Only God could have made Beauty from my Ashes! By Stephanie
(Note from Linda: It is such an honor and pleasure to share the following post from Stephanie, which she posted on the private website earlier today! And I know you all will want to share in her joy and praise the Lord for another RESTORED MARRIAGE and family!!! God is just so faithful and there’s no doubt that He has rewarded and blessed Stephanie with the desire of her heart because of her faithfulness to sow seeds of restoration into the lives of countless other men and women standing against the wiles of the devil for their marriages by sharing her own testimony as a prodigal turned stander (EXP). May God’s greatest joy and richest blessings always be Stephanie’s and her husband’s as they embark on the rest of their lives together with the brand new marriage He has given them! What an awesome God we serve! And how important it is to note that JUST AS SOON as Stephanie REALLY LET GO, God moved in her husband’s heart to come home! So be blessed and encouraged just to know that what God does for one, He WILL do for all!)
For the first time in my life, though naturally a very talkative woman, I am completely speechless and in awe of God’s mighty power and awesome presence in my life. So I want to share a little more of my story and testimony of how miraculously God has worked in my heart, life and now my marriage!
Three short years ago, I was in the thick of sin, and I ran around believing that the world and the people in it could fulfill my needs. I did not love my husband and I told him that numerous times. I treated him terribly; both with my words and in my actions, and I did not want to be his wife. I just wanted to be “free” because I was not happy. I truly believed that I would be better off with out him and I believed my children would be fine too. But I ended up being a bad parent and my children often received the brunt of my displaced anger and overall unhappiness. And I truly believed that divorce was the best and only way to resolve my pain and lack of love for my spouse. I was wayward, resistant, rebellious and stubborn. And I was fully convinced that my marriage was over, and no one could change my mind. No one could tell me anything, especially my husband. His begging, attempts at persuasion and pleading just fell on deaf ears. Even though he prayed for our marriage, he was also very angry and totally frustrated with me, and he often pointed out my waywardness and told me how God was unhappy with me. But that just pushed me further away. I would even pray for God to “release me from this man and this marriage.” I told God I didn’t love him and that we both deserved to be happy. Well, my Heavenly Father had another plan for me!
My life spun out of control and God slowly removed all the worldly things I thought gave me so much pleasure…friends, co-workers, job, and even my husband’s love. And I eventually found myself face down on the floor in tears. (Psalm 55:1-2, 16-18). All I could do was cry out to God in my despair and it was in sheer desperation that I found my Lord, who was there just waiting for me to ask him for help (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). God slowly began removing the scales from my eyes (Acts 9:18) and He showed me things within myself that made me cringe. He turned my heart right back to the very man I had prayed for him to remove from my life; He softened my heart and restored love I thought I no longer had for my husband, and He gave me the desire for my marriage. (Ezekial 36:26-27). God did the impossible with this prodigal (Mark 10:27)!!
As I shared in my last post, I finally came to the place of being at peace with whatever God had for my life; be it marriage restoration or not, which came as a result of the despair of being alone on my wedding anniversary. And when I finally came to that conclusion, God just showed me how he was working when my husband questioned what I did on our anniversary. And when I told him that I went to dinner and a movie, he wanted to know who I went with. I remember smiling inside and thanking God for showing me that he still cared! But never in my wildest imagination would I have ever thought that just a few days later my husband would come home and not leave again! Yet, he has not gone back to his parent’s home for a couple of weeks now! He is spending time working on the house and spending a lot of time with me and the kids. Praise God!! And although we have not officially talked about our relationship or what lies ahead, I know without a shadow of a doubt that my marriage is restored!!!! So, Linda, please move us over to the Restored Marriage list!!
My brothers and sisters in Christ, your day is coming! I never thought I would be posting a restored marriage testimony so soon. Yet, all of a sudden—here I am. I am the prodigal that came home. I was the wayward, godless, and stubborn spouse that wanted to be divorced. God first changed me, and then through MY change, a miracle was done in my husband’s heart. So remember that no matter what you see or hear, your promise is from God. And God does not lie and He is no respecter of persons. What God did for me, He will (HE REALLY WILL!) do for you; just hang on…it’s coming! God is working things out for your good (Jeremiah 29:11).
Thank you for allowing me to share in your lives; you are all truly a great blessing!! All glory goes to God…only He could have made beauty from my ashes (Isaiah 61:3)!!!
With Love,
Stephanie
How awesome is our God! I have been so encouraged from the testimonies you have shared and the work God is doing in your life and marriage. Thank you so much for sharing. I will pray for you guys as you start your new relationship together.
Your last two posts have touched me like no other. I have been fighting the fight and standing in the gap, but I didn’t realize how I wasn’t trusting God to do it. I wrote down those things that I am going through and just realized how silly they were and crumpled them up. Wow! What a release of the spirit…as though God said “Now let’s get to work.” So thank you for showing me how.
Thank you, Stephanie, For the love and encouragement in your posts. It blesses my heart to read how God touched you. May God continue to bless you and your family forever.