Renewed Our Vows in Paris

Renewed Our Vows in Paris

What brought you to RMI? Please use this space to briefly let our readers know what your life was like when you first found us, Dawn, so our readers understand just what a miracle your restoration is.

Dawn, how did your restoration actually begin?

My journey started after I had been separated from my husband approximately 7 months. I discovered that he had a girlfriend! This was such a shock to me even though I was the one who had asked him to leave. Our marriage had been sinking, so I thought that separating was the best thing. Everyone encouraged me to make him leave, to wake him up, that he needed to change. However the moment I discovered the existence of the other woman, it was as if God grabbed me by my ears to wake me up, to show me what I had done. I knew then that I was in a fight for my marriage.

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

Once I knew about the OW,I felt very weak and started to go to church. It seemed impossible to me that my situation could ever turn out well. I had destroyed any hope due to the foolish actions I’d taken. The more I sought God, the more things seemed to be against me. Yet no one understands how God acts, sisters, I tell you one thing—God is faithful to fulfill all the promises He has made to you. God will restore your family, as He did mine, if you only put our Beloved in the right place in your heart and your life. Do not give up however difficult things get. Give it all to God because He is the God of the impossible.

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

The Lord taught me to trust in in Him when things were not going well. As I did, He gave me the assurance in my heart that He would act for me and fight my cause. That even in the silence, when things looked the most hopeless, He was working in my life and in my husband's life. As your books encouraged I began to fast, so without eating, I was able to pray and really experience the “gentle and quiet spirit” we need to make it through. I sought God with all my heart because only He could do something for me and He did.

What were the most difficult times that God helped you through Dawn?

One of the most difficult times was to hear our daughter saying that she had seen a photo of her father's girlfriend. This was very painful. Another very difficult time was before I followed the principle of letting go of my Facebook. I’d determined I wouldn’t snoop but only use it to keep in touch with friends. The most painful day of my life was when I opened to see on facebook the Christmas posts my own husband had shared with our friends. Pictures with another woman, the two of them vacationing and looking so happy. I never imagined going through anything like this. Worst, was what he had posted” Life is simply fantastic with you as my love!!! God heard me wail and cry all day long. I was devastated! I could never imagine my husband, for everyone to see, there with another woman and even worse, calling her my love. Yet, it was this painful experience that taught me that only God can help me. If I follow the principles and warnings and stopped believing I was above or better or different than everyone else. I could no longer continue to do things my way.

Dawn, what was the “turning point” of your restoration?

Even after I began sincerely following God principles I learned in the lessons, things didn’t immediately get better. One day when my husband came to pick up our daughter, I later learned that the other woman was waiting in our car with him. She was there because they were all going off for the weekend. Her daughter was also with them. The Lord knew how painful it would be for me to know, so He kept this from me and poured His love into me while my daughter was away. Once I heard, it was easy to forgive, but had I not had Him as my HH at that time, I am sure this would have made me give up. Your book, your courses, your encouragement and all the testimonies of the women who have traveled this difficult road before us helped me to get through these difficulties. His love gave me an enormous amount of strength to have faith and never give up. God loves families and only He is able to restore and make the impossible happen.

Tell us HOW it happened Dawn? Did your husband just walk in the front door? Dawn, did you suspect or could you tell you were close to being restored?

God is so faithful. After the New Year, on the second day of the New Year I woke up to find he’d let himself in and slept at home. In the morning when he came into the kitchen, he told me that the other woman was his boss, so he was afraid to end the relationship even though he had wanted to for weeks.

I knew God had to finish what He started. So I just listened, agreed with whatever my husband said, and told him even if he lost his job over this, I knew God would honor him doing the right thing. I was still concerned that this was just another trial He was bringing me through and not really the finish of our restoration. I still felt his heart was distant. It wasn’t until weeks later, after he was home that he explained how very scared he was, of failing, trying to leave, but pulled back to where he now loathed to be.

God is faithful to fulfill and give us the desires of our hearts. My husband broke off the relationship and never lost his job. Soon after he was transferred to another new division, a promotion actually, but most importantly he is nowhere near the torments of the OW. It’s like Erin says, to really be sure we won’t go back to what is wrong, God makes us get our fill of it until it sickens us.

I will be eternally grateful to God for all that He has done and for all that He is still doing. Our marriage and our family is finally solid, established on the Rock of His truth. God knows how I marvel at my husband, the contentment he has being at home. My daughter is so happy now because she was also suffering a lot with our separation. She tells me how awful it was being with the OW and her daughter, knowing what daddy was doing was wrong.

The Lord is present in my family and now He is at the center. My husband and I vow that we will grow old together, until death we do part!! And as if my Beloved didn’t bless me enough, my wonderful HH gave me what I’d dreamed of for years. To celebrate one year of restored marriage, we renewed our vows in Paris with the Eiffel Tower as our backdrop!! My first love will always be my HH, and my husband knows it and says it’s why he loves me so much. Together we love our daughter and love being a family again!!!!!!

Thank you, Erin, for helping all of the separated women to never give up on their families!!!! Without you giving your life to foolish women like us, women who have unknowingly torn their own houses down, families like mine would be over.

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

How God Can and Will Restore Your Marriage and also A Wise Woman. These books are powerful, RYM was my handbook and my roadmap. Your courses are what teach us how to handle certain situations and come through them. I must say I am surprised by how many women give up and never finish the race. All I can say is don’t give up, make your lessons top priority. Give up on pleasures and talking about your problems. Learn how to rid yourself of them and receive what He has for anyone who is willing to take His hand and finish the race.

Would you be interested in helping encourage other women Dawn?

Yes

Either way Dawn, what kind of encouragement would you like to leave women with, in conclusion?

Never give up on your husband, your family. Instead, simply ask God for the strength to get up every morning and renew your mind with His Word, Psalms and Proverbs. Then move on to the devotionals and then the lessons. Do the same lesson at night and you’ll dream of restoration.

I promise this is the Infallible recipe for victory: prayer (talk to your HH night and day), fast (let your flesh die before it takes over and ruins your hope for restoration), trust (don’t try to restore, let Him do it), and hope (against all hope even when it looks hopeless)!!

God does not despise any prayer, even those wrought in incredible pain. Remember too, He acts in His time and not in our time. I know it is not easy to wait but He does have an appointed time for your restoration. The question is, will you be there to receive it???!!!