Syd Antles: From Abuse and Addiction to Joy in Christ
Discover how Sydney overcame abuse, shame, and addiction through Jesus—finding joy, healing, and purpose as a college student with Cru.
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In high school, Sydney’s life was marked by pain, shame, and drug addiction. But when she encountered Jesus, everything changed. Freed from depression and healed from shame, she found true joy and confidence in Christ. Now, as a college sophomore with Cru, she’s discipling others and sharing hope with the next generation.
During high school, I was angry at God because when I was 14 years old, I was sexually abused and I thought He must have seen that happen to me – and if He was this loving God, why did that happen? That's when I found myself just turning to drugs for joy – to have that spark of emotion that I used to feel. Shame ruled my life.
God began to turn my life around radically when He began to show me how dark the life was that I was living and where it was gonna bring me. And so He brought about clarity to me, so much perspective through that to where I knew that… What was I doing? What was I doing with my life? And then I was given the opportunity one night to allow Jesus into my life, and I felt joy.
And then somebody suggested to me to open up James 1:2-3. “Choose joy, brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials in many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” The Lord reeled in my heart and He never let it go, and I never let go of Him either.
He saved me from a drug addiction. He saved me from depression. He healed me from shame. He took me, He gave me confidence, and He gave me a joy for living in Him.
I've enjoyed the ministry aspect of Cru because the community of people that is there that are so willing to just take you in and in turn, when people come and I get to meet them and then they find out that there's so much more to this person and this being and everything that I've been through in my life, it just like allowed the Lord to use my life.
He chose me to use that trial to spread His glory. Now the women that I live with, they're all from Cru. And getting discipled by all the people who were older last year and then in turn now being a sophomore and getting to turn around and say, “Hey freshmen, I'm here for you. You can choose joy.”
Hi, I'm Sydney and I'm a sophomore at Santa Barbara City College.
