‘A near-death experience led me to Jesus’

After overdosing on cocaine, Michelle Steele’s heart stopped, and she experienced a terrifying vision of hell

I was twelve years old when I was molested by two adults – one from school, and the father of a friend. After that, I began to self-destruct. Aged 15, I ran away from home and ended up on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. I became involved with a man who talked me into selling my body. Because of the shame that was in my heart from what happened to me as a young girl, I did it. 

I never told anyone about the abuse – I thought it was my fault. I was full of hatred for myself, so I made the decision to escape reality as much as possible. That meant taking drugs. I would say: “I’m never going to be sober!”