I went through dark years with drugs, divorce and my daughter’s suicide attempt - then I found Jesus

Laura spent years not believing in God and instead turning to destructive relationships and behaviours, until in the pandemic someone spoke to her about Jesus. 

I had a well-off childhood, although my parents really didn’t get on and divorced after I left home. Growing up, I wasn’t brought up with a faith and didn’t hold any particular interest in it, but I did visit churches occasionally with friends, my school and girl guides. I always enjoyed church trips, events and finding out about all the different faiths. As I grew older, I began to develop a negative view of religion, mostly thinking all these things were made up to control the people in times gone by or to manipulate people into war against each other. In the end I settled on being agnostic, on the fence if you like, because there might be some truth to it, so I didn’t want to rule it out.

As a teenager, I kicked about the streets and hung out with what “the wrong crowd”. From the age of 13 I started drinking at the weekends, this led to experimenting with dope, speed, acid and ecstasy. I found myself taking more and more and my two-day weekends turned into four days. At the time, I thought I was living the dream. I liked the drugs, the laughs, and the social life and how it all made me feel. Now I can look back and see all the horrible and dangerous situations I found myself in and give thanks that I escaped that lifestyle. I met my first husband on a night out, I was out my face, and he was teetotal… the rest is history.