Sha’la Anderson | New Found Identity

This is the testimony of how Sha’la Anderson found her new identity and true freedom!

When I was younger we moved into a new neighborhood, everyone knew everyone, so when us kids were playing til dark someone always had an eye on us.

I loved to hangout with this girl that went to school with my brother, she was 4 years older than me but we really connected.

One evening when my parents went to the store, my brother babysat me, while he was in his room playing PlayStation we were flipping through the movie channels, and we ran across a porn station.

I was very confused about what I was seeing so she explained it to me in her own way, she tells me she has already had sex before.

That day was when my porn addiction started, I was only 8 years old, after that I would sneak and watch it at any chance I could got.

Weeks later I spent the night at her house, and we expiremented for the first time, and we continued that for about a year or so.

It brought on so much anxiety, I was afraid someone would find out.

In 4^th grade I met my best friend Tanya, who was a big impact on my life because I was a very silent person before we met.

To hide out our pain we would act out together: prank calls, fights, skipping school, ouija boards, cutting wrists, just to name a few things, we were a very rebellious duo.

Over the next few years Tanya had many boyfriends, made me very jealous so I started saying “I have to get me one too”.  

I remember in middle school when I had the boldness to ask out a boy, he laughed and rejected me in front of the whole class, which caused so much hurt, I told myself I was done with guys 

In 10^th grade when Tanya was sent to foster care I was left to “discover myself”.

Already confused based on past trauma I began sleeping with my friends who were the same sex.

It just brought on more depression for I never had the courage to come out and tell people that this was my lifestyle.

By my senior year I was already dressing and keeping my hair short like a boys.

I had a conversation with another friend who was also transitioning, I thought long and hard on it but decided not to go fully through with it after graduation.

When I turned 21 I became a functioning alcoholic very quickly, then after came my marijuana addiction.

Eventually I started going on lots of dating apps to meet and hook up with men and women, was just normalcy to me.

After I had my son at age 23 my attitude really soured. I didn’t care for much so started cheating on my boyfriend at the time, and spending more time with my friends at the local bars.

Thereafter I moved into my own place, me and my ex tried out hand at co-parenting. Having all that free time and space made me acknowledge the emptiness I felt, nothing was filling the void.

April 20^th, 2018 was like any other weekend, got high and went to the bars to get blackout drunk, when we got in that morning as I was laying on my friends couch and a numbness came over my entire body!

I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts.

I jumped in my van and ran to the safest place I knew… my moms. As I was explaining what I was feeling to her I started blacking out and having panic attacks.

Moments after, audible voices began to speak to me, showing me the most bizarre and gruesome visuals.

The torture continued on for about a week, couldn’t even leave her house to go to work because I was having about 40 or more panic attacks a day.

I mostly just laid in bed, not even able to sleep. I also went to my doctor and she started me some medications.

Through it all my mom would keep encouraging me to listen to gospel songs and read the Bible, and that was the first time I had really opened it. Yet nothing seemed to be working.

My mom called my aunt over to pray with me one night, I told her I would try anything. When she laid hands on me I began to manifest.

Keeping control of my body was very hard but I cried out to Jesus with my whole heart, and that’s when he delivered me from demonic possession, something that I never believed could be real.

As I went out in the spirit I heard an audible voice that somehow answered every question I had in just a few short sentences.

God had baptized me in his Holy Spirit that night!

Every since then my life completely shifted, I live to serve him, and even on my worst days I will praise him for the many times he came through for me.

I love him because he first loved me.