Enough is enough - I don’t fit in

My name is Damien Lange, I am the author of this website (www.testimonies.com.au) and timidity, loneliness, afraid of the dark and not-fitting-in were my weaknesses when growing up.

I was brought up with non-believing but great parents who dabbled in eastern religious stuff. I had a go at reading the books around the house when I was bored trying to get into this, but the more I tried to see what people were searching for the more I got unsatisfied.

I was a loner and an easy adapter and joker at school, I easily fitted in and adapted having friends with the toughies as well as girls and geeks as friends (or only on the surface) - sounds opposite to my pain but being the joker in the crowd made me liked by everyone but covered a real pain that I was different to everyone else - this tormented me constantly even to the point of suicide.

After my parents soon divorced and our family of 6 broke apart for various reasons, we were forced to choose sides - I chose to stay with my dad (since he was staying locally) but then soon leave and start a life on my own at the age of 15 - even if it meant that I had to live on the streets or beach, because at that age all I was consumed with only surfing, surfing, girls and surfing, and the beach would make a great bed anyway since I was there a lot surfing most days anyway.

It was over this time I found that my passion to do artwork and design became stronger. Now with this added to my vast list of interests above (surfing and girls) and now early 17yrs old I was introduced to a screen printer that needed a designer for his business that printed the majority of surfboard decals throughout Australia for all the famous surfers of the day and their shapers - now legends in surfing history.

This screen-printer was soon to become a minister (as that was his passion) and so his enthusiasm about this "Jesus" dude was told to me.

Now, back then and to put things into perspective I just thought Christians were just a group of 'do-gooders' that had a crutch they needed to hang onto (even though I had never read the Bible myself or looked into it, I just believed what my friends believed -and I guess they too believed what their friends believed and so this belief without any substance spread - as did know about HIPOCRITES though.

I saw too many people that said they were Christians but their lives were no different from anyone else or any other religious freak especially when the hard times and the shit-hits-the-fan times happened. You know... in business, relationships, friendships, family etc.

Well, to cut a long story short, this printer asked me if I'd like to know this "Jesus", so I thought since he was going to employ me anyway that I'd better do this to please him and make a good impression, anyway I thought "this Jesus wasn't around anymore anyway and only on a cross in catholic churches so whatever nice pray thingy we were about to do would just be WORDS and a nice if anything emotional mood, whatever anyway.. by doing this I was in the good books with my new employer."

Well... that prayer that I repeated after him - that only took less than a minute - changed my life to this day.

God became REAL to me in

From that day all those things that CAGED ME UP INSIDE - timidity, loneliness and not fitting in and even afraid of the dark - WERE GONE and I felt “NEW” - for lack of words. I really was born again.

That very night that I got saved, I decided to walk home from church alone (a long walk) to be by myself and talk to this God and sort some things out and ask questions as I felt so different and I couldn’t understand.

To make a short cut home that night there was a grave yard (and it was a full moon – and around midnight - just like in the horror movies) and I had no problems walking through there and reading head stones for an hour or so even though this is something I never would have thought to do apart from daytime and in that neighborhood – but I had PEACE OF HEART which I still have to this day in all situations (the situations still come and go but my reaction and response is so different).

The bottom line is that I discovered to conquer this fear was UNDERSTANDING 2 things:

1). Getting to know personally without a shadow of doubt for myself (not just because somebody said so) that there was a God and what He thought about Me! As soon as I accepted Jesus Christ into my life, He became my Mate and through him I had direct access to the Father, who created everything. Once you grasp this revelation then this alone gives great boldness. This removes any feelings of loneliness, peer pressure, and timidity.

I know I am different from anybody else BUT that makes me not care what other people think and so I am available if God wants me to do something that might embarrass most others - because I am not out to please people - the snare of man - as the bible puts it in Proverbs 29:25 - means nothing to me now - where it was everything back then.

