I am testament to a life transformed
I am testament to a life transformed
Chantal with her children Isabella and Alexander.
My name is Chantal, and I’m 34 years old. I was born in the Netherlands and moved to Australia when I was 14. I have two wonderful children – Isabella, 10, and Alexander, 6.
The move across the globe was very challenging, and I grew up in a family with no religious background. I was friends with a Christian girl, so I started going with her to Bible study and Christian youth camps. I also started going to The Salvation Army Youth Group at the Shed in Cranbourne (Melbourne), and it was here that I experienced some incredible moments where God showed me that he was there for me.
When I was about 16, I was kicked out of home, and I ended up living with the family of a girl named Hannah. I started attending church every Sunday and learned much more about what it meant to be a Christian. Unfortunately, I was still quite troubled and rebellious, so I didn’t live there for too long, and I got myself mixed in with the wrong kinds of people.
By the time I was 18, I was getting into trouble with the police and had a strong drug addiction. It was at this time that I met the father of my kids. For the next 10 years, I lived through a terrible situation of domestic violence fuelled by drug use. It broke me. At the end of this relationship, I felt physically and emotionally scarred as a mere shell of a human being.
Just after I turned 30, I ended up in jail with the potential of a very long time in prison and the possibility of deportation back to the Netherlands. This was the lowest point of my life.
I might have made mistakes and deserved to be in jail to pay my dues, but I knew that at my core, I was a good person with a heart of gold and a lot to offer the world. I had just spent too many years hiding my true self and using drugs and alcohol to do it.
Reconnection to God
It was in prison that I reconnected with my Lord and Saviour. Every Tuesday night, they would hold a Bible study group, and I remember us talking about the parable of the lost sheep and how Jesus taught his disciples that God rejoices when a sinner who has lost their way returns to him. I [heard] these words and [felt] a huge sense of relief. There was hope –God hadn’t given up on me, and if he hasn’t, then I shouldn’t.
Little by little, I started to change. I asked God to show me what I needed to do to get my life back on track. I prayed [believing that] only God knew what I needed, so if I were to get the opportunity to get bail and go to rehab, that would happen. The day came when I went to court, and against all odds, the judge gave me the opportunity to go to Windana Residential Rehab, which was a minimum 12-month program. I couldn’t believe it!
On the way down from the courtroom, the guard turned to me and said, “Do you believe in God?” ‘Yes!’ I replied to her, and she told me, “I asked that because I do, and what I saw in there was incredible. I truly saw God at work in that courtroom.”
All those times I prayed, I was unsure about whether God was hearing my prayers ... this moment confirmed to me without the shadow of a doubt that God had his hands on my life.
Over the next two years, I worked hard on my recovery. With the help of Windana and the START community program at The Salvation Army, I slowly found myself again, and in June of 2021, my children came home to live with me permanently. Upon leaving rehab and moving into my own home, I started to connect more with my community at the Berwick Salvation Army and even joined the worship band.
Eventually, an opportunity came up to apply for a Job there as an AOD (Alcohol and Other Drugs community support worker, and I got the job!
Coming from where I was to now being able to use my life experience to help other people get their lives back, it was more than I could have ever asked for.
Being part of this amazing community at The Salvation Army helps me see that as a Christian, I have a real purpose: to help people. I think a lot of good is done at START, and seeing people’s lives transformed is nothing short of a miracle – and I am a testament to that.
Comments
This is such a beautiful transformational testimony
...Our God is at work .... Blessed by this publication.... thank you Others Magazine ....God bless the Salvation Army - Australia
Oh Chantal, that is beautiful. I absolutely love seeing how well your doing.
Oh my goodness, Chantal thank you for sharing your story. Thankyou for making your way back to GOD.
Your story gave me goosebumps and tears. Tears of joy.
GOD bless you 🙏 ❤️