For today’s Miracle Monday, we’re sharing the conversion testimony of Sister Kristina Calabrese. Enjoy!

The process of my conversion started when I was a freshman in high school. All through high school, I struggled with depression and an addiction to self-harm. By the time I graduated, I felt completely lost and hopeless.

My mind started to tell me “What’s the point?” and I started to believe the lies my depression was feeding me. I even became convinced that God wanted me to die and this was His way of showing me it was my time. That is when I decided that summer would be my last. However, God clearly had other plans.

My family and I were also planning on moving again that summer, but we had no idea where, so I decided to spend the summer with my oldest sister and brother-in-law in Michigan. She was putting together Vacation Bible School for their mission, and I started to connect with some of the saints there. One night, as I was going to bed, I broke down crying and realized I couldn’t handle this all on my own anymore. I thought, “Life is not supposed to be this way.”

I suddenly had the idea to message a brother I barely knew, but I had the feeling he would be able to help me. He became a mentor to me, and I began to pray again. Still skeptical that God wanted to help me, I assisted with VBS and could not help but notice how happy and joyful everyone was. I remember thinking, “How can everyone be so happy when there are so many bad things going on around us? Why can they be happy and I can’t? What’s the difference?”

Later on, someone asked me why I wasn’t baptized yet. For the first time in my life, the question intrigued me instead of pushing me away. I felt hope for the first time in four years and realized baptism wasn’t out of the question for me. That day, I also promised I would never hurt myself again.

Fast forward two years and three moves later. My family and I ended up living in Michigan and attending the same mission as my sister and brother-in-law. I ended up asking for my baptism on March 27, 2013 and was baptized by my dad, Joel Calabrese, on April 7, 2013. I’ll never forget that, when I asked, a brother spoke in the gift of tongues, and the interpretation followed, “A calling that is true, saith the Lord, a calling that is true.”

This confirmed to me that everything I went through and every struggle I faced was to strengthen my faith. I had to realize that I needed the Lord in my life, and by seeing where I would’ve been without Him, it allowed me to see the importance of serving Him.

By the grace of God, this July, I can say that it has been five years since that pivotal moment of my conversion, and I never turned back to my old ways. I still struggle, but I never suffer because now I know God is in control and He is good … all the time!

“If you could see where Jesus brought me from to where I am today, then you would know the reason why I love Him so.” Praise God!

Miracle Monday Theme for August

August is our annual free-for-all! That means there is no theme. If you’ve been wanting to send a testimony, miracle, or experience, but it hasn’t fit into any of our themes, then now’s the time! Click here to share your story.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.