Dear in the clay followers, here is a great testimony that I’d loved to see shared with as many people as you know. You all enjoyed Dwaine’s ‘Crash’ story so much I thought I might try to share testimonies on Sundays with you instead of a sermon recap. We’ll see how the response is but here is a great testimony for you this week!
This is an amazing story and I am blessed to personally know Jay and his wife Heather. They are truly amazing people. Please pass this story around as much as you can so people can be touched and reached by Christ. ‘LIKE IT’, forward it, and comment! I am sure Jay would love to hear how his story has encouraged you so please do leave a comment for him! Thanks in advance for sharing!
In the clay,
Chantal Dube
Jay’s Story:
Before receiving Jesus Christ as my saviour I was essentially spiritually dead. I had fallen into a life of drug dependence, had no self-confidence, and really felt I had no purpose in being a living human being. To say I didn’t believe in God would be an understatement. I was filled with disgust at the mention of His name and looked down upon anyone that tried to tell me differently. From early childhood life has not been easy for me. I am the son of an alcoholic father. My father was absent from my life from as far back as my memories take me. At age five my sister was killed by a young driver fleeing from police. Walking on the sidewalk proved not to be a safe place to be that day.
On the verge of losing our home, at age seven my mother met a new man who would later become my stepfather. We now had money but not much else. He turned into a verbally abusive monster who constantly put my mother and I down and took over the responsibility of disciplining me. I was sexually assaulted by a babysitter at age eight which only added to the hate and anger I had for this world.
Growing up in the Catholic faith I had been taught about God and was encouraged to pray, but by this point I had lost all hope. What kind of God would let this happen to me? By the time I left home I was a very broken man. With no direction and a complete lack of self-worth, I easily fell further into a sense of hopelessness. I had become dependant on marijuana after many attempts to control major anxiety, ADD and depression problems through my doctors and prescription drugs. I had contemplated suicide on numerous occasions and had come to the point where I wished every night before I went to bed that I would not wake up the next morning. If not for the guilt of putting my mother through the death of another child, I truly believe I would not have lived to the age of twenty.
There were also many nights in which I sat at the top of the stairs listening to any hint of physical violence towards my mother, waiting for what in my mind was justification to commit murder.
When I met my wife Heather, my life on the “outside” started to change. We had two beautiful children, Nicole and Carter. I had the “millionaire” family on the outside, but on the inside I was still stuck in the pain and hurt I had endured for most of my life. I had learned very well to hide the person I was inside and to most I would have seemed pretty normal and happy.
Heather was the first to discover GAC. She went to her first service and came back and told me how different it was and that she cried the whole time she was there. I decided that if not for me, my children needed a foundation of “hope” in order to deal with all the evils that surround us in this world. Being a musician, I instantly fell in love with the music, but it was Pastor Paul’s preaching that convinced me that something was different. Week after week I felt he was talking to me; I now know that it is the Lord speaking through him. Through the love and prayers of some truly special people, I accepted Jesus as my saviour. I have since made numerous friends at GAC and have yet to meet one person here that doesn’t truly care about my family and I.
Ever since I began to trust Christ with my life, which has not been easy, I have noticed an enormous amount of guilt lifted off my shoulders. I have been playing bass with the worship team for a while now which fills me with joy; using one of my given talents to worship the One who made me. Please don’t think that by seeing me up here I am different from any of you. I still struggle on a daily basis with sin and temptation and am constantly trying to learn how to better strengthen my relationship with Jesus. I am far from perfect but I don’t have to be. By His persecution , grace, mercy, love and endless forgiveness I now have a foundation to stand upon. I have a strength and passion for life I never thought possible. I hope I never have to experience the pain I felt through the first thirty years of my life, but if I do I know I have Jesus to get me through it.
I decided to share my story with you today not for my own gain but instead in the hope that I can encourage you to take a chance on Jesus. If you feel like there is something missing in your life you can’t quite put your finger on it is most likely a relationship with God. Again I am not perfect, none of us are, but I am saved knowing Jesus died for me. One day I will be in paradise, reunited with the ones I’ve lost……for eternity.