RESTORED Marriage Testimony: “He Brought the OW on Vacation and I Hugged Her”

♕ Today's Promise: "But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” Matthew 5:39-42

 

 

☊ RMT Praise

Naomi, how did your Restoration Journey actually begin?

My desert started about eight years ago while I was getting ready for my college exams. I found out through a cousin that my EH (earthly husband) was cheating on me. His whole family already knew. He took advantage of the fact that I was not going with him to his mother's house and told everyone that he was separated from me. Nobody understood and did not believe it. We have three children and have been married for 18 years. I say that we are married because despite all this he never left home even though he was with OW (other woman). He spent the week at home and on the weekends he went to her house. My EH (earthly husband) said he was going to travel for work, so he went on Saturday and returned on Monday. I didn't suspect anything. As I was Catholic (before becoming His bride), the day before I went to sleep, I was praying the rosary as usual, but when I finished praying, a message arrived on my cell phone. I used to turn it off every night but something didn't let me turn it off that day. I went to check the message and it was from my EH’s niece. She said that she liked me a lot and that she was angry about what my EH (earthly husband) was doing to me. I didn't understand and asked what she meant. That was when she told me that he was going there every weekend and that the OW (other woman) was already being introduced as a wife to everyone. 

My world collapsed and I slipped to the floor! We had just left a rental because we had built our house, so I never imagined that this would be happening in the midst of our new life. My reaction was like everyone here has said, I cursed, defamed him in front of the whole family, I did everything the other way around, cheating on him and all it did was make the situation get worse, much much worse because now my own guilt and shame was added on top of everything. 

My EH (earthly husband) started to hate me. We argued incessantly; he said he didn't love me anymore, so my son tried to talk to him but he said there was no way. Yet God was so faithful that he didn't let him leave the house, nevertheless, my ordeal increased every day because I had to live with that situation. He spoke to OW (other woman) on the phone with such affection right in front of us that it made me feel horrible. He paraded with her everywhere and everyone in the family could not believe it because it was so unlike him. 

So, without knowing anything about why this was all happening, why God allowed it to happen, I acted in the flesh, so as I said, the situation got so much worse. I lost nine kilos or 21 pounds in just a few weeks. I lost the will to live as if everything had no meaning in my life. 

As I asked God why, that’s when I remembered that just before all this happened, I had asked God to transform my EH (earthly husband), as he loved to spend weekends in bars and did not have time for the family, that’s when God asked if I was prepared, I said yes. I was raised with great difficulty by a single mother, without a father, so I didn't want my children to go through this. I believed but it was not with FAITH. I started slandering my EH (earthly husband) by acting like a fool and that was driving him further away from our family. My husband was blinded in his sin, he didn't care about his children, he left them even more in need, it wasn't him. 

I foolishly decided to call OW (other woman) not to attack her but just to talk. I feel ashamed when I remember what I did because all it did was to give her every weapon she needed to finish me off. His whole family was on my side, which was comforting, yet the OW kept my EH (earthly husband) away from every member of his family, even his mother. It really wasn't my EH in that body, he would never do that. Nothing made sense, how this could be God’s plan and answer to my prayer until I stumbled on this while reading through the Bible with my ePartner, we both saw it. “A senseless man has no knowledge, Nor does a stupid man understand this: That when the wicked sprouted up like grass And all who did iniquity flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.” Psalm 92:6-7

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

I joined several groups through WhatsApp prayers but I couldn't find answers, but thank God I never stopped looking for you. About a year into my journey, I decided to give up on my marriage. That day I cried out to the Lord that I couldn't stand this situation anymore, my family had lost everything, I cried so much that day and asked the Lord to set me free. 

So, in the WhatsApp group, there was a woman asking for prayer because she was going to make a decision about her marriage, that's when another woman asked her not to do this without first going to the website: www.HopeAtLast.com and my whole body shivered. I knew, just knew, that God heard my cries. Immediately when I started reading the book "How God can and will restore your marriage", I cried with joy. There was so much I didn't understand about marriage nor how to be a wife and certainly how to handle any crisis God’s way. I had so much to learn!

