When I gave my life to the Lord four years ago, I was given a conviction: Take people on a journey. Invite them into the middle.

I grew up in church, but not with Jesus. The name of God was passed around my home, but I didn’t see His love lived out. Soon, I became an adult and started making my own choices. Most of those choices led to destruction and rebellion. When I was in my darkest moments, I remember choosing to watch testimonies. I was curious about God, but I was also afraid of Him.

I felt too far from Him to reach out and trust that He would be there. So, instead, I watched hours of testimonies on YouTube. Some days, I’d come home from living in ways that killed me from the inside out and, with tears streaming down my face, I would look up testimonies. I needed to know that Jesus cared about my story and that I could encounter Him in the middle of a journey like mine.

For seven years, I would watch stories, I would watch and listen, and read stories more than I would read my own Bible or pray. I could not comprehend the possibility of the goodness, love, and hope of a God who, all along, I believed was far and distant. I was compelled by the testimonies of others and convinced I needed to live another day. For the first time ever, I burned with the knowledge that Someone cared for me.

I gave my life to Christ in 2021 on the floor of my one-bedroom apartment, still deep in sin, grieving, angry, and full of questions. My salvation moment was private. It wasn’t in a room full of cheering people, or in the presence of friends and family. It was alone; it was just me and Jesus. It was uneventful. Still, I knew something changed. With that one choice, my journey with Jesus began. 

Our stories are teachers — teachers to people in the church and outside of the church. Most people are drawn to vulnerability and reality, and this is what I loved about the many testimonies I watched. I saw humanity in their stories, and I could relate to the broken woman or the lost man. Each person spoke from a place of victory, but they were still brave enough to share the messy middle and invite others to believe God can meet anyone in the middle of their own story.

So, today, in full honesty and transparency, I choose to share about my own glorious middle. People can argue with the Bible, they can disagree with facts, but they cannot fight against your story. Your journey, your encounter, your testimony, and your experience of how God revealed Himself to you. In today’s age, we need more stories. We need more testimonies. We need those who will go first and share about their messy middles.

The truth is, you will never be ready to share your heart. You may never be ready to be vulnerable — but that is where Jesus comes in. That is where He will lead your words and guide you to the people who need to hear what you have to say. Yes, we might all still feel fear or worry about our im[erfections. Moses stuttered. Paul killed Christians. Rahab was a prostitute, the list goes on and on. But, yet, all of them submitted their weakness to God, and, more importantly, each of them saw His glory in their obedience.

When I have moved forward in fear, I have always found freedom. When I have acknowledged my weakness, I have always found His strength. Our stories have the power to bring people to the feet of Jesus and the table of plenty. They have the power to bring the Kingdom down to earth. Do it afraid or full of confidence. You never know what your story will do for someone else. 

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
Revelation 12:11

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