Finding
Peace Through Christ
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“God has affirmed me as His
son and helped me to grow in so many ways”
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by Jerel
Merrill
I grew up on the east side of Detroit about 2
miles from downtown. I am an only child and my
mother raised me by herself. I have never met
my father, but, thankfully, this has never
produced any anger or bitterness in me. My mom
is the greatest woman and raised me with much
love and encouragement. She is truly a
blessing.
Transitioning from middle school to high
school was a big struggle for me and was the
first time that my faith was tested. I had
been a part of the same school for nine years.
Now I was moving to a new building with new
people. Nothing was the same. I used to be a
part of a group of friends and teachers that I
had known for a while and had grown to love.
In high school I didn’t know anyone and didn’t
feel like I belonged anywhere.
 I remember being outside my high school after
class one day, waiting for my mom. As was
customary for the time, I was crying and
wondering what I was doing there. I was pacing
back and forth praying and trying to make
myself feel better. At the time, the sky was
very dark and grey. It looked like a storm was
coming. But as I continued to pray, something
amazing happened. The sky went from dark and
stormy to bright and clear. It seemed to
happen really slowly, but in reality it
probably only took a few minutes. As the sun
came out and the blue sky returned, I was met
with a greater peace. I knew that God had
cleared that sky for me - to show me that I
was where I needed to be and that good things
were coming. Things weren’t perfect after
that, but they slowly started to get better.
Well, that was 6 years ago… and since then
life has been a wild ride. In a lot of ways
it’s actually gotten much harder since I’ve
decided to live for the Lord. But God has
shown me so much love and grace. He has
affirmed me as His son and helped me to grow
in so many ways. He has seen me through very
difficult times and shaped me through those
times. My life has gone from being about being
“good enough” to accepting The Lord’s goodness
to me. I’m excited to see things come full
circle by serving on the same Detroit
Summer Outreach
(DSO) staff the led me to the Lord.
See other recent stories from
Detroit Summer Outreach and
YouthWorks-Detroit:
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