Former Stripper Encounters the Peace of God

“I had this sort of pride,” Paige spoke. “…and being in the industry gave me this sort of false empowerment.” Attention wasn’t the only thing leading Paige Lohman to become a stripper. The 21-year-old college senior needed money for school, and her addiction to heroin. “Drugs would get dropped off at the club so I could get high all night, work, make fast money, spend it on drugs, and go do it again the next night.” She explained. Paige grew up in Reno where her parents worked late into the evening, leaving her feeling lonely and unloved, especially from her mom. “I developed a stronghold in my mind that if you perform and if you achieve great things, you're going to receive love.”

Paige lost her mom after her five-year battle with breast cancer. When her dad gave her the news, the now 13-year-old was in the hospital with a feeding tube, fighting her own battle with anorexia. “I was just numb.” She stated.  “My dad said that I was one of the few at her funeral that didn't even cry…that's just how checked out I was.” It was then Paige started smoking marijuana. By the end of high school, she was addicted to heroin. “I was battling severe depression and anxiety. I was diagnosed with depression as well at the time…and it all came from losing my mom.” She expressed. “I felt rejected, abandoned, lost, and felt like I didn't know how to function in this world. I couldn't trust anybody and felt like at any moment I could lose somebody that I love. It was just a deep insecurity and fear.”  Still, she managed to finish high school and go to college, where she conquered her anorexia.

Her addictions continued and in her senior year, she started stripping to make money. Then, after barely graduating college she plunged further into the business of sex and became an escort. “I told myself that I was only going to do this for a few months.” She stated. “But one month turns into another month, then another month, then another month, and you're just sucked in.” Paige never asked for help, and kept her life secret from friends and family, especially her dad. Then, after a year as an escort, she began to question the life she built herself. “I started to think, what if I died this way?” She said. “What if I was living like this when I died? Where would my soul go? That took me deeper and deeper in this hole “ One night a group of women came into the dressing room with warm food, a kind word, and prayer. They also encouraged the girls to write down their prayer requests and put them in a prayer box.

Paige decided to put one in of her own, in hopes that something would change. Shortly afterwards, she felt compelled to reach out to a friend and tell him everything. “I said, this is what I'm doing. You know, I'm working here doing all this stuff.” She explained. “He sends it to my dad. My dad finds out and calls me and says, ‘I'm basically giving you an ultimatum Paige.’” “It's either you're going to rehab, or I'm done. I cannot watch you kill yourself. I've already watched your mom die. We've already lost her. I can't stand by and lose my daughter.” Paige realized her dad did care after all and entered a 30-day rehab facility where she got clean.  Afterwards, she moved to Los Angeles hoping for a fresh start. While she would never use drugs again, she would fall back on old patterns. Making a living in L.A. was tough, so she turned back to escorting. Then one night, she says it hit her. “I just hit my knees in my room, and I cried out to God.” She spoke. “I said, Lord, I know what I'm doing is wrong. Please forgive me. I realized when I was at the worst in those clubs, at the escort agency, He died for me in that moment for me so that I could have a relationship with Him so I could be forgiven…that's when I felt His love just wash over me. I was in my bedroom, me and God…and I repented like I was sincere. I said, God, I want to stop, and He just led me through this natural process of repentance.” Paige fully committed her life to Christ. She never returned to the escort agency and, instead, joined a church where she was loved and mentored. “I'm living with women of God, getting discipled, consecrated, made a vow of purity to the Lord. I felt so close to God during that season.” She exclaimed.

Today, Paige is married with a daughter and a son. Through her work for a nonprofit organization and her own ministry called “Girl Redeemed”, she’s helping and ministering to victims of sex trafficking, and those trapped in the adult sex industry. She tells each one about the joy, freedom and love that come through faith in Jesus Christ. “It's the biggest high you could ever have,” She expressed. “Especially when you're out there doing things for the Lord, and you feel this closeness with Him…it's better than any high I could have ever had in the past. It doesn't fade. He's there with you. Seek after him with all your heart, and when you seek Him, you will find Him.”