Can Come Home Again-The Parable of the Prodigal Son.” is also a blog post about the Prodigal son. We thank God for His matchless mercy and His Amazing Grace. Let’s hear what KS has to say as she relates her story.
Prodigal Daughter
By KS
I grew up in a holiness church, went to church faithfully from a baby to seventeen years old. The Word of God would go forth, but I didn’t take heed. My mind was made up to live how I wanted to live at the age of fourteen. It was then that a stronghold that only God could break began to form in my mind. I remember turning fourteen, thinking I was grown and saying to myself, “I’m leaving this house; I don’t want to live like this anymore.” I couldn’t wait until I was eighteen. The devil had my mind, and I allowed him to use it. In my mind, the world was mine, so I had to take advantage of it. I began drinking, smoking, going to the club, throwing kickbacks, and so many other ungodly things. Almost every time I got paid, I was buying liquor and tobacco products at a store.
I can remember on my off days, drinking and smoking from 10 a.m. until 3 a.m. That was my usual pattern. I started hanging around crackheads and dope boys and decided the money I was making wasn’t enough. I needed a trap house, so I started selling drugs and tobacco products on the side. The money got so good that I started selling on my job.
I was due for a raise on my job and went to the supervisor for my performance review in high hopes. She explained to me that my job performance had slacked and I was only going to get a small increase. I was torn; I couldn’t believe it. But when drugs and people influence your decisions, your performance will suffer. So, I ended up quitting that job and decided to trap full-time until I could find another job. Little did I know that greed and the love of money would lead me to jail very soon.
I made the decision to start hitting licks and pawning stuff to make money. I remember me and my friends jumping fences and going into apartments, stealing whatever we could that was valuable. We had no getaway car; we were on foot, walking tall and bold. I ran into another friend that convinced me that I could hit the biggest lick of all, the bank, and I could get away with it because I was sooooo smart. Friends were my worst influencers, along with the music and drugs that consumed me.
As soon as we shook on that deal, I knew something was going to go WRONG! I felt it, but “GREED AND THE LOVE OF MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL!” I hit the lick anyway, we were in the roll, I had one last stop, and I was home free and paid! Little did I know, I wasn’t going to see home for a little while. The bank clerk asked me to sit down, and Police Officers came and took me to jail. I was locked up on two charges. I had so much time to think and get myself together. I made God so many promises. I was sincere with my words, but my heart was far from Him. I only gave Him lip service.
I was released from jail, and as soon as I got home, I fired up a swisher and began to “turn up” for the next week or so. Sin had a hold on me, and I didn’t want to be loosed. It wasn’t until I started looking for work that reality hit me that I needed to change. I needed some real deliverance. But I was too ashamed to step foot in “My Mama’s church.” (As if I was any worse than anyone else that had left), but that’s what the devil told me, and that’s what I believed.
Life got harder and harder for me; I couldn’t find a job for nine months because of one decision. I was depressed and attempted suicide. But something in me wouldn’t let me complete the suicide attempt. My family called me and told me that the late “Apostle Lobias Murray” had passed away, and they invited me to the Home-going service. I was getting high, and right there in my living room, I said, “Man, we gotta get right, Jesus is soon to come, if He (Apostle) died, I know Jesus is soon to come,” and I kept smoking.
I vaguely remember the funeral service, but I remember going to view his body and thinking to myself, I’ve got to get right, I need to get right! But I was in a relationship, and they needed me more than God did, so I thought.
The Scriptures say, “that God will create a way of escape.”
1 Corinthians 10:13, KJV: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Not many days later, that person broke up with me, and I had the chance to leave and go home. But I had to prove that I was still big and bad and could pull anyone I wanted. Two years later, I was at my wit’s end. I started dreaming about the church and the messages that were preached there. I would cry in my sleep and wake up with those messages on my mind. I would do anything to drown out those messages, but nothing I did mattered. I could be watching a movie, eating, or just walking somewhere, and I could see Apostle Murray and Mother Murray preaching.
The dreams got stronger and stronger, until once I cried for almost two days straight because I knew I had to make a decision. I called the only person that I knew would understand. That person was my brother, and he began to tell me how God still loves me and wants to save and deliver me. He told me that God was calling me home and that it was just time to surrender.
I broke up with the person I was with and went to church on a Tuesday night. My heart was heavy the whole service. I couldn’t wait until the altar call was made. I lifted my hands and surrendered my all to God. I repented of my sins, accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and asked Him to fill me with the Holy Ghost. I felt the Love of God, I felt His power, I began to speak in a heavenly language. I’m no longer bound; I’M FREE. The places that I used to go; I don’t go there anymore. I have a new walk; I have a new talk. The way I look and carry myself are all NEW. I’m a new creature in Christ Jesus. Holiness saved my life, and it’s yet keeping me today.
This young lady’s compelling story should serve as a great encouragement to godly parents who have children who have gone astray. When God gets on a man’s or woman’s trail, they cannot escape. Keep praying parents. Keep your children up before the Lord. Remember, He is concerned about everything that concerns you, especially your precious children. And children, as long as there is life and breath in your body, God wants you to return to Him. Is He calling you home? Don’t resist the call. He loves you.
This was such an encouraging testimony. Thanks for sharing