Growing up in a Christian family may seem simple and easy but for me, it was hard and difficult; everyday was a new adventure. I went through so many different problems, most of which I hid from my family and friends.

The first time that I ever got in trouble was in 7th grade; I took some kids’ money while he was selling candy. I just thought that it was someone’s money lying around and if I were to take it no one would ever know. I remember being in the principal’s office when he called my parents and told them what I did. That night my parents cried for me because they never thought I would do such a thing. It was only the beginning.

As time went on, I got more involved in church activities because my parents told me to. I can remember when my friends and I would go to the junior/senior conferences hosted by different churches. In all honesty, I didn’t go to these conferences to praise God; I just went because my boys were planning to do a couple of pranks and we just wanted to meet girls. We sought to impress girls by getting new outfits and trying to look good. During the weekend, we would meet different girls, have fun with them, and if we were lucky, we would get their numbers. It was all fun and games and I enjoyed every bit of it.

When I entered 12th grade, I chose not to care about my life anymore. I wanted to do whatever I wanted to do and I didn’t care what anyone had to say about it. It was during this time that I allowed drugs, alcohol, and sex in my life.

My dad would always give me advice but I never paid any attention to it. One thing in particular that my dad would always tell me was that I needed to change my life or else it would lead to nothing but destruction. He would say, “You might hide thing from me but the Lord reveals everything to me in time.”

I graduated from high school and started to attend college at the New York Institute of Technology. Unfortunately, my fresh start turned into a repeat of what had occurred in high school. I messed up my whole first year by drinking every day and slacking off in all of my classes. It got so bad that in the beginning of my second year, I was put on academic probation.
 
My grades never improved and by the end of my second year, I was dismissed from college. Basically, my GPA fell so low that I was kicked out of NYIT and told not to return. Once again, my parents were disappointed in me and told me that I had to change before it was too late. I refused to listen. However, I did speak to the dean and made a deal that if I were to do well during the summer session I would be able to come back to school for the following semester. Pretty soon, my grades started to improve but I was still coming home late, drunk or high. I thought everything was going to be fine because in my eyes, I had learned to balance the partying with my academics. Little did I know that God was about to send me the biggest wake-up call of my life.

On Feb 4, the day of my birthday, I turned 21 and officially became an adult. The following day, my friends took me out to get drinks, basically meaning get really drunk and blasted to the point where I wouldn’t remember a thing. That night I got so drunk, more drunk than I have ever been before. I remember that it was around 11:30 at night and as usual, I was driving back drunk. I started falling asleep while I was driving. At one point I remember closing my eyes for what I thought was just a second but when I opened them up again it was too late. I slammed into a telephone pole and my car flipped upside down. The only image that was going through my head was me being upside down and not knowing what was happening. Some how I managed to crawl out of the car while it was still upside down without a scratch on me. I sat on the curb in complete shock. The cops came to the scene and asked me a series of questions. They then proceeded to do a breathalyzer test on me to see if I was drinking and driving.

I was over the limit and for the first in my life, I was arrested and charged with a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and then thrown into jail. I can still remember being alone in that jail cell, just me, a wooden table and a toilet. I slept on that wooden table until they took me to the county prison where I would remain till someone bailed me out. That was truly the most horrible night of my life.

Everything that my dad had taught me or told me came true. I cried that whole night, all alone in that cell. I cried and prayed that someone would get me out of this situation. But I felt as if there was no one to hear for my cry, not even God. I knew right then and there that the Lord had put me in this place for a reason but I didn’t know why.

It was scary to be in jail because you are handcuffed to another person the whole time till you are placed in a cell with other people. While I was waiting in jail to see if anyone would come and bail me out, I saw a message written on the wall that scared the crap out of me or anyone else that had any kind of guilt or feeling. The writing said “WELCOME TO HELL”. Those three words were so powerful yet scary. I knew right then and there this wasn’t a place that I would want to spend the rest of my life in. I knew that it was a sign from God; he was showing me that if I was to continue leading the life that I was leading, I would end up in hell. It was as if he was talking to me through those three simple words.

Later that night, my father picked me up and I was released from jail. When we got in the car, he looked at me for a minute and just began to cry. He kept on crying in that parking lot and it felt as though he would never stop. I knew right then that I had truly messed up my life and it was the worst feeling to know that it had to come this far for me to realize that. When I got home, I saw my mom broke down into tears. I knew that I had really broken my parent’s hearts that day. It is a memory that I will never forget.

As the months have passed, I decided to make the decision to finally turn my life around and follow Jesus. Throughout my entire life I had pushed Him away but now I know that it is Him I need most. Looking back on the day of the car accident, He could have easily taken my life away, seriously injured me, or maybe I could have killed someone. I could have been in jail for 25 or 50 years or maybe even a life sentence, but God had something else planned. I now know that the Lord has an awesome purpose for my life and ever since that day, I truly believe that he is the reason that I am living. 

Matthew 7: 13-14 says “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” Till this day I wake up every morning thanking the Lord for showing me that small and narrow gate that has saved my life. I know that I am not perfect and that I have made mistakes but choosing to follow Jesus has taught me that even though you face difficult circumstances, you are never alone. Even when I thought no one heard my cry from that cold jail cell, I can look back and I know that God was with me. Hebrews 13:5 speaks of God’s promise to us when it says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” My life has truly been a testimony of that promise.