My Testimony

By: Scott DuVal

            I am a 61-year-old first time offender serving a 26-to-Life sentence for murder.

            I grew up in an upper-middle-class family with one brother and two sisters.  My father was a very goal-oriented person who had extremely high expectations of everyone who came into his life.  I found out at an early age that I could not meet those high expectations.  Even though I was a “B” student in school, I was constantly told that my grades were never good enough.  I was told that my friends weren’t good enough.  The chores I did around the house were never good enough.  I was constantly told I would never amount to anything.

            This had a tremendous effect on my self-esteem, self-confidence and self-worth.  I started to believe what my father had been telling me for years.  I kept my feelings bottled up inside of me and this had a big effect on my relationships. 

            Growing up I attended church and pretty much just went through the motions.  I believed in God, however, I never made the commitment to Him or accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.  At the time, I found it difficult to believe that He could love me when I could not get the love and acceptance at home.

            At age 38, I was convicted of murder in the first degree and had this feeling of hopelessness and despair believing that my life was over.  I felt I had no purpose in life any longer.  I had lost everything: my family, friends, career, my home, and everything I had worked for.

            I then started to attend services and began reading my Bible.  I got into self-help classes and groups.  I was starting to feel better about myself and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.  I now believed in myself and decided to start setting goals.  I returned to school and earned my bachelor’s degree in Business.  This was followed by earning my master’s degree.  My self-confidence and self-worth were much stronger, and I had this feeling of being positive with what I had accomplished.  I wanted to get healthier and began exercising and eating right.  In a 2-year period, I lost a total of 80 pounds and was feeling so much healthier. 

            I wanted to strengthen my relationship with God and enrolled in a discipleship class called, “Life Above Reproach.”  This class was an amazing experience for me as I went through this process of learning more about Jesus and me.  I went through this process with an amazing group of men who were looking for the same thing I was.  I truly believe I have strengthened my walk with the Lord.  I know it can still get stronger and I am committed to making that happen.

            I took that commitment and returned to “Life Above Reproach” as a facilitator to share what I learned with a new group of men and to continue to be an ambassador to Christ.,  It is an awesome and amazing experience to watch and see these men grow spiritually.

            As you read this testimony, if you have not taken the time or opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to do so.  He has truly changed my life and how I look at things in my life.  I look forward to giving back to others, to helping those who are in need, and encouraging men to improve themselves academically, physically, and spiritually.

            I believe you will not regret it!

God Bless,

Scott