Different Stages

The first picture was of me at the age of five, don’t be fooled by the smile. I was in the Foster Care system, I had been removed from the care of my mother and split up from my siblings who were in another home. My mother struggled with alcoholism which caused her to lose custody of her children. While in Foster Care, I was given shots of liquor, I was being sexually abused by two teenage family members, I was beaten continuously and forced to fight children and adults on a daily basis.

The next picture is of me at about the age of 25, I was a military Veteran and battling severe depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, I was lost and on the verge of ending it all by making careless decisions. While in the Army, I was in a fatal car accident, where I witnessed the horrific death of two people. I was at one of the lowest points of my life. I would drown myself in alcohol and to ease my pain I would sleep with different women, I was trying to fill a void that only Jesus could fill!

The next picture is my mother and I getting baptized at the First Baptist Church of Glenarden. I was tired of running and realized that I couldn’t fight this fight alone, so I decided to give my life to Christ and she did the same! God is a God of reconciliation! Not only did God give me a heart to forgive my mother for her shortcomings, but those that stole my innocence as a young child also!

The last picture is me sharing my story of overcoming my challenges right before I graduated from College in 2013. God had a plan for my life and through all of my pain and sorrow, God has kept me. I am now using my life’s experiences to help other victims, those who are living in the grips of depression. Although God didn’t cause those things to happen to me as a child, I can assure you that it all worked out for my good and for His glory!

Please feel free to share this blog because it will encourage someone, we never know what people are dealing with internally!

Marko Hamlin