MY TESTIMONIAL

By Victor Blank

I am a man who is now a faithful and humble believer, accepting God’s will in and for my life.  It took many years, much heartbreak, and many failures for me to recognize just how badly I needed God.  I needed His guidance and direction through addiction, broken relationships, and emotional and physical abusiveness by me onto others whom I claimed to care for and love.

I was an empty shell of what God wanted me to be because of my lack of attention and faith in my younger years.  I had no idea of just how far off the mark I was because of my self-pride and self-centered sense of being.  I had no room for God or the Holy Spirit in my life, and my life was dark and dismal.

I was not the person who my family and parents thought I was or who they raised me to be.  I was hardened, heartless, and hurting!  I committed an act of violence in anger that ended another person’s life.  At the same time, I also ended their God-given right to experience love, to care and live, and to lead their life in any way they wanted.  For this, I am to blame.  I am guilty, ashamed, crushed, and a repulsive human being in the eyes of God, or so I thought.  I felt unforgivable and worthless, like I was undeserving of any forgiveness, mercy or grace, “undeserved favor.”  This is something I could not grasp or get through my thick skull.

I lived a life of denial, rationalization, justification, and minimizing; and I survived in a self-made cloud of day-to-day existence.  I tried to make sports, work, and weightlifting shape an escape for my emotions to give me a false feeling of being okay and acceptable.  It worked for a while, but only minimally.

At a severely dire point in my life, something was calling to me in my mind and my heart; and I was drawn to it like a child to their parent.  It was God.  He was calling me to Him.  I needed Him in my life, at this time. more than I could ever imagine.  I was looking for direction, hope, love, and inclusiveness, that is, being part of something.  It is amazing how awesome it is to be part of God’s family and to have so many brothers in Christ, who love me, who show concern for me, and who take an interest in me and my life; and who really do care.

There were many Christian-based groups that I attended.  These groups formed my future and helped me built my road to God and His never-ending love and mercy.  The first group that I attended was “40 Days of Purpose.”  The next was “Passport to Purpose” and the next was “Celebrate Recovery.”  I am still in this group, and I try to help others.  At the same time, they in turn are helping me.  Giving back is what God wants all of us to do; and most of all, God wants us to love one another, to care, share, and be there as a family.

I am writing this testimonial because of a friend, a mentor, a brother in Christ, Armando V. Munoz.  He and this program are now building in me a solid foundation and relationship with my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The program is called “Life Above Reproach,” and what its name represents is a big step and move in the direction that I have made a commitment to.  It is for me and my personal relationship with God; and also, my connection to God’s eternal Kingdom.

This group is work!   It takes commitment, but we and God are the ones who reap the rewards, the blessings, and right-living; and, our families are worth it.  God’s love is never-ending.  He is always waiting.  He knocks at your door often and at different times in your life.  All you have to do is let Him in to your heart and soul.  God’s salvation and eternal life is worth it.  The choice is yours and it is always available.  God’s arms are always open and nothing is too heavy for Him.  May you find Him in the hour of your most desperate need!