NICOLA Marius is extraordinary. She has been through some of life’s worst battles, but they’ve only made her stronger. Marius was raped at an early age and it changed her life completely; fortunately, God rescued her just when she needed him. Today, the 29-year-old is happier than ever and she’s using her story to inspire others.
Marius shared her testimony recently in a touching movie called ‘The Testimony: From Suffering to Glory’. She believes the film will change the lives of individuals everywhere.
“The movie is about a stubborn teenager (‘Sally Blair’) who gets raped. When I read the script for the movie I wept. I thought about the number of women and girls who are being raped or who have been raped; some of them are still silent today. There are men who are going through the same thing and they cannot even speak about it because of the stigma attached to it,” she said.
“The movie was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was written by Latoya Sinclair and produced by Richard Stewart of His Only Son TV. The abuse in that movie may not have happened to a particular individual in reality (I shared my testimony in the movie but the movie is not based on my life) but somebody somewhere went through this. We did this movie to let people know abuse is real,” Marius explained.
The movie is terrific. Marius is the star of the film and she plays her role excellently; in some instances, it almost seems too real, but on one hand, it is.
“In this movie the main character gets raped by someone she trusts and this happened to me also. It was actually excruciating for me to play (the role of ‘Blair’) because I had to relive the pain. It brought me closer to God,” she said.
She described the experience as exciting nonetheless. According to her, “playing a teenager was fun.”
“‘Blair’ is looking forward to going to a party, but her mother warns her and tells her she should not go but she goes anyway and this is part of what some young people are going through today. They’re rebelling against their parents, they’re rebelling against authority and this young lady is rebelling to the point that she’s going to get into danger and she does not even realize this,” Marius explained.
“She gets all dressed up and she’s excited because she wants to have a good time and in the end ‘Blair’ realized she made a terrible mistake,” Marius said, adding “we want people to know that it’s not over until God says it’s over.”
At one point Marius almost gave up on life. She thought about taking her life (she had everything planned out) but today she’s grateful to be alive. According to her, everything changed when Jesus Christ rescued her.
“I realized that nobody is greater than God. God is king, He is a redeemer and He keeps you together. God allowed me to go through this because He wanted to use me as a testimony to encourage others who are going through this and those who have gone through it. Out of every bad situation comes great victory. God has a purpose and a plan for every pain that you go through,” she said passionately.
“Jesus loves you and He wants you to talk to Him about what you have gone through, He cares about every aspect of your life. The Holy Spirit is there to comfort you; be encouraged, this won’t last forever. Psalm 34 verses 17-18 says that the righteous cries and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart and saves (those who are) of a contrite spirit,” Marius added.
The movie also stresses on the importance of forgiveness and Marius believes it is crucial as it leads to complete healing. She forgave her attacker after he raped her and now she is free.
“Never blame yourself because it was not your fault and even though it was the fault of the perpetrator, you need to forgive that person. It doesn’t matter who it is—it could be your father or a member of the church, forgive the individual and let the person go because forgiveness is not for the person it is really for you,” she said.
“Unforgiveness causes a cancer and people who have unforgiveness in their heart die faster than those who don’t; it’s scientifically proven. Unforgiveness affects your heart. The Lord asked me to call my attacker and tell him I forgive him and I did it. If I see him on the street, I’ll call him (wholeheartedly). Jesus rewards those who are obedient,” Marius explained.
‘The Testimony: From Suffering to Glory’ can be viewed on YouTube and according to Marius, individuals can expect a lot more from the team in the future.
“We collaborated with rokutv for this movie. Also, for us, this is not just about acting; this is ministry and with our ministry His Only Son TV we’re trying to see how we can get into all the mountains of influence. We’re trusting in God to provide us with a studio so we could impact not just Saint Lucia but the world at large,” she said.
“We’re working on another movie and if people are interested in supporting the ministry they can contact me via email ([email protected]) or send me a message on Facebook (Nicola Anointed). We’re looking for sponsors. If you’ve been raped and you’d like to help others, or if you’ve been raped and you need help, you can contact me as well,” Marius added.
To God be the glory!! Great article..