Meet Zlata.
She lives in Supotica. I met her after I shared part of my testimony for the first time since hitting the mission field.
I wasn’t sure what exactly to share with the youth group at the Protestant church in this city. I went back and forth for days, feeling like I was drawing a blank.
I finally decided to talk about my relationship with my mom. I was still unsure about it, because I didn’t want it to seem rebellious. But there is a lot of redemption, and space for redemption in my story, and I know I’m not the only one who struggles with those relationships.
Also, as a sidenote, it’s really difficult to share something like that through a translator, but our pastor did an amazing job. Or at least I think so, because after church that night Zlata immediately made her way to me.
She began to share with me that at fourteen years old her mom left her be with her new boyfriend and his son.
At fourteen she was trying to figure out how to continue high school and be an adult at the same time. She battled a really long sickness, and she said that her mom helped her through it, but she still didn’t feel like there is a healthy relationship there.
When she was thirty-eight years old she found Jesus…All that Grace, redemption, and love. In Serbian culture it’s really difficult to become Protestant, because it’s considered a cult there. When her mom, who is a very devout Catholic, found out, it caused even more division to a very broken relationship.
Zlata told me she felt so relieved to know she wasn’t alone in her struggles, especially as a Christian. Something Papa has taught both of us is forgiveness, and walking a life free of bitterness.
We prayed for each other after sharing for a long time, me in English, she in Serbian. It was beautiful, our hearts coming together.
It was beautiful, being able to share my story of walking in freedom from that pain. And What’s even better…my mom is reading this blog too.
That is God y’all. He is the bridge to relationships that feel as if they will never heal. He brings us back to Him, and we find each other there.
