HIMPower Magazine HimPower October 2017 | Page 25

leave my dorm. It developed into another unhealthy outlet for me and I began to cut more frequently. I would cut to distract myself from the pain, and I would cut when I was so angry at myself for having done something that I regretted—like hurting someone I cared about. In 10th grade, I began getting drunk on weekends and smoking pot to try and soothe my burning soul. It provided temporary relief, but didn’t fill the hollowness inside. At this point, my parents had moved near to our school and I was now living at home. I would lie and tell them I was at a friend’s house, when I was out at the bars. The more I turned away from God, the more I hated Christians. Anything that I hated about Christians, I blamed on God. I eventually hated God. I told myself, “If God is evil then Satan must be good.” I wanted the experience of the supernatural and a sense of spiritual belonging, but not with God. I felt like I needed to make a decision for one side or the other. I still craved a spiritual relation- ship and to experience supernatural power. When I was 16, I told Satan he could have my soul. HimPower: How long did you pursue the occult? Wiebracht: I was involved in the occult for maybe about a year. I moved back to the US about a month before I turned 16 and began pursuing Satan more dedicat- edly. However, some months later, I met a guy who was not interested in this type of darkness. He enjoyed partying and having a good time. I fell head over heels for him and was relieved to be part of his light hearted and fun lifestyle. He was my new hope. I lost interest in pursuing the occult but tried to find release in using hard drugs, partying and also in my appearance. I had already struggled with unhealthy eating habits. In my efforts to pursue a disillusioned version of beauty, I continued to become increas- ingly unbalanced by going without food and throwing up. HimPower: What was the turning point in your life when you decided to follow Christ? Wiebracht: At age 17 I became pregnant. This put me in an incredibly desperate place. Up to this time, I had tried using drugs, cutting, my appearance and my boyfriend as methods to satisfy the greatest needs of my soul. They were my coping mechanisms. This is how I “dealt” with life. Now that I knew I was pregnant, I didn’t want to cut, I didn’t want to use drugs and I didn’t want to starve myself. Things with my boyfriend had been shaky for a while as well, so I felt incredibly vulnerable. It was during one night, part way through my pregnancy that this desperation came to a peak. I was lying in bed in a house that my boyfriend and I shared. We lived in a bad part of town in the central west Texas area. I was hours away from my parent’s home. He was drinking with one of his friends in the living room and I could hear their laughter as I lay in my bed. I was desperate to get away from it all. It was dark outside but it didn’t matter. I got out of bed and left the house. I kept walking until I reached the nearby public park. Just www.himpowermagazine.com  25