From my first breath, to my first finger painting,
The question always was
What do you think of me?
From my twirling dresses, to my grass-stained jeans,
And from my first pair of heels, to my first boyfriend,
The subtle question was
What do you think of me?
From my first heartbreak, to my first drink,
And from my first puff, to my first theft,
The throbbing question was
What do you think of me?
From losing my friends, to losing my innocence,
And from giving away fake love, to giving away pieces of myself,
The shrieking question question was
What do you think of me?
From my first burn, to my first cut,
And from my first attempt, to my first confrontation,
The life-controlling question was
What do you think of me?
From my ever-aching heart, to my ever bleeding body,
The one thing that clouded my mind was
What the hell do you think of me?
From hangovers, to handcuffs,
And from many tears, to much hope,
The quietly fading question was
What do you think of me?
From my hurting past, to my happy future,
And from being lost, to being found,
The one thing that will never leave me is
I don’t care what you think of me,
I only care what HE thinks of me.
This is my daughter’s testimony, posted with her permission, which she first read publicly in May 2010 at Teen Challenge New Hope House’s fund raiser banquet, and again at her own graduation from the program in June. She lives out what she testifies here, and has her goofy, crazy sense of humor and her own style too.
We are oh SO proud of her, and so thankful to God for His grace and mercy, love and faithfulness. We know that the work He has begun in every member of our family through this experience will be completed as He wishes it to be.
Please feel free to read our story:
- How we lived with blinders on
- How we realized it was serious
- When we screamed NOW WHAT?!
- And how our God is a Redeeming God
What a beautiful story of redemption! Thank you for sharing and I am going to link to it on my blog…to God be the glory!
Thank you Melissa! I just tried to go to your site and Firefox blocked it as a report attack site!? Might want to see if you were hacked. Arg.
Thank you for sharing, an awesome teen you are!
Sara Broers recently posted..My 28th Wordless Wednesday Post
Hi Dawn,
Your daughter is so beautiful. I am so thankful that her story has a happy ending.
Blessings
Honey
That was incredible. What a gift your daughter has to not only use her words that way, but to be willing to share them. Thank you.
Molly recently posted..Craigslist Etiquette aka- How not to be a jerk
Molly: Thank you. Yes, she is very talented and has many poems she has written over the past year… most I would not share because they are very personal… but this is her testimony and she was happy to share it.
This is so amazing that I added it as my first “linky love” link on my blog. My story is similar, I could have written this myself.
What a powerful story! Thanks to you and your daughter for your honesty in sharing it. I’m grateful for the happy ending and the many people you will help by sharing your experiences. I love your blog and gave you an award at http://LivingMontessoriNow.com
Deb Chitwood @ Living Montessori Now recently posted..Montessori Practical Life Activities
Wow Deb! Thanks! Yes, the Lord has opened strange doors this past year, and we have been as blessed by the experience as we have been by her heart change. And every so often I get a phone call from a parent, asking about our experience with New Hope House… and that makes it all so worth it. We only wish we lived closer (750 miles is NOT close!) so we could be more involved there on an ongoing basis. Thank you for the award.