Left to right : Silas , Symry , Daniel , Julie felt an incredible need for them to like and respect me . I had friends who were not following God with their lives and this made walking with Him less attractive to me . Internally , I also started questioning God ’ s faithfulness . I had experienced some emotional and spiritual struggles as a child , and I asked myself why He hadn ’ t intervened and protected me . This made me feel more justified in choosing my own ways of living . However , the more I drifted away from Jesus , the bigger the chasm in my soul became , and the more miserable I was . My story is most clearly defined by Jeremiah 2:13 “ My people have committed two sins : They have forsaken me , the spring of living water , and have dug their own cisterns , broken cisterns that cannot hold water .”
Once I started forsaking the spring of living water , the thirst within my soul only became increasingly intense . I kept building one broken cistern after another , trying desperately to quench my thirst — but to no avail .
HimPower : What would you say was the greatest influence in you pursuing the occult ?
Wiebracht : It was definitely not a quick overnight decision . It began earlier in a far more innocent way . I started seeking comfort in my friends , instead of God . Not long thereafter , I started dating . I became physically involved with my boyfriend which only led to guilt , confusion and a great deal of pain . I couldn ’ t understand what I was feeling , but I was miserable . I started cutting myself when a close friend had to
24 HimPower October 2017