Praise Him in the Storm—Your Help Is Coming.
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This Spirit Flow painting was created to accompany Part 63: The Bathroom Floor and Aunt Harriet. It reflects the true story of the night I cried out to God on a bathroom floor, and how that moment changed my life forever.
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Through all of it, I still kept my grades up. I’ve always loved school—probably because it was my only escape. I was so torn. I still talked to God, and I still prayed, but I was still hanging around inappropriate places for a girl my age because I was surrounded by older women. At that age, getting drunk in bars or frat houses or "happy hours" felt like a little bit of fun at first. But it wasn't fun for long. It was very empty.
I still wasn’t healed from the fact that our mother had abandoned us. I wasn’t healed from what happened with my dad. I wasn’t healed from losing my younger siblings. And I deeply missed my old church family from my hometown; I lacked a wholesome group of people to turn to for support.
My mom just went to work and partied. Work and party.
God, I needed somebody.
To add a whole other level of heartbreak, I had broken up with my boyfriend. He would actually come to that college town to party because it was somewhat close to our hometown, and he’d stop in to see me. It actually made things worse because, to be honest, he wasn't really there to see me. He was there for another reason.
I felt exactly like I did back at my old house with my mom—all the drugs, the chaotic people coming in and out. It was the exact same environment, just a different town. I didn't have my local church nearby, I had nobody checking on me, and I was floundering.
I was so heavy-hearted I can’t even put it into words. One night, I was counting up my tip money, knowing I didn't have anywhere near enough to move out. Not knowing what to do, I went into the bathroom—the only place in the entire trailer where you could get an ounce of privacy. I shut the door, fell out on the floor, and just cried.
I told God, "I don’t know what to do. I can’t live like this. Help me."
Right then, the most amazing peace settled over me. I can’t even explain it, but I felt the literal presence of God. I suddenly felt so still. And clear as day, I heard a prompt in my heart: Call your Aunt Harriet.
Aunt Harriet was one of my mom's God-fearing Christian sisters. In fact, she was the very one who had traveled to find me and tell me my mom had left us the first time. I called her right away and asked if I could move in with her. She didn’t hesitate for a single second. She said yes.
My dad started sending some extra money so I could attend a private Christian school where Aunt Harriet worked as a teacher. From that exact moment forward, my life dramatically changed for the better. I honestly don’t know where I would be today if I hadn't stopped and turned to God for guidance on that bathroom floor.
Living with Aunt Harriet was incredibly therapeutic. She had schedules. She cooked real dinners, packed our lunches, and gave us snacks. For the first time in a long time, life felt normal.
I threw myself entirely into my schoolwork. I worked so hard and studied so constantly that I managed to completely finish high school while I was 16 years old. I turned 17 shortly after. I just wanted To be able to say that I finished high school at 16. 🤣
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It was a school where you could go at your own pace, and I ran with it. In fact, I studied so much that the pastor eventually had to come into the room and force me to take breaks because I would try to stay inside between classes just to study more.
Because Aunt Harriet lived in my hometown, I was finally back around my old friends. I have to tell you, I had some really good friends who deeply respected the fact that I didn't party and didn't want that lifestyle.
They are still my friends to this day! We would hang out, and they never tried to talk me into doing anything wild. One friend in particular, Patsy, actually helped me study and would just hang around with me and do nothing. She was the absolute best friend ever.
I’d like to say a little bit here about religion—because religion is not God, and it is definitely not the love of God. As much as I appreciated going to that Christian school, it was a very legalistic Baptist school.
The guys had to have their hair cut above their ears, and the girls were strictly forced to wear skirts or culottes. I had to get a whole new wardrobe because mostly I just wore jeans and t-shirts.
We weren’t allowed to dance, so there was no prom—just a year-end awards ceremony.
I'll brag on myself a little bit here because I truly worked my tail off:
I won every single academic award there was.p, except one.
The only one I didn't get was the Pastor's Award for an outstanding student. The pastor actually pulled me to the side and told me, "Pam, you completely deserved this award. But this other girl worked so hard reading all these extra books just to be able to graduate at the deadline, so I gave it to her."
I didn't care at all; I really liked her and thought she deserved it, but it was incredibly nice of him to tell me that.
But looking back, I realize I had thrown myself into school strictly to escape my trauma. And I have to say this about the Christians in that place: they didn’t really reach out with love. It was more about making sure you conformed to an outward look.
I just want to say to any Christians reading this out there: you need to be loving people, not worrying about what they look like on the outside. The Holy Ghost will handle what needs to be handled in a person's heart.
Young people just need love. And this modern generation has it a whole lot harder than the generation I grew up in. God help us.
After all of that safety and healing at Aunt Harriet's... I guess I still hadn’t learned my lesson good enough. Because right after I graduated, my mom managed to talk me into coming to live with her again. She had moved to Virginia.
You can only imagine how that went.
I appreciate you reading my stories. I share them to show God is faithfully with you wherever you are. Even when we drift away, He never does. His love is always with you.
He loves you.
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Prior Story Here
Part 62: The Scenic Route and the Ditch
EXPLORE MORE
About Pam Herrick
Spirit Flow Art
Gallery
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Enjoy this YouTube shorts video reveal of woman praising God in the storm
and the Peace with the Lion of Judah after the storm. God is good!
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