Tami | Healing

My name is Tami. I would like to share a little bit about my baggage and pain.

I was raised by a single mother. My biological father was not a part of my childhood. Just a few years after I was born, my mom met my step-father. My step-father abused me from the age of 4 to 13. I spent the weekends with my grandparents attending church on Sundays. My grandmother was the worship leader at our church, so hymns and bible studies were a huge part of our time together. I was baptized at the age of 9 and started singing in church around that same time. I believe that singing praise to God is one of the best ways to fight satan.

I did begin to understand that the abuse from my step-father was wrong, however, I started acting out and being rebellious in school. At the age of 13 I began having unhealthy relationships and abusing drugs. I have memories that are so vivid of my abuse, yet I felt and remembered the presence of God holding me in those moments even as a little girl.

“As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.” Psalms 138:3

I’ve been married and divorced twice. My first husband was a youth minister who was physically and verbally abusive. After this marriage I went through christian counseling for childhood trauma and abuse. My second husband and I made choices in our marriage that broke our trust and hurt our children. Our children are both grown adults now, and were baptized here at Crosspoint.

I was blessed to receive an invitation card to Easter service at Crosspoint in 2014. This is when I started to understand the power of my relationship with Jesus. I started leadership training in Celebrate Recovery, which is where I found the most beautiful part of my healing and overcoming.

In that same year I went on a missions trip to Haiti, and again the next year. You can imagine how my relationship with Jesus began to change as I dug deep into my pain and poor choices, as well as being the hands and feet of Christ on a missions trip. My faith grew and my heart deepened with love for Jesus through forgiveness, redemption, and restoration.

As a teacher, God has helped me to impact children’s lives and pour into their hearts with love and kindness. It is never too late for God to use your pain to shape you into the person he’s called you to be. The great saying, “we learn from our mistakes,” was made clear to me when I heard, “pain is a teacher.” God uses our pain to minister to people walking through the same pain.

My relationship with Jesus has truly strengthened through building a core group of prayer warriors and friends that have helped me walk through my pain and give glory to God in my recovery. Praising God daily will change your heart, and move you from daily distractions to a lasting confident relationship with Jesus. Thank you Crosspoint Church for being a huge part of my story!