My Best Friend Again

“My Best Friend Again”

Leah, how did your restoration actually begin? *

My restoration journey began in October of 2013. My husband and I had a lot of issues that I don't want to go into detail about, but after a tumultuous 16 years, the pot just boiled over and we separated for 18 months. I had no idea of what to do or where to turn, but 6 months after we separated I found Restore Marriage Ministries on-line and began a beautiful beautiful journey with God. In my questionnaire I stated “I love my husband dearly, we have been together for a total of 18 years. I’ve recently learns truth about God's design for marriage and I just want to be the woman, wife, and mother God designed me to be with the gifts that He has given me.”

Also in the questionnaire, at the bottom it asked “Are you interested in learning how you can help other women who are in marriage crisis?” and I answered, Yes, I sense this is why this crisis happened to me. That’s how I came to fill out this form to submit my testimony, I came back because I felt led to apply as to be a Minister in Training with RMIOU when they asked me to submit a testimony when I said He’d restored my marriage.

How did God change your situation Leah as you sought Him wholeheartedly? *

God first changed me and my heart. He showed me myself and the areas of my life and marriage I needed to work on and most importantly I learned how to develop and cultivate a deep relationship with Him. As I began to change, God allowed my husband to see those changes without me even having to open my mouth. I then noticed the changes in my husband and even in our children. My husband and I became best friends again. It was a beautiful thing to see the beauty of God's hand turning our hearts back to Him and to one another.

What principles, from God's Word (or through our resources), did the Lord teach you during this trial Leah? *

I learned to completely trust God no matter how my situation looked. It was a matter of me completely taking my hands off of the situation and giving it up in surrender to Him and I had to learn to leave it in His Hands.

Leah, we know there were trials, what would you say were the most difficult times that God helped you through? *

The most difficult time that God had to help me through were the moments when our children we heartbroken from them being shuffled back and forth between my husband and I—seeing the looks of disappointment on their faces whenever they had to leave one of us. But God gave me a promise of restoration and I just had to stand in that promise with peace and let Him do it.

What was the “turning point” of your restoration Leah? *

Our youngest son started having issues with his stomach a few weeks before Christmas in 2014. I would end up having to take him back and forth to the doctors for test while my husband was working. So we ended up just spending a lot of time together as a family under one roof; having dinner as a family together almost daily began to let my husband miss being a family again.

Tell us HOW it happened? Did your husband just walk in the front door? *

During my son’s issues with his stomach and we just began to spend time as a family sleeping under the same roof. My husband just asked me to gather my things from the place that I was renting and bring them over to his apartment that he was renting. It just kind of all fell into place without me having to say or ask anything.

Leah, did you suspect or could you tell you were close to being restored? *

I could tell I was close to restoration when my husband no longer resisted being together, all of us being together in a room; together again without feeling the tension. He started to seem at ease being around me.

Would you recommend any of our resource in particular that helped you Leah? *

A Wise Woman was what I clinged to. Even now I still go back and re-read and meditate on that book. But I would also recommend How God can and will Restore your Marriage along with A Wise Woman. I also took online courses and, as I said before, I just recently felt led to apply as to be a Minister in Training with RMIOU.

Leah, do you have favorite Bible verses that you would like to pass on to women reading your Testimonies? Promises that He gave you?

Joel 2:25 New International Version (NIV)

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm—

my great army that I sent among you.”

Would you be interested in helping encourage other women? *

Yes I am.

What kind of encouragement would you like to leave women with in conclusion? *

Just Trust God and Depend fully upon Him…

~ Leah in South Carolina