Before I was… There was a man known as a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Society would say that life begins at conception. This is
true, but I would say my life began when I got to know a man named Jesus. I am sharing my
testimony of a little girl named Anyiah who struggles with her identity. She looked for
contentment in worldly things, realizing that she was called by name before she was in her
mother’s womb. I had to experience some moments in life to recognize where life truly began.

As a young child, I was raised in the church. My mother, grandmother, grandfather,
aunts, uncles, sisters, and brothers would attend church every Sunday. I enjoyed attending church
as a young kid, listening to the youth pastors talk about God, and getting snacks after the service
was over. I also remember in my childhood years staying the summer with my aunt Eva and aunt
Stephanie to attend Oak Grove church camp along with my cousin named Azaria and my little
sister named Elayana. I had fun at the church camp and made a lot of good memories, such as
taking field trips to the pool every Thursday, having cookouts, and learning about God.

As a young child and pre-teen, I loved learning about the Lord. I loved hearing about
Jesus, asking many questions about God, singing in the choir at my church camp, and praise
dancing at Oak Grove. My childhood was about God, but there was an issue. Although I attended
church every Sunday with my family, I did not know God. My actions did not reflect the
Christian life. I was in the mindset that I was young, so I could do whatever I wanted to. I
believed that everyone would make it to heaven. I followed the ways of the world, which left me
broken inside because I knew of Jesus but did not know him.

Okay. This section has a lot of components to unpack, but these are the events that led me
closer to Christ. High school was interesting for me. I was a semi-quiet kid but well known
amongst my peers because I already knew most of the kids from elementary or middle school. In
high school, I ran track and did not go out much because I am a homebody at heart. My priorities
in school were my grades, the small group of friends that I had, family, and track. I was also a
Christian during high school, but boy oh boy, my lifestyle did not reflect being a Christian in any
shape, way, or form. I was boy crazy and a cursing monster machine. There were moments in my
life when the Lord was calling me.

As a child, I always wanted to fit in with other people. Although I enjoyed having my
small friend group, I would say that deep in my heart, I wanted to be appreciated and loved by
everyone in school. I always felt, from the fifth grade through my early high school years, that I
was unlikeable because I felt like I was too much for other people. My personality traits are a
combination of introvert and extrovert. I think my extrovert side was a lot for my peers, so they
would distance themselves. To be honest, feeling like that made me feel insecure. I was always
in the mindset that I had to change my personality or talk a certain way so that my peers would
like me.

My ninth grade year of high school was interesting. I was well known in my school
because most of the students there I knew previously. I had a small group of friends, and most of
them ran track with me. I was an average teenager who focused on school, family, and sports.
The weekdays consisted of completing the basic necessities of human life. For example, after
sleeping, cleaning, eating, showering, working, and additional work I thought life was boring. I felt unsatisfied because I was living with the idea that life is a constant cycle of vanity,
completing the same boring tasks every single day.

It’s a new school year. I was a sophomore at the time. I was excited to have new classes
and teachers. I was also happy for my sophomore year because I was a few years from
graduating. I was still on the track team, making good grades, and hanging out with my friends.
My sophomore year was a lot, but it taught me what love truly is and that I am valued and
appreciated. I was still struggling during this time; I was happy with life, but I felt like something
in my life was missing, in the sense that I wasn’t complete. This dissatisfaction in my life led me
to seek validation from the little boys at my school. I wasn’t doing anything crazy for guys
because I was raised to act like a lady, but I was seeking fulfillment from boys. I thought if I
found “love,” I would be complete. I was completely wrong.
I had a guy friend named Bryan. We met at the beginning of my sophomore year and his
junior year of high school. I will sit with him, his cousin, and his friend Sam during lunch. Sam
is an important person who helped me with my relationship with Jesus. Bryan was a really cool
guy; he was smart and cute. I had a little crush on him. It was like October, and I told Bryan that
I liked him. Why? I don’t know to be honest. I told him that I liked him on the bus, and he was
like, um, we barely know each other. He wasn’t lying though; like, we met literally at the very
beginning of the school year, but I was on my quest for “love”, so I did not care. He was correct;
we still remained friends after the situation, and everything was cool. He got into a relationship a
few months later, and I was happy.
Now moving on to Sam. Sam was Bryan’s friend and also a guy I met at the beginning of
the school year. During lunch, he will let me play this warrior game on his phone, which was

really fun. Bryan will always ship us together, saying that we will look cute with each other. I
will be like, No, we are just friends, but after a while, I start to develop feelings for Sam. I
remember we would facetime and talk about random things all the time. It was around New
Year’s; we were on the phone talking about something. I don’t remember how we started talking
about the topic, but I was telling him that I am a Christian. Sam was a Christian too. I remember
saying you are probably wondering how I am a Christian if I cuss a lot, and he replied, Yeah, I
was wondering why you cuss a lot. I did not pay much attention to his response, and we started
talking about something else.
It was around late February, and the world started talking about COVID-19. The world
was still trying to analyze the dangers of the virus, so we were still in school. At the time, I
started talking to a guy named Donovan, but I liked him as a friend. Although I did not like him
on a romantic level, I still started to talk to him because I was trying to fill a void in my heart that
no worldly thing could fill. It was around March 2020, and the world was on lockdown. I was
shocked. Donovan and I were still talking at the time. Honestly, I communicated to him that I did
not like him romantically, but the relationship still proceeded.
It was around the month of April. I was scrolling on TikTok, and I would hear people
talking about Jesus. I remember watching videos about the gospel and the end times. I was
listening to many new believers talk about their testimony to Jesus. The more I scrolled, the more
I heard and saw the amazing things that God was doing in other people’s lives. I was amazed and
wanted to know more about Jesus. I learned a lot of things about myself watching videos about
the gospel and the end times. I learned that at the time I was a lukewarm Christian, I was not
living a life that was honoring to God, which is a topic that my friend Sam and I talked about while we were in school. I also learned the story of Jesus from Christian TikTokers. I wanted to
read the Bible for myself to learn about the character of God.

The world was still on lockdown because of the virus. I started reading the Bible,
learning more about Jesus. The more I read the word of God, the more I started to fall in love
with Jesus, and the void in my heart was filled. I was still talking to Donovan at the time, while I
was still reading my Bible. I would tell him about the amazing things I learned. After a few
weeks, I told Donovan that I did not want to continue talking with him. The relationship ended,
and I felt free because I was no longer seeking validation from a boy. I became a new creation in
Christ, and I had a new identity; I am a child of God. I realized throughout my life that I was
searching for security, love, and fulfillment in all the wrong places. I thought worldly things
would satisfy me. In the year 2020, Jesus saved me.

An important person who has had a major impact on my life is Jesus Christ because He
completely changed it. I remember young Anyiah thinking freedom came from following the
patterns of the world. I know that my freedom is found in God. As stated in the series The
Chosen, “I was one way, and now I am completely different, and the thing that happened in
between is Him”. This statement reminds me of how, before, I was Anyiah Pope, a child of God.
There was a little girl looking for validation in people to fill a void that only God can fill. In a
world where I felt unwanted, God told me that I am valuable. Jesus took my brokenness and
made me whole again. Forever, I will praise His name for redeeming this little girl.