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Jenni
Posts:1
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Posted:09/29/2008 10:58 AM |
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Hello,
This is really not a question, but a sincere 'Thank you' directed to Pastor Dave from this last weekend's service and I didn't know where else to put it. 
In regards to relationships, I have never been able to share this story with anyone, but the people who were there, til now...
I was married once for 7 years to an abusive man. Verbal, mental and physical. I was married young and thought that was how relationships worked and figured it was me on my end doing something wrong to make him hate me so much. I did everything possible to make him love me, to me, I was a good wife.
On the eve of my oldest daughters birthday, he came home late smelling like alcohol and crying. He picked a fight with me, pushed me into a wall, grabbed a knife out of the sink and proceeded to 'cut' himself til he was bleeding all over our kitchen. He then left and the next thing I knew, I was being arrested for domestic violence. To this day, I swear I saw God when I was at the police station. I never had believed before, but that day, I knew he was there and had me wrapped in his arms. The charges were dropped against me and my ex husband arrested for making a false report. I signed my divorce papers the next day and got a tattoo that will forever remind me of that night and my vision of God, my Angel, as he held me in his arms. For those of you who have seen me around, it says 'Innocent Angel' with an angel underneath the words. When asked if it stands for something, Yes it does....That's when I started believing that God had always been there for me and always will.
I sat through this past weekends service with tears in my eyes, when Pastor Dave told us to forgive those who wronged us. That had been something I had never been able to do. I lived in terror for 7 long years of my life, then carried the burden with me for 6 more years until this past Saturday. Pastor Dave asked us to see the person in a prison cell and that we were the only ones who had the key and could let them out to go free. I sat in the second row and could swear that everyone else in the room disappeared, the spotlight was on me and Pastor Dave was talking directly to me. The tears started pouring out of my eyes as I walked in my mind to that prison cell and unlocked the door. Chills filled my spine as I watched my ex husband walk out of the cell and turn around as I said "I forgive you". It took 6 years to finally be able to do that and I walked out of that service feeling lighter. That burden I had been harboring for what seemed to be forever, was gone... No longer there. I hadn't been in any relationship since my divorce 6 years ago because I had been afraid, or maybe because that hurt had taken over me. Maybe now, I can trust in myself to be in another relationship.
I just wanted to thank Pastor Dave for this past weekend's service and to let him know, it did touch someone out there....Me.... And I couldn't thank him more!
-Jenni
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