My name is Marc Denton and this is My Life:
I was born in Madrid , Spain . My dad was in the air force at the time, and met my mom at a bus stop. I never made any real close friends until my college years. I learned never to unpack my stuff, because I knew that in weeks we would be moving to another state or even… another country. My dad thought it was important to spoil me since he was never there. He had been stationed in Turkey , and he thought it would be very dangerous for my mother and me to live there.
We finally moved to South Carolina when I was 5 years old. I had to repeat kindergarten because I knew absolutely no English. I made some friends through the years and I was a pretty good kid. I never smoked, drank, and stayed a virgin. The only thing was I had to have everything go my way. I was indeed a spoiled military kid. Then in my freshman year at USC everything would change. I was at work when my dad called and told me mom was ok, but that she had been attacked in our house. I found out later that she was cleaning the yard when the guy walked in through the front door and hid in a bedroom. When she came in he grabbed her and cut her throat and threw her on the floor. He wanted to rape her, but some how she had knocked the knife out of his hands and she ran out the front door which was left wide open. I couldn’t drive to the hospital. I drove out of the way, because I was just so shocked and out of it that I had lost track of where I was going. Instead of driving to the Hospital, I drove to my house where there were 8 police cars in my yard and dozens of people trying to find out what had happened. Then I drove to St. Andrews and went to a gas station. I called one of my new friends, CAM, and told him what had happened and found out I was only blocks away from his house. He came to pick me up and took me to the hospital.
I stayed with my mom all day long. I would not leave her side while we were in the hospital and then to the police station that night. I blamed myself because I was supposed to be at home an hour before the attack happened. I became closer friends with CAM and his friends through all of this. They were with through all of it and prayed for my mother and I. They were especially there when the police started to think that I knew the guy and wasn’t telling them. They were threatening to throw me in jail, when the guy raped a woman in Lexington and the next week another woman in W. Columbia. Finally, after a month of searching for him, he was captured when he tried to break in a woman’s house and was met by 3 German Shepherds.
Everything started to get better and I started to worry that all of the friends I had made from First Baptist, CAM and his friends would forget about me. I never had people care so much for me and my life. I mean sure, people liked me…but I never made close friends, and I really wanted them. I started telling them that I had been in an accident when I was 5 years old that took the lives of my brother and sister. I have a half brother named Michael from Holland, so I thought well if I ever actually met him then I could change the story and make it that my parents had lied to me about the accident. But then I didn’t stop it there. Every time I met someone new and I wanted to get close to them, then I would tell them that story. Then I added more things about being abused and living in foster homes. I kept telling more and more people more and more lies. All I wanted was more attention every day. I put so many lies on them and they became frustrated that I wasn’t improving at all. In reality I didn’t want to change because even though it wasn’t always positive attention, I was still getting it.
Anytime that I went to a conference or a Christian activity I started think, “Gee, I really need to get closer to God” and I would always think that I should come clean with people about these lies. However, I would always chicken out, and I thought well then maybe I’ll give them space and maybe it will all be forgotten. But the same old lies would pop up again and again. Finally, I went and saw ‘The Passion of the Christ’ by myself. I cried from the part that Jesus was thrown off a wall still bounded by ropes and chains till the end. As I watched Jesus walking with the cross, I thought wow he looks so pathetic. I mean, he’s about to die and he’s carrying this massive cross which even that really tall guy couldn’t carry by himself and those stupid people would keep beating him with whips. I grew so angry, and then I thought…but I’m so pathetic. Then I thought it’s always about me me me me me me!!!!! I was the reason He was beaten and crucified. I made myself into something that I’m not. I made up lies to make people like me. That now to me is very pathetic. I prayed to God that night and asked for forgiveness and truly surrendered my life over to him. The Holy Spirit was working hard on my heart; I had to come clean for once and for all. I found out that even though there is and will be consequences for my sins, He loves me and forgives me unconditionally.
I realized that there were 2 groups of people the ones who will forgive me or have already forgiven me, and those who will not. I didn’t imagine that there would be more on the forgiving side. Many people that I expected to be mad ended up forgiving me. If it wasn’t for God, the important people in my life would not have forgiven me.
God has started to break me. It’s something long overdue. I do know one thing though…that I do love God with everything that I am. I know I am not perfect, but He is. He is the only one who will not hurt me, and I know every time that I screw up…He will be there with open arms. Right now, I’m learning what trust really is. I have the hardest time trusting God with my problems. I want to go to God with my problems and not some person who has no idea what to do with the information. I know that I will be a living sacrifice. I will go out into the world and I will be persecuted for the rest of my days and it sounds incredibly awesome to me.
