"The Wilderness", the "Winter Season" A series that looks at how we walk through the valley experiences. We hear from some incredible people who share their wilderness seasons and how they how they came out the other side..
We were a family of four, my husband, my son, my daughter and myself. Christina has quite a few medical conditions so I was an at home mum. My focus was looking after the children, looking after our home.
I started singing when I was 5 years old. My grandad ran a childrens choir, that's where I really developed a passion for it I guess. In my early twenties got back into singing and involved in church.
My teenage years were my worst years, I was very hard on myself. I isolated myself alot and I felt really ugly as a girl. I didnt like myself, I didnt like who I was; I was just really hard on myself.
The area I grew up in, you'd probably call it a little bit of a dysfunctional area. Dad was a builder, mum worked at the local factory down the road mending clothes. People around and about us had some major challenges.
My parents always gave me the best that they could, they always tried the best for me. But I was the type that always wanted to try things for myself. From the age of 12, that's when I started getting into drugs.
Back in about 2004 we were sitting in a church service and the lady in the front of church was sharing about orphans. In that moment, in that church service it was like a supernatural desire was born.
One day I was at school and I just noticed that my leg was in a bit of pain. I sorta let it go a few days, just thought oh yeah you know I'll sleep it off. Day by day it just went on for about a week and a half.
So I grew up in a family of 5. Mum, dad, two sisters. I'm the middle child. When I was 13, going in to high school I was diagnosed with OCD.