Testimony Thursday

This is a testimony of another blogger friend Bonsai, read carefully and be blessed by these powerful words.

My name is Stacy Gleiss (a.k.a Bonsai) I was born and raised in Michigan—an unfettered sapling that grew in the shadows of a tragic accident that took my left eye, scarred my face and briefly allowed me to view the earth from several feet up.  Having experienced near death as a five year-old, made me a melancholic child and I struggled to find my place.  That is, until i became part of a two-way cultural exchange programmme involving Japan.

 I was just sixteen when I first traveled to Japan in 1982.   Keep in mind, it was a time when information was lacking and I had a very cliché image of what I might see there.  What I found however, was a place that was at once very traditional, but also very advanced.  I fell in love with the ritualistic processes of Japanese daily life and by the end of the summer committed to one day living there.

 

To that end I married a Japanese man at the age of 18 and began my training to become a Japanese wife. Part of his requirements involved speaking and dressing a certain way—being more childlike and innocent.  

Eventually I would discover that he had a preference for young girls which was fed by legalized child pornography and child idolization that was prevalent. He dismissed this all by saying how the materials were readily available (which they were) and that beautiful nude children were just fantasy, art and nothing more.

 Because being a Japanese wife was my identity and I believed what he told me was true to a degree as part of the culture, I stayed in my marriage and had two children.  Eventually however, under increased scrutiny and abuse as an “old woman,” a mother, I broke. I mean I lost my mind. My life took a different turn.

I was in my young thirties when I began binging on Japan—taking quick trips, drinking and hooking up with various Japanese men.  It was a horrible couple of years and during this time my small children suffered horribly from my erratic behavior.

 While I managed to eventually put my life back together…becoming an interpreter, buying a house and regaining custody of my youngest due to abuse by his father– my oldest would not even talk to me.  She remained with her father until 2006 when she disclosed a horrible secret you can probably imagine; a long history of molestation by her father.

 While he went to prison (where he remains), my daughter and I worked on rebuilding our relationship. Things were generally going well—much better than they had been, but the guilt ate me up.  Without sleep, trying to make things better for everyone, I was like the walking dead.  That is when God called me to Google a church that just so happened to have a class starting…a sort of Jesus 101.

I was stubborn in the class, fighting every bit of what I heard.  I didn’t deserve forgiveness.  People who do what I did should suffer for the rest of their lives.  That is what I thought.  But finally, after an encounter with the Holy Spirit at a funeral of someone i barely knew, I caved and became a believer. In 2010 I was baptized in Lake Michigan near my home.

 While life overall continues to improve by His grace, it is still challenging in every regard, I have seen miracles and felt His love.  

In fact, on multiple occasions as I wrote the details of my cultural obsession and testimony on my website, i literally felt the hand of God pressing down on my shoulder spurring me to tell the ugly truth in the most transparent way possible. Still I don’t know why exactly or what the story will do, but I listened and moved forward.

I pray this Testimony will impact as many lives as will lay eyes on this in Jesus name, Amen.

God bless you for taking time to read this… You can share your story here also by sending me a mail via papberryofficial@gmail.com.

Blessings…