Power of the Testimony

Recently I listened to a podcast by Bill Johnson about the power of your testimony. Our testimonies are some of the most powerful things that we are given by God, and when we share them with other people, we release the power of God onto their live, the power that can cause a similar event to take place in their lives.
I've been wrestling back and forth with this since I listened to the podcast, mulling over it, meditating on it. It simply struck a chord in my spirit. One question has been running circles in my mind and spirit.
If I shared my testimony, revealed to people the change God made in my life when He became MY God and not my mother's God, how would people be changed?
How would they be changed?
I could think that my testimony would bring them to know God, or know Him better. I could think that it would set people free from the chains of depression. I could think that it would restore the hurting, heal the wounded, mend the broken.
But there is also the fear of man that resides within us all.
The fear that people will reject me. The fear that I will be harshly judged. The fear that I will be labeled and defined by my past actions and put in a box because of them.
I will not be put in a box.
And I will never be defined by my past actions.
It's not who I am now.
I think that's where the power of my own personal testimony is located; the difference between who I was and who I am.
Who I was was a depressed, lonely, teenager who thought no more of herself than the scum of the Earth, broken down, trodden on, ready to give up.
Then God became more real to me than anything else in this world. He brought me up out of the pit that I had dug myself into, and showed me who I really am. It took a good year or two of Him driving it into my thick skull, but God is patient, gentle, and firm, and soon enough, He made His point very visible to me.
Who I am is a forgiven, saved, beautiful woman of God. I walk all my days in His presence. He tells me I am loved. I am treasured. I have a purpose greater than that which my mind can comprehend. He shows me His hand in my life and reminds me that even though I walked through some dark days, He was there with me, watching over me, never giving me more than I could handle. He tells me that He is mine, and that I belong to Him, which is a more amazing thing than I can even tell you.
He is the only one I truly love with everything in my being.
And although I had to go through a very painful time in my life to get to the place where I am at right now, I am able to say that I would never trade those days for anything. They brought me to where I am now, and they gave me the power of a testimony.