I grew up very non-traditional. My mom grew up in the church but would not consider herself a Christian. My dad also grew up in the church but later converted to Islam. I was right in the middle—always confused about the “name of God.” As confused as I was, I always knew that He was real. No one taught me how to pray, but I always did.
I would often go to church with my grandmother, and I just remember feeling conflicted about which way to go. My mom and dad divorced when I was about nine years old. He moved away to another state, and I felt broken. This led me down a path of destruction as a teenager, doing all manner of sin—disobeying my parents, being sexually immoral, and not listening to the voice of God.
I knew the way I was living was wrong and often had a guilty conscience. I always knew he was the one protecting me, even as I was being careless with my life.
In the winter of 2012, I met my husband. He showed me the Bible in a way I had never seen before. We met under the guise of Hebrew Israelism—and joined a group of Black Hebrew Israelites. They taught hate, separation, racism, and had a major dislike for Black women.
This organization separated me from my family and did not allow me to follow Jesus in the way I was supposed to. I was in this organization for over 8 years of my life, thinking I was doing the right thing when, in reality, I was in a cult.
In 2020, the veil was lifted from my eyes, and I started to see these people for who they really were—wolves in sheeps’ clothing, deceiving the masses. I brought it to my husband, and he started to see the same.
We began studying the Bible together, and our understanding grew as we learned to read it for ourselves—without the pressure of the group pushing their perspective on us. For the first time, I felt like I was learning who God really was.
As time went on, we decided it was time to start looking for a church home. A good friend of ours told us about Sojourn. I was terrified to attend because, for all those years, I had looked at the church with disgust—really without reason.
We sat in the pews, and as I looked around, I began to see just how beautiful all of God’s people were. Everyone was so kind and welcoming, and in an instant, it clicked: “This is what God’s kingdom will be like.”
Since then, I’ve felt God’s love and peace in a way I never had before. I now know the true love of God, and that he sent his son to die not only for my sins but for the sins of the world!