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by Lynn Drake My childhood: A father in and out of prison, mostly in; a mother who was bitterly angry and took it out on her four children. I was raised in a home where the abuse of alcohol and drugs were prevalent. A common occurrence was physical, emotional and mental abuse. My grandmother taught me about the love of Christ when I was in preschool. I never wanted to leave her house when we visited. I would crawl under the table and cry. My mother would yell and hit me for that. At age 18, I married an abusive alcoholic. I was far from the Lord for several long, hard years. Then I became pregnant. With this child in my womb, I returned to the Lord. I prayed, "Please dear Lord, let this child have a better life than I have had." When my child was 3 years old, my husband threw us out of the house. I prayed, "Lord, what do I do now"? The message came loud and clear through my 3-year-old child. She said, "Bye, bye, take care of yourself." "Bye, bye, take care of yourself". She repeated this over and over. I received a confidence from the Lord, that He was helping us. The Lord gave me a loving Christian family at Woodbridge Community Church. I was loved and safe. I began to heal and grow with Christ. Through the healing process, I learned the power of forgiveness. Yes, I forgave the many who had abused me. I learned to forgive myself. Most of all, I asked the Lord to forgive my sins. I met my husband Bob, who is Jewish. He was a successful businessman. However, he was looking for his purpose in life. I was given the gift of getting to share the gospel with Bob. Bob's father died of a heart attack when he was a child. We both knew what pain it is to grow up fatherless. We now work with fatherless children, showing them the love of Christ. This is the life my Creator made for me. There is lots of love in my family. We love and follow Jesus Christ! And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
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