I am Lucy, 16 years old and from Michigan. This is my faith story.

I came to Compass Rose Academy about eleven months ago after my parents and I realized that we could not continue on this path.  After being released from the hospital in the fall of 2019, we knew life would change. My parents found Compass Rose Academy, and thus began the journey of healing: my relationship with my parents, my relationship with myself, my relationship with the Lord. 

My faith before Compass Rose Academy wasn’t great and showed through how I behaved and how I treated myself and others. I was mean to myself, and that insecurity stemmed from the belief that I wasn’t good enough for others or even a God out there. What made me worth saving? Worth redemption? Worth love? 

These deep questions were left unanswered. I mistreated others. I was jealous, and I was hateful. I was filled with pieces of unsureness in who I was and envy that other people seemed to have it all together. 

Fast forward to six months into my healing journey at CRA; I began to see myself, others, and God very differently. I began to see myself not as good or bad but loved. 

I understood for the first time how to own my faith. It is shocking now to realize none of my past mistakes or the flaws made me unworthy in God’s eyes. He loved me then, and he loves me now.  I’m considered “healthier” now, or “better,” but it didn’t matter to God. The whole journey of my past, and my future, God is rooting for me. Whether I am sick, angry, hurt, or doing well, I think that it’s amazing how I have this companion who loves me through the thick and thin. I want to try to be more Christ-like as I imagine living in a world where more people who have pain similar to mine know they are loved so incredibly much, despite the mistakes they’ve made. 

Today, my faith journey has led me to learn how to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Even though it is true, it is so difficult at the same time. God dares me to love myself and others despite the mistakes and wrongs made because He loves me despite what I’ve done.