2). God mentions that we have a enemy (the devil) on this planet to fool people into taking the right path of right from wrong etc. So the question arises... HOW does the devil do this??? You see, it's simple as long as you see things like this... You know how bullies at school and in the movies are - just like solicitors or lawyers - they know the law and use certain words a certain way to intimidate or speak just what you what to hear to make you move or ask a certain way (like a game of chess) In the end...you made the choice to do, say or react the way you did... because of their WORDS and you believing them.

Ever heard of the word “WICKED” – it comes from the same word for “Wicker” as in wicker furniture – which is twisted cane furniture – well that is what the devil and his servant’s use – truth twisted with lies, or taken out of context to try and catch you. The answer is to get your guidance from God’s word or if you don’t know God’s word as yet then he says – “Let the peace of God guide all your decisions” Colossians 3:14.

If you do things on your own - you are on your own but if you put yourself in God's hands, He will use your life to bless and turn others to Him and not to their own way (it doesn't take too long to look at history to see what a mess mankind left to our ways, stuff things up).

SO TO START, ASK HIM INTO YOUR LIFE TO TAKE OVER – IT’S THAT SIMPLE
CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED

 

Back to the story

Behind the scenes

A fear years after I got saved - to put things into perspective - I have always been a loner - (by saying that I mean that I am self motivated). I was a graphic designer and printer but I never had anyone I couldn't share my enthusiasm or passion about this MEDIA with even in church where there was over 300 people. I ended up bottling it it up inside of me. I wanted to be able to share my passions with someone.

"I NEEDED A FRIEND"

This became my prayer

I was at my factory early one morning and NO MATTER WHAT I WAS DOING (AS I HAVE DONE TIME AND TIME BEFORE) EVERYTHING I DID WAS WRONG. It almost FELT LIKE I WAS CURSED “YET I WAS A CHRISTIAN”.

It was a Saturday at 8am and I was jacking up my old Humber Vogue onto some mounting ramps. (I love OLD CARS - their style, design, their simplicity - they have something about them). I was doing a basic service and all of a sudden when I gave it a bit more juice to push it forward onto the ramps as I always have done may a time before this time it went too far and embedded itself over the ramps... that was the straw-that-broke-the-camels-back. At this stage I was furious as it didn’t matter what I did it got me to this place of desperation. "What was going on?".

"Enough is enough"

My factory was a street away for KIRRA BEACH (one of the world's best surfing beaches in Australia).

I decided to stop everything and go for a walk along the beach and ask God "WHAT'S HAPPENING"

"Am I not a Christian" answer "YES"
"Have I done something wrong to displease you?: answer "NO",
“Then what's the problem?" I asked,
“You are not happy” was the reply,

I didn't know what this meant - because I really would be happy if the car was serviced and that freed my day to do what I had have planned to do... but God had a different plan!

God wanted me to ask for a friend in prayer VERBALLY - so I prayed "Send me a friend"

Note: I thought God would just do things by Himself without the NEED OF ME to pray it - but I have seen that as you grow in the Lord you are expected to understand and read his word to know what is said about things like this:

You do not have, because you do not ask. [Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. James 4:2

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Matthew 6:8

That weekend at church, I met my wife - and within 3 months we were married - that was 23 years ago.

I had previously met her as a client, she was going through relationship issues and was engaged at that time - she too was a graphic designer as I was - but when I saw that she was in church and interested in God as the media I was then I knew she was for me.

We now have our own business and family now with 3 beautiful kids - one is now 23 and the others 15 and 19years. YES TEENS!

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

I give thanks every day for my beautifull kids - I don't feel like as the media or magazines put it, they are more my best friends and mates rather than me feeling like a father.

They feel like they are a gift of God we have for a short period of time - on loan.

GOD IS GREAT!

 

Ps. I have been in churches and look at the people and noticed that at times some people fall asleep in their chairs, look at their watches, texting, talking BUT as soon as someone stood up to give their testimony or share a story of what Jesus had done for them - they had EVERYONE'S attention including the kids.

That is the inspiration and drive I have had to create this site in the first place - you can read more here.