MY STORY / Anthony Boling

My Story / Anthony Boling

I grew up in and around Rock Hill, SC. I never had my real father in my life. Many times growing up I wondered why my dad didn’t care enough to reach out to me. My mom got married to my stepdad and had two brothers. I watched alcohol and abuse destroy that marriage. I saw my stepdad beat my mom and disappear for days at a time. My mom eventually met a new man and married him. He tried to do well, but I was already hurt and never got close to him. They eventually divorced as well. I kept everything in and was shy. Never really made many friends at school and felt like I was alone often. I was also picked on often for being overweight. Alcohol and drugs were a way to relieve the self-image issues. I even used porn as an escape. This eventually led me to depression and an attempt at suicide.

It was after this that I met this lovely girl and started dating her. We dated a while and then started to go to church. It was then that I heard about how Jesus came to die for my sins. That he was hung on a cross, buried and rose on the third day. Proof that he is the truth. I got baptized after this with my now wife. The problem: I was never discipled or explained what it all meant. I continued to do what I wanted when I wanted that included drinking. It all almost came crashing down and me losing my family. We had 2 kids now and I still lived for me. My wife was at the point that she couldn’t take it anymore. That changed me forever and I started to try and do better. This is when I returned to church. Then Jesus got to me. I came to realize that I never really gave my life to Christ. In a service one day about tithing, Jesus gripped my heart and let me know that I had never surrendered to him. I realized I was still lost and doing things I wanted to do. I had to call upon Jesus to change my heart and to follow his ways, not mine.

After meeting Jesus, he was able to change my life in a dramatic way. I started to be able to let go of the things that hindered my walk with Christ. Things that I couldn’t have been able to turn from without his power. Though I still fail in areas in my life, I am improved in so many other areas by the grace of Jesus. Jesus took all the addictions away, not all at once though. God has been faithful in many ways. Some ways consist of when I was working a 3rd shift and very body demanding job. I had been doing this type of work for 16 years and my body was giving in. I also wanted to spend more time at church and with my family. I took a management job making 40% less and was the only household income. Our plan was to sell our house and move into something smaller. God’s plan was better. We never were able to sell the house despite selling it for $50,000 lower than what it is worth. We were also getting registered to be foster parents. We felt the Lord led us in that direction. After we took the house off the market, we got certified and were fostering some children nearly within the same week. Had we sold the house, it would have never worked. Now we are able to share what we have with others who don’t have. This is a true blessing I never imagined. It also made our marriage stronger. God continues to provide every day. All this and helping bring us out of the debt we were in. Another way God has been faithful is he has changed my mindset and heart from worldly things. I no longer care for the things that when we pass away we can’t take. No money, no achievements, no power, none can go with you. I now look at people with a new set of lenses. God is great.