It is apparent to me that with being in the world race, blogging is an important part with letting people know about a person and also a way of keeping up with them and what God is doing through them. So before I start with all of this blogging…..let me start with saying that blogging is not my thing, I have a hard time sitting and writing about my life or anything really. So I will try my best to explain things as clearly as possible 🙂 To start things off, here are some of the basics of who I am and where I have come from. My name is Celeste and I am currently a senior and will be graduating from North Greenville University in May 2012, majoring in Outdoor Leadership. I am passionate about the outdoors and I enjoy backpacking, rock climbing, kayaking, anything outdoors really. Just alittle bit about me, I have three younger brothers whom I love very dearly and are very close with. My life growing up was pretty interesting in the fact that it was just crazy all around!! First off, my parents were not believers, so I did not grow up in the church with awesome christian parents who showed me God's redeeming love. Life was instead very difficult and unstable. My parents both were addicted to drugs and alcohol so everyday was unpredictable in the fact that I didn't know if Dad and Mom were going to fight or if Mom would have to be sent to the hospital, or where would we be sleeping for the night. Since I was the oldest child, my role was to be the parent. Instead of Mom and Dad taking care of us, it was Big Sis instead. My parents ended up getting divorced and my Mom got remarried to my first stepdad and things settled down somewhat. My neighbors ended up inviting me to church so my brothers and I got involved with the youth and I ended up accepting Christ at the age of 12. I guess after that I was thinking that life would be so much easier, but boy was I wrong. My mom ended up leaving my stepdad for another man and taking off to North Carolina. I ended up staying with my pastor and his family because I didn't want to leave and my mom seemed ok with that. However, circustances arose within the church and the pastor's family that I ended up having to leave. My mom came back and I moved back home with her and my brothers. Around this time, my dad came back into the picture and promised a stable life so my brothers and I moved in with him only to realize that stability just wasn't in the cards for us. This was around the age of 13 or 14. I ended up being upset with God so I kind of left Him out of my life for awhile. I ended up abusing drugs and alcohol with my friends and parents and life got pretty dark for me. One thing led to another and I ended up trying to take my life because I had never felt so alone. So there I was in the hospital with no where and no one to turn to. My parents were screw ups and I couldn't see my life going anywhere but down just like them. BUT at that moment in my life, it dramatically changed. Investigations starting happening in my home and my brothers and I were taken away from our parents for obvious reasons with drugs, abandonment, and neglect. So right before my freshman year in high school, my brothers and I were placed in a children's home where I STILL live today. It's so interesting to meet new people and to see how they react when learning that I live in a group home. That is a huge part of my life and if it weren't for me being placed there, who knows where I would be. I have had the chance to go to college!!!! Never would I have imagined that possible. While living in the group home….which is a christian intstitution…..I began to listen about God and started to pray to Him again. It wasn't until my freshman year in college that I really began following after Christ and living for Him daily. I write about all of these things because they are a part of me and who I am….but they DO NOT define me. Yes I have a bad family…..Yes I am a screw up as well….Yes I live in a group home…… but…..YES I am a daughter of the Most High King and I have been redeemed through Him. That is what defines me and I have so much JOY in my life from Him. All of those things are bits and pieces that come together to bring Glory to God and that is what I aim to do every day with all of my past hardships and struggles. I've been set FREE and I can't wait to travel to the nations showing others that exact FREEDOM so that they too may have and experience what God has set out for them.
