Like many victims, she didn\u2019t tell anybody about her years of sexual abuse.\u00a0 When she was a teenager, she resorted to drugs and alcohol to numb her pain.\u00a0 She left home at fifteen, lived in a house with a bunch of guys, became a thief, and skipped school.\u00a0 By the time she was seventeen, she was so desperate she tried to violently take her own life by running onto a busy street in front of a truck.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, the driver swerved and the girl landed in a psychiatric ward instead of the morgue.\u00a0 A youth minister visited her many times and spoke to her about God\u2019s love.\u00a0 Eventually, she felt God\u2019s presence within her while alone in her hospital room.\u00a0 After this experience, she cleaned up her act and even went to church.\u00a0 But she was drawn back to her old lifestyle and drugging friends.\u00a0 At eighteen, she became pregnant.<\/p>\n
At this young age, she had faced multiple opportunities to turn toward or away from God, as we all do by the time we enter adulthood.<\/p>\n
My wise husband often says what matters most is which direction we\u2019re going.\u00a0\u00a0 So I often ask myself this question, especially when I\u2019m frustrated with myself \u2013 my lack of home organization, weight gain, various parenting issues and even what to write about.\u00a0 I know these are small problems, but living in this hi-tech age of immediate gratification (where the push of a few buttons can often get us exactly what we need) I\u2019d love for all my problems, big or small, to be solved quickly and painlessly.\u00a0 Some days I want the house to sweep itself, the extra pounds to melt away, the kids to fall in line without guidance and the awesome blog idea to pour out of my fingertips and magically upload itself with a perfectly appropriate aesthetically pleasing photo.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, life doesn\u2019t work like that.<\/p>\n
All we can hope for in a given day is to try and prayerfully head in the right direction, even if we\u2019re only capable of a few shaky baby steps. For today, I tackle that pile on my desk rather than avoid it. So, for today, I try and eat healthfully.\u00a0 For today, I try a new parenting strategy.\u00a0 For today, I blog or at least stare at my blank screen and pray for words.\u00a0 And in doing so, I turn toward God and the life He wants for me.<\/p>\n
And if I fail, I try again.<\/p>\n
This young pregnant woman did that.\u00a0 She turned toward God and her church because she wanted more for her baby than the empty drug-filled life she\u2019d been living.\u00a0 Her church supported her and even bought her a car so she could get to her jobs.\u00a0 Today she\u2019s a living an extraordinary life. Her name, one you probably don\u2019t recognize is Pattie Mallette and she\u2019s Justin Bieber\u2019s biggest fan.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because she\u2019s his proud Mama.\u00a0 Justin is currently the most famous and influential teen in the world (he has over 16 million Twitter followers, second only to Lady Gaga and gaining about 24,000 more followers each day).\u00a0 From what I can glean from their many \u201ctweets,\u201d both mom and son adore each other, are faithfully walking toward God, entertaining millions and supporting a large variety of good causes.<\/p>\n
Reading Belieber <\/em>by Cathleen Falsani, watching Justin\u2019s Never Say Never concert movie (twice \u2013 I couldn\u2019t help myself, the footage of him as a young kid is mesmerizing \u2013 he\u2019s supernaturally talented) and viewing a bunch of his YouTube videos, I have to confess, I heart both of them.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s not love in the shrieking, crying and shaking way many of Justin\u2019s fans express their big feelings. It\u2019s appropriately aged appreciation (though I confess there\u2019s a little giddiness too). Their story, after all, is full of love, hope and redemption.\u00a0 It tells us, if you head down the wrong path, it\u2019s possible to make your way back.\u00a0 In Pattie\u2019s miraculous case, she ran straight into the path of a large truck, but God redeemed her story and her life in such a wonderful, poignant way.<\/p>\n And don\u2019t we all want to \u201cbeliebe\u201d a story like that?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Like many victims, she didn\u2019t tell anybody about her years of sexual abuse. When she was a teenager, she resorted to drugs and alcohol to numb her pain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[174,5,173,169,170,172,171],"class_list":["post-1308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-belieber","tag-family","tag-fan","tag-justin-bieber","tag-pattie-mallette","tag-redemption","tag-twitter"],"yoast_head":"\n