Elevation Church: Life Change Inbox Submission

First, sorry I have not posted in a while. Baby Blaise is due in 60 days so I am trying to rest and get ready for our new addition. But I did want to post this story from one of my friends. This is a post from a friend of mine which was published on the blog of Holly Furtick, wife to Steven Furtick, Pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC - where I used to attend before moving to Knoxville, TN. She let me know about this post as she mentioned me and I thought it would be great to share her story on the blog. Please visit Holly Furtick's blog to see all of the comments in response to Amber's story. God is truly amazing!

Thank you Amber for sharing your story and being so transparent in order to show how God has worked in your life. He is going to do many great things through your healing! Luv ya girl!

-Melissa

Post From: http://www.hollyfurtick.com/

We continue in our Friday series, Life Change Inbox.  I am sharing some of the wonderful emails my husband gets, where people share the work God is doing in their lives through Elevation Church.  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:2-4 that our lives are living letters written so that God might be glorified.  None of these letters have been changed in anyway.
Amber's story is a great way to end our series, Treatment.  I hope this story will bless you...

My life has been radically altered by God through Elevation Church and my small group leader kept telling me that I needed to share the whole story so here it is… 

I first heard of Elevation at a really low point in my life – I was actually in the psyc wing of a hospital, let me explain...  I was caught up in a whirlwind of addictions - alcohol abuse, bulimia, cutting, shoplifting, and I was on a number of prescription drugs. I had a horrible relationship with my family members (many of whom had written me off), and I was sleeping with a man who not only was not a Christian, he actively spoke out against God.  I was in a place where I couldn’t find a reason to live. 

And so after trying to commit suicide I ended up in the hospital. I know that’s a crazy place to hear about a church but that’s what happened to me.  I met a girl there named Melissa. She said, "hey, if we ever get outta here do you wanna go to church together?" I said, "Why the hell not, I’ve tried everything else". That is literally what our conversations were like.  We exchanged numbers and after we were both released we met at a restaurant a few days later.  Melissa told me about this new church she was going to and how it was unlike any other church she had attended. I was skeptical because I hate fake people and thought all churches were full of hypocrites and was not thrilled about going. But I agreed to meet her on Sunday. What I experienced at Providence High School in Nov. of 2007 was amazing. I instantly felt at ease. I felt like I could be myself and not be damned for the parts of my life that were out of control at the moment.

Needless to say, it felt odd being in a church knowing how messed up my life was.  But Elevation didn't feel like just a church to me.  The people that seemed to love and accept me for who I was just blew my mind. I didn't understand it, but I knew that I felt accepted there and wanted to return. I actually started to ask for prayer and help. I still struggled immensely in my personal life and I bottomed out a few months later with another suicide attempt that landed me in the ER & ICU for 4 days before being transferred to 2 more psychiatric facilities over the next few weeks. 

But in all this, God still hadn't let me go & after listening to some great advice, I went to rehab for about 4 months.  While in rehab, they would let me watch Pastor's sermons online every week. It was one of the things that kept me pushing forward during my hardest days.  It was comforting knowing that I would have Elevation to come back to.  When I graduated from rehab in March '08 I immediately joined an eGroup because I knew I needed to get connected to the church that had already helped me so much. 

I've now been a part of Elevation Church for the past 4 years. God has healed and delivered me from those parts of my life that used to be my deepest darkest secrets. I'm not perfect, I still struggle with temptation at times but I now understand what it feels like to be fully & unconditionally loved by God. He gets all the praise and glory for His story of transformation in my life.

Thank you Elevation Church!

Amber