This Married Porn Star and Pastor Have a Great Message for Us
After leaving for college in Santa Barbara, Brittni Ruiz turned to stripping as a way to earn some extra money.
It wasn’t long before her promiscuous side job became a full-fledged career in the adult entertainment industry.
Brittni starred in hundreds of adult films as “Jenna Presley,” racking up huge paychecks, and becoming a successful porn star.
But her life was anything but a success.
After just a month in the industry, Brittni’s self-esteem was shot. She turned to cocaine in order to stay thin and cope with the emotional toll of being a porn star.
“I knew that my way in life was not working,” Brittni recalled.
She met a member of XXX Church, an organization run by Pastor Craig Gross that seeks to help men and women in the porn industry to find Jesus.
Someone handed Brittni the group’s ‘Jesus Loves Porn Stars’ literature and a Bible. Intrigued by their welcomeness, Brittni accepted their handouts.
“My first thought was: ‘Are these people legitimate Christians, because how can Jesus love a porn star?’” she said. “They were so loving and friendly and welcoming. They actually just handed out the Book of John, but they put their own cool cover on it to make it relatable.”
It took some trial and error, but Brittni finally gave her life to Christ and fully committed herself to God.
“As I began reading the Bible, I learned a new way of living,” Brittni explained. “I knew God had given me a second chance at life and I wanted to do whatever I could to do it right this time.”
She began going to church, where Pastor Richard De La Mora was preaching a message specifically to the women in the room about how treasured and loved they are by God.
His words struck a chord with Brittni, and it launched a type of healing she desperately needed.
“I went into church so broken and had come to the end of myself. I was so far down in life I had nowhere to look but up,” she said in a recent blog post.
Years later, Brittni and Richard had developed an incredible friendship, and they eventually started dating.
For Richard, a pastor, it was never about erasing Brittni’s past, but embracing it. He was able to love her for how God had transformed her past, and celebrate with her in what God had created for her future.
After leaving the porn industry for good, Brittni had made a commitment to celibacy. Even while dating Richard, Brittni stayed true to her sexual purity.
“Sexual purity is not easy, but it is possible, and if I can do it, so can you.”
Brittni and Richard eventually got married. Their relationship is an incredible product of God’s grace, and a story that they both embrace and use to encourage others.
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Many believe that “saving yourself” for marriage isn’t technically possible once you’ve lived a life of sexual sin, but as for Brittni—she knows she’s been made pure by the the blood of Jesus.
It’s never too late to start over.
“I am so grateful that my husband and I chose to honor God over our desires and temptations,” she said on her blog. “We did it the right way because we did it God’s way. Because of this I can truly say that I have been blessed with a great marriage. God continues to favor us and bless us with mind blowing opportunities. I say this to encourage you because God is faithful to those whom are faithful to Him.”
Brittni says she never gets tired of telling her story, because every chance she gets to share it is another opportunity for her to glorify God.
Watch this video for more inspiring wedding stories.
https://faithit.com/10-facts-about-pornography-and-sex-trafficking-everyone-should-know-but-most-dont/
