Just like many others, I was born into a broken family. My parents divorced when I was still an infant. My mother was never really there for me growing up. My sister and I were raised by my grandma. At age 10 I decided to move in with my mom and her new husband and 2 kids later, my mom had another 2 kids after that so it was a total of 6 of us.
I was so broken and always felt like there was something missing, like I needed to fill that emptyness inside of me. I was pressured by my mom to help her care for the rest of the kids.
I started drinking and partying at 15 and soon moved out at 16. I never really went to church, it was very rare and all I knew about God, was my emergency God, the one I would cry out to when in need, but still doubted if there really was a God.
At 16 I was still going to school and was working part time. I had so much freedom. I was partying even more with smoking now added to the mix. At 17 I moved back home with my grandma in South Texas to finish my Senior year.
Finally back home with my grandma, she really tried to keep me out of trouble but it was too late. I continued to try and fill my emptyness with alcohol, drugs and sex. I started living with someone that finally cared, or so I thought really cared. I was deceived in thinking that living with him was going to fill all that emptyness. He was controlling , possessive and extremely jealous. I was mentally and physically abused.
After leaving that horrible relationship I was suffering with anxiety and depression. To cope I quickly went back to my old ways of drinking and partying every day.
I didn’t want to feel sober because I was scared to have to deal with all my anxiety and depression.
I moved to Houston in 2013. I worked for my cousin and it wasn’t long until I found new people to lead me back in to my old habits. After dating another guy for a little while it soon turned into another broken and unhealthy relationship.
I finally had hit rock bottom.
Monday October 27, 2014 after a long weekend of partying and I had no idea how I even got home, I woke up crying out and praying to God. I had no idea what was wrong with me and I had never cried like that before or even prayed.
I had such an unexplainable feeling of such peace wash over me. My emptiness from my entire life was gone. That morning I was a changed woman. On my way to work I decided to listen to Christian music. Still very confused on what was going on or happening to me, I begin to cry out during worship in my car. With tears streaming down my face I could feel the healing and restoration begin. I didn’t feel like my old self. As I saw my cigarette box sitting there full, I was so disgusted to even look at the box.
That morning began my restoration journey. I was placed in a ministry at the time that helped me be delivered and grow my spiritual walk with the Lord. I was saved October 28, 2014 and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
God can restore what is broken and turn it into something amazing.
God doesn’t call the qualified He qualifies the called.
It’s not about doing religion, it’s all about a relationship with a real living and loving God.
If God can change my life in one day, He can do it for you. Nothing is impossible for the highest most loving and caring Jesus. That’s my God, the God I want everyone to meet and experience.
I’m currently a leader and sing in worship at Iglesia de Adoracion, a Spanish service for Houston Worship Center. I’m also involved with Standing in Faith Ministries, a Prison ministry, bringing hope to others by sharing my testimony.
~ Gabriela Teran
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. ~Ephesians 2:8
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