Sara’s desert of addiction and anxiety is over

Not so long ago, she was plagued by both mental anguish and alcohol abuse. But one day she met someone who could help her find the path to peace and freedom.
– Now I know who I am, I am so grateful to Jesus, says Sara Jonhede.

Even at a young age , Sara Jonhede pondered the deep questions and found it difficult to buy that the meaning of life was only to get a family and a career. There must be something more than that. She processed her inner feelings in writing poetry. Even before she had time to move away from home, alcohol became an addiction that lasted for almost two decades.

In September 2016, Sara came to the LP business in Karlskrona for the first time to receive addiction care on a Christian basis. It went up and down a bit, to begin with.
– I was sober for a couple of weeks, then I drank for a few days. That’s how it went for a while, says Sara Jonhede to Inblick.

Seeds of God’s word were sown

In LP activities, Bible reading is part of the working day and seeds of God’s word were sown. At the same time, she struggled with pain in her soul and at one point the anxiety was so severe that she stabbed a knife where the anxiety was felt. 

Sara was taken to hospital where the two centimeter deep wound was stitched together. The doctor repaired what was broken in the skin, but the brokenness of the soul was the big concern and it was not as easy to repair.

– The sound when the knife went through several layers of skin, I will never forget. I did not want to die, that was not why I put a knife to the diaphragm where the anxiety was felt. There I now feel that the soul grows and breathes.
Sara volunteered for psychiatry to receive care for her mental pain.
– That evening I prayed for the first time. I felt a great need to get some kind of confirmation that God existed, if he now existed.

The anxiety like a desert

The hospital stay was about three weeks long and Sara came home just in time for Christmas 2017. It had become time to be treated with antabuse against alcohol abuse and take new steps in the LP business. Sara struggled with her anxiety and life occasionally felt like an endless desert with no hope in sight.
– I can describe it as “wide open spaces”, incredibly scary when you have no anchor at all.
A therapist she spoke to said that Sara probably thought too much.
– My therapist said: “Sara, it’s probably not a good idea for you to think so much about the existential issues. Medel-Svensson does not do that ”.

Wanted to give Jesus a chance

But Sarah was determined to give God an honest chance to appear to her. Faith and above all the will to live in communion with God through Jesus grew. Sara uses the term “light bulb” to describe various new insights she suddenly gained about her relationship with Jesus. In the summer of 2018, Sara chose to profess her faith by being baptized, which took place at the Halland summer metropolis Gullbrannagården.
– I was convinced that this was the path I wanted to go. But this with the “salvation thing”, it took a while. I was still in an attitude that can be described as teenage defiance.
The growth of faith
Sara did not seem to have had that clear experience of God that she was waiting for. The search and growth of faith continued. Today she knows that you will never be “finished” as long as you walk this earth.
– Now I understand why you can not get everything at once. I never finish but I go through different stages. I can state conclusions and make new starts. It strengthens and builds the framework, but it is important to be open because it is not necessarily the final thing.
The non-alcoholic everyday life with work on the LP business rolled on and Sara’s longing to get closer to God grew stronger. An important discovery she made is that of the power of forgiveness. The feeling of having received forgiveness from Jesus himself has meant that she has been freed from bitterness and has been able to forgive people who have hurt her.
– I have also had a longing to be sure that I asked the people I hurt myself for forgiveness.
This summer, she made the decision to pass both anti-anxiety medication and cigarettes to the story of her life.
– It became my birthday presents for myself.
Today, the relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in Sarah’s life and she would not want to exchange it for anything else

A foundation in life

– Now I have got more than I could ever imagine. There is a foundation to be had in life, not just an abyss.
Sara mentions some Bible verses that mean a lot to her. First of all, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is recounted in chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew.
The words when Jesus spoke of us not to worry and referred to how beautifully dressed the lilies of the meadow are, they landed with me early. Psalm 139 is perfectly okay with it, I get new favorites in the Bible all the time.
Spending time with Jesus in prayer on one hand is also something that Sara places a high value on. She makes a conscious choice not to plan too much because Jesus has nevertheless promised that he will also hold tomorrow in his hand.

“No worries”

– I think of what Jesus said: “Do not worry”. I ask him to guide me and shine through me. My will is to give Jesus 100 percent, I want to live the way he wants. It is definitely not an easy thing, I have to fight and take new courage every day.
Today she likes to tell her story and about her relationship with Jesus in various collections.
– It was a big step for me, to speak in public. It is important to dare to challenge yourself.
O LA KARLMAN

With permission from the magazine  Inblick.

INBLICK  is the news magazine that describes the surroundings from the little person’s perspective. With weight in Christian opinion issues and a clear stance for “these my little ones”, news reporting with a social focus is conveyed. In each week’s newspaper, there are also several wonderful reports about  what Jesus does in ordinary people’s everyday lives.  Coming out on Thursdays. Contains detailed TV appendix from  Kanal 10  and Kanal 10 Norway.