Lies to light

Desperate to save her same-sex “marriage” of six years, Lori Sims had exhausted every effort to salvage the relationship that had once brought joy, fulfillment, and what she thought was freedom. She begged the Lord to bring her partner home and restore their love, but once an affair was confirmed, Sims hit rock bottom. Collapsing on her bedroom floor, she cried out to the Lord, “I can’t do this without You.”

In that divine moment, a peace that surpassed all understanding calmed her chaos, and Sims realized that God would not honor her fight to preserve her homosexual relationship, but instead would call her to surrender to His perfect will. What began as a plea to heal her “marriage” became a pathway to redemption and revival.

Battling for an identity

Church was the center of Sims’ childhood. Her family faithfully attended services and events, loved the Lord, and sought to honor God’s Word, but spiritual discussions were confined to the sanctuary – never brought home.

“We had the religion part down, just not the relationship,” Sims told The Stand.

Sims had always been an athletic tomboy, but it wasn’t until middle school that the lies of the Enemy began to take root.

“The first lie I believed was that I had been born into the wrong body. I had always felt like I was supposed to be a boy,” she stated.

During her eighth-grade year, the battle intensified as she found herself drawn to a female senior basketball player on her team. Unsure of how to interpret the intrusive thoughts, she realized it was more attraction than admiration. Yet, she continually tried to extinguish the unwanted feelings.

However, when a female exchange student enrolled in her school during her sophomore year, Sims immediately knew she was fighting romantic feelings toward this new girl.

“I begged God to change me. I didn’t want to be different,” she recalled.

In the mid-1980s, homosexuality was rarely spoken of in her small, Bible-Belt community, leaving Sims to wrestle with the confusion alone. She loved her mother and the ladies of her church deeply, but without true discipleship, she felt too ashamed to approach the uncomfortable topic with them and seek biblical guidance. So, she remained silent while suppressing emotions she did not know how to process.

In high school, Sims was well-liked and had many friends, but she was most comfortable with the guys. One, in particular, always stood out for being respectful and protective of Sims, making her feel safe and loved. They began dating during her senior year of high school and into her freshman year of college. After a two-year break, they reunited and dated for three more years before getting married. Yet, she never found the courage to share with him the inner turmoil she was grappling with regarding her sexuality.

Soon after the wedding, the couple was surprised to learn they were expecting a baby girl.

At first, the demands of life provided a welcome distraction from the unnatural feelings she had battled. Still, three years into the marriage, the devil began to bombard Sims with doubt and temptation again, especially when she became emotionally attached to a female friend at work. Sims’ feelings were so consuming that she finally caved to the devil’s deceptions and divorced her husband.

Living as a lesbian

While Sims never revealed her feelings to her co-worker, she later formed a relationship with a woman she met in a online lesbian chatroom. After months of conversation, Sims decided to visit the woman in person, telling her family it was a work trip.

From the moment they met, Sims had butterflies and the euphoria she had expected to have with boys in high school. Being in a same-sex relationship was everything she had ever dreamed of, she said. However, her love for her daughter, Kaylee, prohibited her from moving to Tennessee to commit to that woman.

Initially, Sims kept her lifestyle private and sought relationships out of town, but when a family member eventually confronted her about her sin, she did not deny it. At that point, her heart was hardened, as she had come to believe another major lie of the devil.

Knowing God does not make mistakes, Sims came to believe, “He made me this way.”

She said, “I would get angry when someone would say, ‘Just change.’

“My feelings were real, and it was like telling me to change my eye color, which was impossible,” she added.

Sims also became influenced by Matthew Vines, LGBTQ advocate and author, who affirms homosexuality as acceptable in the eyes of God and supports a belief system that embraces those types of relationships. Sims said she blindly took his word for the truth.

In 2017, Sims fell in love with a woman, unapologetically came out to her family, and got “married.” Initially, it was everything she had hoped for. She no longer had to keep secrets and live a lie. This lifestyle seemed to be the freedom she had longed for, but the happiness was temporary. Significant issues, including unfaithfulness, began to emerge.

Under the weight of depression, Sims began to call on God to survive the heartache of the finality of their relationship.

“I was in agony. I cried nonstop. I couldn’t listen to [popular] music or watch TV, because it was all a reminder of my horrible breakup,” Sims explained. “So, I began listening to worship music to comfort me and relieve my stress.”

Walking in the Light

On March 15, 2024, as Sims was in her kitchen, a prominent women’s speaker popped up on her internet feed, interrupting her worship music. She explained that the sin behind homosexuality is actually idolatry.

Captivated by this message, Sims continued to listen until she felt God impress upon her that it was time for her to leave that lifestyle behind. Without hesitation, she audibly said, “I got it,” and knew it was time to repent and walk away.

“The amazing thing is, I didn’t even have to walk away. God took it away,” she said. “I was so warped in my thinking that I asked him to save a ‘marriage’ that He never condoned in the first place. Instead, He saved my soul and showed me what true freedom in Christ looks like.”

Soon after, Sims felt as though the Lord was saying, “You have a story to tell.”

With excitement, she informed her entire family that Christ had given her a new identity and a testimony to share.Unsure of who to tell, she promised the Lord she would share her testimony if He gave her the opportunity.

Looking for Christian friends and wholesome ways to fill her time, she happened to see an invitation on social media to play pickleball in her community. Still athletic and competitive, she decided to give it a try. A month later, her new teammate, Cynthia Burcham, asked her a bold question after practice, and it left her in awe: “What’s your story?”

Although reluctant to answer Burcham’s question, Sims faithfully told her story as she promised the Lord, which resulted in the unwavering, God-ordained friendship and spiritual guidance that Sims desperately needed. Burcham immediately welcomed her to a Bible study and began mentoring her. She also encouraged Sims to continue in obedience and share what the Lord was doing in her life.

Her first assignment was to speak at her home church, where her story was livestreamed on social media. Within hours, the video went viral. Since then, God has opened one door after another, enabling Sims to reach an ever-growing audience hungry for truth.

“I am living proof that all things are possible with God,” Sims said, “and that He is ‘able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think’”
(Ephesians 3:20, KJV).