By RTF Editor Bekah Hamrick Martin

Some of you know my story.

Shame.

Loss.

Depression.

Worthlessness.

These are some of the words that haunted me on the darkest nights.

I heard the lie over and over again as a teen that life wasn’t worth living. That things would never be different. That nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Would. Ever. Get. Better.

I don’t know where you are today, or what you’re struggling with. I do know that at some point you have heard this very same lie. And I want you to know: it is a lie. A big, fat lie.

And I want to introduce you to Zoey, the newest member of the Real Teen Faith team:

Zoey means “God gives life”. She is a picture of all that God has done in my heart and my mind over the past few years.

He promises that He has come to give life – and to give it freely.

So in the midst of your pain today, I dare you to believe. I dare you to believe that what you’re experiencing is fleeting. That tomorrow better things are to come. And that God’s intention for you is life – life that overflows with His goodness.

I’m so glad that ten years ago when I wanted to end it all, I dared to believe.

****

Bekah Hamrick Martin is the editor of Real Teen Faith, and the author-in-progress of The Bare Naked Truth About Waiting, to be released by Zondervan in 2013.