♕Today's Promise: "And we know that the Lord disposes all things for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” R828
Daphne, how did your Restoration Journey actually begin?
My restoration started a few months ago, no more than 7 or 8 months.
I was living in adultery, I had been divorced for two years, and I was engaged to marry another man. My ex-husband had sought restoration of my marriage for two years but my heart was hard as stone and I was not able to see the will of my husband. God is behind it all. I had drifted completely away from my Savior, and I had a kerchief over my eyes that blinded me to my mistakes.
My beloved Lord did everything to bring me back into His hands but my stubborn and hardened heart did not understand, so He took from me what I wanted most even when I did not know what I wanted, but of course, my beloved Heavenly Husband knew much more about me than I.
My ex-husband started a relationship with another woman and made it clear to me that he was very happy and did not want me in his life.
That hurt me a lot more than I could have imagined.
Days later, when I opened my Google search engine I found a sentence that said: -God hates Divorce. My heart shuddered and the pain shook every inch of my body. And I began to read it, feeling that my Lord and Savior Jesus was speaking directly to me through my ears. This wonderful book.
I was applying the principles, each and every one of them, and my relationship with my God grew in a great way and I began to feel the voice of my Love speaking sweetly in my ear.
Then I found "A Wise Woman" and my Beloved spoke to me about each and every one of my faults, mistakes and sins and about each one of His countless mercies and His infinite love.
How did God change your situation, Daphne, as you sought Him wholeheartedly?
When I began to seek Him with all my heart, I was healing from the inside out and He was arranging all the circumstances one by one so that everything would be fixed.
Everything started to get better just when it seemed that it was going to get worse. My husband Donovan called me and told me that he wanted to talk to me, that he needed to meet with me, he told me that he was happy and didn't want me in his life.
Two days after this, I felt the need to write to him and ask him if something was wrong with him. Every inch of my body resisted, how could I write to who had made it clear that he didn't want to know more about me?
But obeying was one of the first principles I learned, so I put pride aside, I filled myself with self-control and guided by my God I wrote him a very simple message: -Sorry to bother you. Is something wrong with you?
Of course, the answer didn't take a minute to arrive: -Why do you ask? Well, yes, I have my mother admitted to the hospital and they are going to operate on her appendicitis.
And from that moment, everything began to change.
The next day I felt the urge to go to the hospital and bring him some things, I even dreamed of part of what I had to pick up to take. Now, I didn't have to fight against any contrary feeling, I just obeyed and followed what God had prepared for me. I remember that on the way to the hospital I only prayed, I couldn't stop doing it. Many times I was invaded by contrary feelings and thoughts that made me believe that I was crazy: I was on my way to the hospital to see the mother of the man who had made it clear days before that he didn't want me in his life, the same woman who, when I ended the relationship with her son, never wanted to talk to me again, the same family that had defamed and prosecuted me, and there I was, completely crazy, yes,, crazy with love for Him, for my God, crazy because I had decided to follow Him with all my soul and with all my heart, even if I had to turn the other cheek or walk the second mile, I would follow him because I was madly in love with me Heavenly Husband.
Of course when I arrived there were no ill-treatment or bad faces, just gratitude.
And so I spent the three days that she was hospitalized, attending to all the needs and food of the family of the man who had told me that he did not want to know about me.
I called my parents, who live in the province where his family lives, who had had to move because of the operation and of course they had no help here apart from what God led me to give them. God was in the matter, and the family of my earthly husband had had to leave his grandfather alone, so my parents, also moved by the Holy Spirit, took care of the food and all the needs of my earthly husband´s grandfather.
But the plans of my God did not end there.
On the third day I was diagnosed with appendicitis and had to have an emergency operation. My parents in another province would not arrive on time but of course the plans of my Beloved Heavenly Husband were perfect and my Donovan was the last person I saw before entering to the room and the first person I saw when I woke up from anesthesia, plus he met my parents at the hospital and kept them up to date on everything.
What principles, from God's Word (or through our resources), did the Lord teach you during this trial, Daphne?
I believe that the first principle that my Lord taught me was to follow him without hesitating for a second, without hesitation, just obey.
It was also wonderful when I understood through His word my role in my marriage, which lifted a huge burden from me.
The hardest thing for me to learn was to wait, and it is a battle that I am still fighting, to stand still and wait.
What were the most difficult times that God helped you through, Daphne?
The truth is, when I thought that my restoration was done, and Donovan had spent 15 days at home, the other woman decided to surprise him and come to the city to spend 3 months with him.