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

How much wealth of wisdom there was on your site. After I finished reading the eBook I ordered, I started taking your free courses and each day I got stronger spiritually and emotionally. There was a bible in the house but I never imagined that every solution to my situation would be there. "Happy is the man who endures temptation. Because, after suffering the trial, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

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

There were several difficult months that were difficult, like seeing my EH (earthly husband) talking on the phone with OW (other woman), and also the trip he took with her that I believed was the end. Because when he returned, I saw a commitment ring on his finger from her instead of his wedding ring. 

Every year we would take my mother-in-law to her sister's house so we could all vacation together. I went in the car with my sister-in-law and then my EH said he was not going. It was when we arrived that we saw he had come and brought the OW on vacation. That seemed like the end as everyone was shocked and thought I was going to physically attack them both. But by this time the contentious woman was gone and His love had given me a gentle and quiet spirit. I’d just finished Finding the Abundant Life and was on the next book about Living that life, on Chapter 4 “When Do I Give Up?” and I knew God allowed this for the testimony. 

So I raised my head, walked over (which is when everyone believed I was going to attack her and him) and while walking...I repeated in my heart, "Fear nothing, God is with you." "If God is for me, who can be against me” and trusted what He wanted to do. I instead said, “Hi my name is Naomi, you must be…(saying her name)” and hugged her.

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

The turning point was when I decided to put into practice everything I learned at RMI, I’d passed the test when facing the OW (other woman) as I felt her shudder when I hugged her and knew she felt His love, not my fear.

After that, I was able to treat my EH (earthly husband) with meekness, without looking at the situation anymore. Many told me to get rid of him but I didn't, I decided to follow God’s advice as I was done with how the world had led me to the pit I’d fallen into. My EH never left the house as I’ve said, and I never stopped sleeping with him, just as it is in 1 Corinthians 7:4, which clearly says: “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise the husband also does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” 

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

I started to pray through the book of Hosea, which talks about the hedge of thorns, building a spiritual fence around him. So when it was my EH’s birthday I asked God if it was His will that my husband would choose to spend his birthday with us, and that’s what God did. I was home alone when I heard a car coming up our driveway and looked out to see, it was my EH (earthly husband) . I was shocked. Even those who have FAITH are amazed by the works of God. When I opened the door, he came in and was carrying food and snacks. Then he went back to his car and immediately began to remove everything from the car that had been at OW’s house. That day he didn't say what happened and I didn't ask, I just praised Him with such joy as I’d never known. I immediately began to prepare dinner for him that day and the next day, his birthday, we celebrated my EH “officially” returning home. His heart was home with me and his family once again. 

We are now in the post-restoration phase, as it is not over yet like most of the testimonies I read in the series of testimony books I studied, so I was prepared. I had not sent in my RMT because I believed it may not be restored because the day I began writing it, something was said by my EH (earthly husband), so I became confused. I do apologize for that, it was when I read a praise report talking about how this is the enemy’s way of stealing God’s praise and I instantly knew, that yes, God had already restored my marriage and how could I fail not to testify what GOD had done. 

My EH (earthly husband) says he loves me, that all our difficulties are ending and we are currently making plans to finish our house and move in. Glory to God. He says that he only feels pleasure with me and that when he was with the OW (other woman) it was me that he longed for. What more proof does anyone need to see what God has done?

Would you recommend any of our resources in particular that helped you, Naomi?

I went through several trials but nothing kept me from the love of God, because I knew that He would be there and that He would perform His miracle. But I confess that I could not have done it alone, without the RMI materials I would never have known God’s promises nor the love of my HH (Heavenly Husband). I recommend all the many courses you provide and am amazed how so few don’t take advantage of what’s offered. I tackled your courses even more than I had done when at university. I knew what I was learning would mean eternal rewards, not temporary and would reach far into every area of my life.

Would you be interested in helping encourage other women, Naomi? 

Yes

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

Your family is God's favorite project, and God's project makes no mistakes in how He does everything. No matter what you face, even should you face the enemy, remember the battle is in the mind and heart. Never look at the situation just for itself but the intent of Him allowing it. He is faithful and does nothing in half. God chose you to be the heart of your family, so fight for it as our Savior fought for us. He trusted God His Father and so must we. So my sisters, whatever happens, move forward and literally embrace and don’t reject evil, because that evil can be quenched by His love. Trust me because I am living proof of what God can do.

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