Turning my deepest hurt into a testimony of His unending love

Since I was 12, I used to attend church because my aunt and uncle would always bring me. At that time, I had no idea what kind of church it was. I was just a kid being looked after by them since my parents were separated. Later on, I realized it was a Born Again Christian church. From 12 to 14, I would sometimes join them, and that’s also when I started attending BBS, like a Bible study. That church was also the first place I was ever exposed to singing for God.

Ever since I was 9, I loved singing. My parents would enter me into singing contests in our town. When my family problems started and my aunt brought me to that church, she encouraged me to sing for God there like (salingkitkit lang because bata pa nga lang me). I’ll never forget our pastor, Pastor Lito. He once gave me a small blue Bible—a gift I treasured. He’s now with the Lord, but his impact remains. I was never baptized back then, but they allowed me to sing and worship in their church.

As I entered high school, life started to change. I got busy, was influenced by friends, and started living in worldly ways. I also began attending the Catholic church instead. Things at home were also falling apart. My relationship with my aunt grew distant, and my uncle, whom we didn’t realize was using drugs, did things that left me and my sisters deeply traumatized. I was only 17 when I started questioning God, thinking, “Isn’t it supposed to be about people, not religion? How can people called Born Again hurt others like this?” My respect for the faith I once admired faded, and I turned away from God.

Fast forward to when I was 21, I met a friend who was a Christian. By then, I had stopped living as one, but she invited me to her church. To my surprise, the church she brought me to was the same one I attended as a child, and it’s called “Church on the Rock,” only with a new name and location after so many years. It felt like God was bringing me back. There was even a woman there, Tita Elvy, who remembered me as the little girl who used to attend. She told me she had prayed for me so many times before.

I couldn’t hold my tears when she laid her hands on me again and prayed. She’s now with the Lord too, but I’ll never forget that moment. Sometimes I wonder if the prayers they prayed for me back then are the reason I am standing here today, sharing this testimony.

Life took another turn when we migrated to Australia, and though I didn’t continue attending regularly at that time because of family and personal struggles, God was already planting seeds in my heart.

Looking back now, I see His hand in every chapter. I lost my boyfriend a year ago, and that pain broke me completely. My family was still in a difficult place, and my heart felt far away again from God. My past was messy, and I thought I was beyond saving. But His love never stopped pursuing me. God took my suffering and turned it into peace. He took my pain and turned it into joy. He turned my heart of stone into a heart that chooses to love. When I finally decided to be baptized, it felt like my old life was washed away, and God gave me a new beginning. From someone who was broken, lost, and questioning Him, He made me into a woman who now lives to serve Him.

I can’t believe the changes He’s done in my life and in my character. The same girl who used to hide her pain is now being used as God’s instrument to serve, to love, and to glorify Him through the talents He placed in me. He took my mess and turned it into a message. He turned my deepest hurt into a testimony of His unending love. All glory belongs to Jesus, the One who never gave up on me.