When my earthly husband told me, I felt pain, I felt like I had been defeated, I had so many negative thoughts that I honestly couldn't control them.
Even so, my Heavenly Husband continued to act, it was Him acting and I continued to trust despite the pain.
Donovan told me that he would not leave, that he would stay with me and I felt a little calmer, even for things that I now know were part of the superior plan of my Beloved Lord and Savior, a week later he had to leave and go to where was the other woman.
It was an extremely difficult day for me, I cried incessantly, I fasted all day, I prayed, I cried, I couldn't sleep and I sincerely felt that I was fainting but I didn't stop believing.
There was a time when I screamed,begged for the test to stop, that I couldn't take it anymore, that I needed to know something about him and I hadn't finished praying and my cell phone rang with Donovan telling me that this relationship was over.
Glory to God who does not let us be stretched more than we can bear.
Daphne, what was the “turning point” of your restoration?
The crucial moment of my restoration was when I released my earthly husband and gave myself completely to my Lord, in prayer, telling Him that if it was His will that I remain alone for the rest of my life, dedicated only to Him, to adore Him and to love and serve Him. I would…
It took me a long time, it was very difficult. I am 23 years old and I have always dreamed of being a mother, by giving up my marriage I was giving up the opportunity to fulfill that dream but being able to follow His will was worth it.
Tell us HOW it happened, Daphne? Did Donovan just walk in the front door? Daphne, did you suspect or could you tell you were close to being restored?
Just like that my beloved sisters
My husband just walked back through the front door. He told me he couldn't stay home that night and of course I just sweet-talked him reminding him that this was our home, of course he could.
I prepared him the dinner that I know he likes the most, and the next day his breakfast and I prepared myself not to see him anymore, I didn't ask anything.
And that afternoon I received the same message asking if he could stay home one more night and I replied again with love.
The next day in the morning, he said goodbye with a kiss on the lips and said:-see you in the afternoon love.
I couldn´t suspect we were close to being restored.No way. Quite the opposite.
Everything seemed to get darker and I used to remind myself many times that we live by faith and not by sight.
And yes, my God changes everything, changes hearts and circumstances in a second.
Would you recommend any of our resources in particular that helped you, Daphne?
The books How God Can and Will Restore Your Marriage, and A Wise Woman.
In addition, the Become His Bride course helped me a lot in this process.
We live by faith, not by sight
Faith is the certainty of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
All that they sow with tears they will blind with joy
Would you be interested in helping encourage other women, Daphne?
Of course
Either way, Daphne, what kind of encouragement would you like to leave women with, in conclusion?
Sisters in Christ, my friends, dear ones, God truly keeps his promises, and the passage through the valley of the shadow of death is only a step, not a life, it is only a time, and we come out of it as a new vessel.
It is wonderful when others tell you: you have changed a lot, you are someone different.
It's wonderful when you look inside and see self control, you see faith, you see love and more, you see perseverance and patience.
It is wonderful when you finally see love inside you and you realize that you don't even need it to come from another person because it has always been by your side, supporting you and guiding your steps, that unconditional love, full of mercy and kindness that it gives us, our Savior.
My sisters, God is everything we need. He is our Best Friend, our Brother, our Father, our Husband, our Confidant, our helper and much more; you just have to think about what you need at that moment: do you need to talk to your best friend? Well, cry out to Him just like that, tell Him what you would only say to your best friend, use that language that you would only use with your best friend because you know He will not judge you, He is the best friend, do you need a Father? Talk to him like your Father, ask him for guidance and advice like a lawyer, ask him to embrace you as your brother... the possibilities are endless as His love for us.
Do not be discouraged, the reward will be enormous, not only will you have restored marriages but restored lives, but closed and erased wounds and infinite happiness in any situation.
It is worth following, it is worth blindly obeying when you feel it is His will, it is worth it.
And yes, my brides, yes, do not think that a perfect woman is speaking who has not made a mistake in this process, this is something that is about falling and getting up again, this is something that is about not knowing how to do or not having the own control and make mistakes again, but the mercy of our Beloved is even greater than that, sisters, if you make a mistake, if you take a false step, just repent, go to His feet again, ask for forgiveness, I assure you that He will not He is not going to allow that error to cost us His restoration, because for us it is a battle for our families or at least that is how it begins, but for Him it is a battle for our souls and He loves us in such a special way that He will not let any of us we remain in the valley of death.
Trust, believe, pray and hope
Our God will do the rest.
Read MORE testimonies in our By the Word of Their Testimony Full Series.