The Bible Changes Lives

HOW was a barmaid who swore, drank excessively, and experimented with drugs able to change her lifestyle?  Why did a former politician who disliked religion become a minister of religion?  What challenges did a combat instructor with the Russian police force have to overcome to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses?  Read what these individuals have to say.


"My Mother and I enjoy a restored relationship." -Natalie Ham

Country of Origin: Australia
History: Experimented with Drugs


MY PAST: I grew up in the small fishing town of Robe, South Australia.  In such communities, the local hotel is the social hub.  Parents spend a lot of time at the hotel, so their children are raised around alcohol abuse, bad language and cigarette smoke.

By the age of 12, I was smoking, had  a broad vocabulary of swear words, and was in constant conflict with my mother.  When I was 15, my parents separated, and 18 months later, I left home.  I abused alcohol, tried drugs, and led an immoral lifestyle.  I was angry and confused.  But having attended five years of martial arts and women's' defense training, I felt that I could look after myself.   Even so, in my quieter more reflective times, I was overcome with sadness and would pray to God, asking him to help me.  "Just don't ask me to go to church,"  I would say to him.

Sometime later, a friend who was religious but didn't belong to any particular church gave me a Bible.  Like our other friends, he smoked drugs.  Yet, he professed a sincere belief in God and convinced me that I should get baptized.  He took me to a local lake and baptized me.  From then on, I felt that I had a special relationship with God.  However, I never did find time to read the Bible. 

HOW THE BIBLE CHANGED MY LIFE:  In 1988, two Witnesses knocked on my door.  One of them asked me,  "Do you know God's name?"  The Witnesses read Psalm 83:18 from his Bible, which states: "That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth."  I was floored!  After they left, I drove 35 miles  (56 km) to a Christian bookstore, to check other Bible translations and then looked up the name in a dictionary.   Having convince myself that God's name is Jehovah, I wondered what else I didn't know. 

My mother had told me that Jehovah's Witnesses were weird.  From the little I knew of them, I thought they were too conservative and didn't know how to have fun. I considered  pretending not to be there when they called.  But I changed my mind when the time came. I invited them in, and we immediately began studying the Bible. 

After each study session,m I shared what I had learned with my boyfriend Craig.  He eventually got so annoyed that he took the textbook we were using out of my hands and began reading it.  Within three weeks, he concluded that  he had found the truth about God. Craig and I eventually stopped taking drugs and abusing alcohol, and I quit my job as a barmaid.  To bring our lives into harmony with Bible standards, we decided to get married.

HOW I HAVE BENEFITED: At the time  we began studying the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses, Craig and I were on the verge of splitting up.  Today, Craig is a wonderful husband, and we have two beautiful children.  We also have treasured friends who share out beliefs.

At first, my mother was angry when she learned that I was associating with Jehovah's Witnesses.  However, her concerns were based on misunderstandings.  Now my mother and I  enjoy a restored relationship.  I no longer have a feeling of emptiness deep inside me.  Instead, I have direction and purpose in my life, and I feel that my spiritual needs are being satisfied. -Matthew 5:3.

Next time: Continue with The Bible Changes Lives

The Watchtower, 2011