Everything in Joanna’s life felt hopeless. Her house, her marriage, and her business seemed to be in shambles. “When you’re isolated, it’s easy to keep things a secret from even those closest to you,” Joanna said. She felt as though she came to a fork in the road and had to make a decision. “I was abusing myself like I had been abused in the past, unable to live to my full potential.” 

One evening, Joanna cried out to God during a moment of darkness. “I asked God to please save me, save me from myself. Take this craving away from me. I can’t explain what it’s like to have those burdens removed so easily,” Joanna said. The moment she cried out to the Lord, she felt the power of God’s love for her and knew she was a child of God. “All I did was ask, and it was taken away from me,” Joanna said. 

Joanna was baptized shortly afterwards. She said she felt new after being baptized and that she could see God’s blessings more clearly. She has since joined a community group where she felt free to open up and share her testimony. “Every time I share something from my heart that’s hard, a part of me I didn’t want anyone to know about, someone agrees or has had a similar experience,” Joanna said. She felt encouraged and supported, realizing that she wasn’t alone in her story.

Throughout her journey, Joanna has felt God’s grace and God’s love for her even when she didn’t see it. “His love for me is never-ending, no matter what I have done, or the trials that I face, as long as I know that I’m loved by God then I’m safe.” Since Joanna’s life transformation, the Lord has been working in her husband John’s heart and he was also baptized just eight months later. Joanna and John attend Creekside Church in Goose Creek, an SCBaptist church plant.