Anonymously Submitted Testimony

Sometimes it’s the darkest, most violent thunderstorms that bring forth the most beautiful, clear, blue skies. Living in Florida, this can be a daily summertime event. Figuratively speaking, this can also describe the last several years of my marriage to someone with addiction problems.

Looking back, the signs were there that I, like so many others in similar circumstances, can chalk up to denial. Bad temper, anger, poor money management, destructive behavior, coming and going at all hours, the list could go on and on. What I was really dealing with was a husband with a very serious drug addiction. The lifestyle that followed this addiction had very serious consequences.

The day after Valentine’s Day 2007, our young daughter and I moved out of our house and tried to make some sense of the situation. I was finding out new and disturbing developments and discovering the lie that our marriage had become. My fairy tale had ended, and I needed to make some tough decisions.

It was through this grief and loss that I began turning to God more and more everyday. I began using the Bible as my resource for answers to questions about everything going on in my life. Bedtime was my most difficult time of the day. Bitterness and anger would consume me as I had so many unanswered questions. Why did my husband choose to abuse drugs? Why did my husband choose a relationship with another woman over his own wife? Why did he stop paying the bills after we mutually agreed that I should stay home with our new baby? Most of all, my question to him was why wasn’t he trying to save his family unit? Why didn’t he care?

It was through this nightly reading and much prayer and these many “unanswered” prayers that I realized something incredible! God was right there beside me and he never left my side. He was protecting my child and I from extreme danger that follows a lifestyle of drug abuse. He provided me the strength to get out of that dangerous circumstance and move on. Without that courage God provided me, I shudder at the thought of where we would be today. The Lord took his arms and wrapped them around my daughter and I so we would be protected.

It is during this time that my faith grew even stronger. I had been a Christian most of my life, but I had never experienced this kind of journey in my faith walk. I chose to get active in church again and joined First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. It was there that I was reconnected with good friends and made new friends as well through various outlets there.

In one of my recent morning devotional readings, I was reading Psalms 18:32-34. It reminded me once again of God’s love for us and the strength he provides when we need it most. “It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle, my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”

The Lord’s encouragement through daily devotion, prayer, support of fellow Christians and involvement at my church collectively helped me get through a tough storm. It is through my faith in Jesus that I can carry on and recognize the blessings in my life and bask in the glorious sunshine that follows a stormy season of life.

Contributed from Orlando, Fla.