TESTIMONY

By Noah Mancuso

2 Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”  If you were to ask me what this scripture meant to me eight months ago, I wouldn’t have an answer for you.

When I was very young, my life started out with both of my parents working so much in the church and at their jobs that I did not get to see them as much as I would have liked.  My father eventually started a church which took some time to grow and I saw him even less than my mom.  Soon my parents became more successful and their schedule opened up, and we were able to spend more time together.

I was always a Christian, but I seemed to lose track of my purpose through God. I started a successful company and making money was my main focus!  I was 21 years old with an amazing life which I thought I was in control of.  I moved out of my parents’ house and decided to put work before God.  I started to have more selfish desires and seemed to only care about myself and my business.  I also took the glory from God and took it for myself!

Thinking I was in control of my life and the path that was laid out before me, eventually, God took notice and gave me a test called cancer.

I was lying down in my bed one day after work and lost a lot of feeling below my waist.  I went to the hospital and they did an MRI from my eyes to my thighs, and found an abscess in my back which they did emergency surgery on.  Come to find out it was not an abscess, but a tumor which was just a small section of a larger system of tumors called Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes).  I had a 5% chance of living the next three months.  Needless to say, I didn’t take it very well and all the surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation didn’t seem to help.

Three years of experimental chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant were very hard on me.  God let me survive all of these types of treatments; but during the three years of treatment, I fell into drugs and alcohol.

After I was in remission, I had a new battle ahead of me.  Addiction!  I was addicted to alcohol and opioids, but a doctor was able to help me by recommending City of Hope.  However, the chemo and radiation was so intense, it had drained my body and mind of energy.  So I decided to start using crystal meth.

Crystal meth became habitual for me that I decided to sell the drug in order to pay bills and use accordingly.  I was good at selling dope and bringing people together.  So that’s what I did until one day a dope deal went wrong and a dog chewed up my leg and broke my foot; and, I shot the dog off my leg.  I took a strike and the court let me go after a 30-day jail sentence.

Not even a month after that, I was released from county jail.  The seizure disorder that I accumulated from all the chemo and radiation kicked in at the worst possible time.  I had a seizure and crashed my car into a fire hydrant; and the police searched the car and found a substantial amount of crystal meth in the trunk. They gave me a “Transport and Import” Health and Safety code violation and a 28-month prison term.  2 Peter 1:3 was the first thing I found after my sentencing.

I read 2 Peter 1 and fell in love with God again almost instantly!  I hadn’t had peace in years!  I finally felt a huge void in my life filled with love and was no longer afraid to be myself.  After that, God took away all my thoughts of suicide and filled my head with His love; instead of hating myself, I now love myself.  I am filled with Christ, instead of drugs.  I could not be happier!  Now I have a chance to lead a fulfilling life, instead of a greedy life.

I feel as though this class has enabled me to see through the lines and open my eyes to other perspectives in bettering my life through God.  It has opened my eyes in combating the influence and corruption in the secular world, and uses the scripture as the sword of the Lord to keep me away from evil desires and their ruin.  “Life Above Reproach” made me realize, I am not alone!