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    00:01 ‘Turn your life around, 00:03 ‘so that seasons of refreshing 00:05 may come from Jehovah himself.’ 00:10 Those words changed my life, 00:12 and they saved the life of my little girl. 00:15 I was raised in a Witness family. 00:21 But I chose 00:25 a dark underworld 00:29 of practically everything that Jehovah hates. 00:33 After about 15 years, 00:35 although financially secure, 00:38 I was confronted with the failure that my life had become. 00:47 I was trying to raise a child while addicted to drugs. 00:53 I just didn’t want to live like that anymore, 00:56 and I wanted to be a good mother. 01:00 So for the first time in years, 01:02 I prayed to Jehovah. 01:06 The knock came on my door the very next day. 01:15 I began studying with a vengeance. 01:19 I had 15 years to catch up on. 01:24 I had a lot of help. 01:28 I progressively changed my lifestyle, 01:30 I changed my associates, 01:32 and I conquered my addiction. 01:35 I slowly began to overcome 01:37 feelings of worthlessness. 01:42 So none of these changes were easy to make, 01:44 but it made me feel 01:46 clean and happy 01:48 knowing that Jehovah was pleased. 01:51 My burning desire at that point really was to begin sharing 01:54 with other people what I was learning, 01:57 but I didn’t qualify to engage in the public ministry 02:01 because I was still living with my boyfriend at the time. 02:04 And he didn’t understand some of the changes I was making. 02:08 I was determined 02:10 to turn my life around and overcome this last hurdle 02:13 that was preventing me from serving Jehovah fully. 02:20 Two weeks later, 02:22 I found out I was pregnant. 02:25 I was devastated. 02:27 I didn’t know what all those people who had helped me would think 02:31 and how Jehovah felt about what was happening. 02:38 I was so ashamed. 02:41 I actually blamed Jehovah for letting it happen. 02:45 I was so confused. 02:48 My first inclination 02:50 was just to get an abortion. 02:54 But deep down, I knew that was wrong. 02:57 I thought, ‘Now everyone will know 02:59 ‘that I’m still the worthless person 03:01 that I always knew I was.’ 03:05 At that point, I just felt like giving up. 03:10 I told my aunt and uncle, 03:13 who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, about my situation. 03:16 They didn’t judge me at all, 03:18 but they did offer a curious suggestion: 03:21 They invited me up to Bethel for a visit. 03:25 They introduced me to an elder who was very kind, 03:29 and I talked to him about my situation. 03:32 I was shocked 03:34 by how loving he was. 03:36 So he shared with me Acts 3:19. 03:40 “Repent, therefore, and turn around 03:45 “so as to get your sins blotted out, 03:47 “that seasons of refreshing 03:50 may come from the person of Jehovah.” 03:54 Well, he told me 03:56 I had already sinned, but why should I sin a second time? 03:59 Why should this innocent child pay 04:02 for what I had done wrong? 04:04 He suggested I teach my baby 04:07 about Jehovah and raise the child up 04:10 to know Him and have a friendship with Him. 04:14 I loved that he took something that was 04:17 sad and depressing for me 04:20 and turned it into something beautiful. 04:23 Well, I had a new plan now. 04:25 I was really determined to do everything I had to do 04:28 to turn my life around in order to please Jehovah. 04:31 So eventually I qualified to become an unbaptized publisher, 04:35 and later I was baptized in 2010. 04:39 I gave birth to a healthy baby girl. 04:42 I already dedicated my life to Jehovah. 04:46 So two of my goals are to get baptized and pioneer. 04:50 I’m as determined as ever to raise Jolie up to love Jehovah 04:54 and to avoid the traps that almost cost us our lives.