Jade's Testimony: From Darkness to Peace in Christ

For years, Jade believed the Bible was nothing more than a book written by humans to comfort other humans. Today, she testifies to exactly the opposite: God exists, God helped her, God saved her. A wounded childhood, a lonely adolescence, a mother's alcoholism, abuse, attempts to end her suffering: here is how the Lord reached a young woman at the edge of everything, and how he led her to give her life to Jesus Christ in a local church in Nantes.

Article Outline

1. A childhood without a loving mother and without support
2. Adolescence, alcohol, leaving home at 15
3. Trying to fill the void and hitting a wall
4. Nantes, Tyliane, and two years asking God to reveal himself
5. Église Verticale, a face-to-face encounter with Jesus
6. What Jade wants to tell you today

1. A childhood without a loving mother and without support

Jade never knew her parents together. They divorced when she was only a few months old. Her childhood was marked by conflict and unresolved wounds, especially on her mother's side. Custody was shared, she rarely saw her father, and she found herself very quickly alone. At school, she was solitary, unpopular, bullied throughout her schooling. "I felt unloved, hurting in my mind, hurting in my body."

Very young, around age six, she came to understand something terrible: she would have to make it on her own. "No one was coming to help me, and no one was really going to love me." So she told herself she had to be strong, not because she chose to, but because she had no choice. Her mother did not give her a very reassuring motherly love; there was little conversation, a lot of hostility, little understanding. Jade then built "an invisible shell" meant to protect her from everything. She had not yet understood that she could lay her burdens on the Lord, simply because she had never met him.

2. Adolescence, alcohol, leaving home at 15

In her teenage years, loneliness set in, along with a huge lack of self-confidence, a lot of anxiety, and a deep need to control her life. Then came the year of Covid. Her mother, already depressed and on antidepressants, learned of the death of her own mother, a mother she had never really known. That is when alcohol entered her life, and with it the life of Jade and the whole family. "I didn't drink, but I lived every day with the consequences of an alcoholic, depressed mother."

At just 15, Jade made a heartbreaking decision: to leave home. She had two little sisters, Elina and Manon, then 9 and 12 years old, who suffered too. "I no longer had a choice." She was then taken in, fed, and housed by her paternal grandparents from age 16 to 18. They were very good to her, but those years remain deeply marked by loneliness. "I still couldn't understand why I had lived through all that, why I had no right to love, to joy, to a life of peace."

3. Trying to fill the void and hitting a wall

Sad, lost, deeply empty, Jade sought the approval of many men to fill that void. Instead of rebuilding her, it destroyed her even more. During this period, she was abused and manipulated more than once. To all these wounds (an absent mother, violence, alcoholism, sexual abuse) was added despair. She wanted to end her life. "My life had no meaning, no purpose, just emptiness, sadness, and chains I thought I had to break on my own."

What she would later learn, when she gave her life to Jesus, is precisely this: it is impossible to heal without him. That is what she was trying to do alone, and every time she hit a wall. Her anger, her sadness, her immense emptiness led her to several attempts to stop her suffering. Today, she is convinced that God kept her alive and saved her in those moments, even without her being aware of it, in order to reveal himself to her later.

4. Nantes, Tyliane, and two years asking God to reveal himself

It all began when she arrived in Nantes for her studies. Still that same little Jade, strong on the outside, head held high, but with all her pain buried under a very thick shell. She led an ordinary life: school, work, a relationship with Tyliane. Tyliane was a key person in her encounter with God and with Jesus. Since they met in August 2023, he told her about God and introduced her to many Christians, with whom she had many conversations, including Jonas.

But the past caught up with her: the anxiety, the need to control everything, that enormous sadness, that emptiness. Everything became too heavy. Her doctor wanted to prescribe her treatment for depression, but deep down, she knew that wasn't the answer. For two years, she asked God to reveal himself to her if he truly existed; at first, she actually wanted to prove to Tyliane that he didn't.

5. Église Verticale, a face-to-face encounter with Jesus

Last February, Jade set foot in Église Verticale, and she knew right away she hadn't made a mistake. She was wonderfully welcomed by Elisabeth and Yann. Yann was the first person she heard preach on family pain and dysfunctional families, "as if by chance." Then Quentin and all the other church members supported her. The day she came, she didn't leave the same person. That day, God revealed himself to her, and since then, she has never doubted his existence again.

What followed, she describes as a true face-to-face encounter with Jesus, like Jacob in Genesis (see Genesis 32:22-32). A brutal work of transformation, especially at her lowest point. She understood that she was born to glorify God and be his disciple, and that there was nothing else behind it. Even today, letting go of everything and no longer wanting to control it all remains hard, but every day she prays to hand him the reins of her life. As it is written: "I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

During her preparation for baptism, something incredible happened: Jade managed to sincerely pray for her mother, the very one who had hurt her so deeply, that she too might be saved. "When you believe in Jesus Christ, everything becomes more possible and easier once you lay your burdens on him."

6. What Jade wants to tell you today

Jade is living proof that God can turn anger, emptiness, and sadness into joy. She is now at peace. If you are going through hard times, very dark seasons, she wants to tell you one thing: the Lord alone can save you, fill you, and love you. Give him your life, your prayers. The Lord is great, and he will answer you.

Life with the Lord is not perfect; it is still full of trials, but it is deeply wonderful. This is exactly what the prophet writes: "He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might. Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; but those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:29-31).

Jesus himself said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me" (John 14:6). This is why Jade decided, personally, to follow God's path. She is giving her life to God through our Savior Jesus Christ, and she truly wants to give him glory through this testimony.

Key Takeaways

• The shell you built to survive is not your healing; it may even be keeping you from receiving God's love.
• You cannot break the chains you carry on your own: deep healing comes through Jesus, not through your own strength.
• God can keep you alive through your worst moments in order to reveal himself to you later, even when you're not aware of it.
• A local church that preaches the Word and welcomes you can be the very place where God meets you and transforms you.
• Peace is not the absence of trials; it is the presence of the Lord in the middle of them.

Personal Application

• What "shell" have you built to avoid getting hurt, and what is it keeping you from receiving today?
• Is there a burden you're trying to carry alone that you could lay down before Jesus this week?
• Who in your family could you begin to forgive or pray for, even if they hurt you deeply?
• Are you rooted in a local church where other brothers and sisters can carry you in prayer?
• How long have you been asking God to reveal himself to you, and are you ready to respond if he does?

Bible Verses Cited in This Testimony

• John 16:33 · "Cheer up! I have overcome the world."
• Isaiah 40:29-31 · "Those who wait for Yahweh will renew their strength."
• John 14:6 · "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
• Genesis 32:22-32 · Jacob's face-to-face encounter with God.

FAQ

Do you have to hit rock bottom to meet God?

No. But it's often when our own strength runs out that we finally accept to receive. Jade's testimony shows that God reveals himself to anyone who sincerely seeks him, whatever their starting point (Jeremiah 29:13).

How do I pray for a parent who hurt me?

By first asking the Lord to work on your own heart, just as he did for Jade during her baptism preparation. Praying for someone's salvation does not minimize the harm you received; it entrusts that person to the only one who can truly save them.

Does life with Jesus put an end to trials?

No. Jade says it clearly: "Life with the Lord is not perfect, it is still full of trials, but it is deeply wonderful." Jesus himself warns of trouble, but promises his peace (John 16:33).