Peyton's Story
At the age of 24, I was considered to be old for the industry. I just gave birth to my second child, a son. I was breast feeding. I also had a daughter that was seven from a previous marriage. My second husband had only been home for a year since he was discharged from the Navy.
We were poor—below the poverty level poor. It took a toll on our marriage. My husband had started smoking marijuana and eventually I joined. Financial stress led me to the idea of dancing so we could survive. I was always told I was attractive, so I started at one club. From there I went to another and the money started rolling in. So did the lack of respect from my friends, my family and my husband. The drugs went from marijuana to ecstasy and acid, cigarette after cigarette, joint after joint. Our bills were getting paid, yet our relationship was being destroyed. My children were not in good surroundings and for what price? Money?
There was infidelity and bisexuality. I did just about anything to try to make my husband happy. Dancing for strange men finally caught up with both of us. After two years, I walked away from the industry, but still eventually we divorced. My poor children. By the time our marriage dissolved we had four kids, drug and alcohol addictions, no respect for one another and we were still poor.
After the divorce, I was left with nearly nothing. I was fortunate enough to have my van, some clothes, but I had no kids and no money. I went to the local strip club and started dancing again. I was desperate. I had no hope. I was angry and scared. I started abusing my pain medication while mixing them with alcohol. I am lucky to be alive. I was so desperate that I was willing to do anything for money. And I was still broke with absolutely no sense of any self-worth. I was nothing. I was worthless—a disappointment. I would have continued to carry all of this guilt and shame to my grave but Someone else had something in mind for me.
I had hit rock bottom and that is when Jesus Christ came into my life. I was caught totally off guard but He knew I needed Him to save me. In a very low moment, I cried out for God to save me and HE DID!
Within moments, I felt something happen to me that I didn’t expect. I felt comforted…relieved and focused. The Holy Spirit filled my heart with His love. I no longer struggle with addictions. I don’t worry about money. I give it all to God and let Him take care of it for me.
He is my rock. The calm in my storm. He loves me for me no matter what.
For me dancing seemed to be the only way to survive in this scary, lonely world. I did not realize that there was spiritual warfare going on in my life. Satan had control over me and I was unaware. When I first heard of this I thought it was crazy. Yet the more people told me about it the more I started to realize that it was not complete nonsense, that my outlook on this world was wrong. It’s a war between good and evil. I was spiritually dead choosing evil. Now I am filled with the Holy Spirit and educating myself on good.
I figured out that my life as a dancer is not what God had intended for me. Evil had consumed me. Was I really, truly, whole-heartedly happy living that life? Are you?
True happiness, worth and peace are only possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. I had to stop choosing the bad and pretending that everything was okay in my horrible life. I had to give God control of my life. Choose good and I did. I will never go back to the death on earth, that was my life. I choose good. I choose eternal life.
We were poor—below the poverty level poor. It took a toll on our marriage. My husband had started smoking marijuana and eventually I joined. Financial stress led me to the idea of dancing so we could survive. I was always told I was attractive, so I started at one club. From there I went to another and the money started rolling in. So did the lack of respect from my friends, my family and my husband. The drugs went from marijuana to ecstasy and acid, cigarette after cigarette, joint after joint. Our bills were getting paid, yet our relationship was being destroyed. My children were not in good surroundings and for what price? Money?
There was infidelity and bisexuality. I did just about anything to try to make my husband happy. Dancing for strange men finally caught up with both of us. After two years, I walked away from the industry, but still eventually we divorced. My poor children. By the time our marriage dissolved we had four kids, drug and alcohol addictions, no respect for one another and we were still poor.
After the divorce, I was left with nearly nothing. I was fortunate enough to have my van, some clothes, but I had no kids and no money. I went to the local strip club and started dancing again. I was desperate. I had no hope. I was angry and scared. I started abusing my pain medication while mixing them with alcohol. I am lucky to be alive. I was so desperate that I was willing to do anything for money. And I was still broke with absolutely no sense of any self-worth. I was nothing. I was worthless—a disappointment. I would have continued to carry all of this guilt and shame to my grave but Someone else had something in mind for me.
I had hit rock bottom and that is when Jesus Christ came into my life. I was caught totally off guard but He knew I needed Him to save me. In a very low moment, I cried out for God to save me and HE DID!
Within moments, I felt something happen to me that I didn’t expect. I felt comforted…relieved and focused. The Holy Spirit filled my heart with His love. I no longer struggle with addictions. I don’t worry about money. I give it all to God and let Him take care of it for me.
He is my rock. The calm in my storm. He loves me for me no matter what.
For me dancing seemed to be the only way to survive in this scary, lonely world. I did not realize that there was spiritual warfare going on in my life. Satan had control over me and I was unaware. When I first heard of this I thought it was crazy. Yet the more people told me about it the more I started to realize that it was not complete nonsense, that my outlook on this world was wrong. It’s a war between good and evil. I was spiritually dead choosing evil. Now I am filled with the Holy Spirit and educating myself on good.
I figured out that my life as a dancer is not what God had intended for me. Evil had consumed me. Was I really, truly, whole-heartedly happy living that life? Are you?
True happiness, worth and peace are only possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. I had to stop choosing the bad and pretending that everything was okay in my horrible life. I had to give God control of my life. Choose good and I did. I will never go back to the death on earth, that was my life. I choose good. I choose eternal life.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.
Psalm 118:5
Philippians 4:13
In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and he answered by setting me free.
Psalm 118:5
