In February of 2015, I was half way through my 24th year of teaching high school students. One cold winter morning, during my first period class, my cell phone began vibrating as it sat on my desk. Seeing that it was a number from the community where my husband pastored a church, I decided to answer it, thinking it may be important. It was important alright It was a man from our church. He said, “Your husband is having an affair with my wife.” Thinking that I must have misunderstood him, I asked, “What?” He repeated his statement and then proceeded to fill me in on how he made the discovery, that morning. He hung up, satisfied that he blew their cover and I sat there in shock. My students were working independently, on a project. I immediately texted my husband. He replied, “We need to talk.” Those words were confirmation that my world was about to crumble. Due to state mandated testing, I had to stay at school, all day. I don’t know how I held it together, that day. I think I was just in a daze, a state of shock, my mind trying to figure out why my husband would do such a thing. My husband and I texted back and forth, all day, as he tried to smooth things out and prepare to face his church board and church staff. That was the beginning of the worst year of my life.
About that same time, a woman in our church who was in charge of our infant & toddler nursery, attended an RLI conference. After my husband resigned from his position as the lead pastor of our church and agreed to seek counseling, she came to our house, pleading with us to sign up for the next RLI conference. She said it would be life changing and would really help our marriage. In her words, she said “A week of RLI is equal to years of marriage counseling.” I could tell that her week attending RLI had certainly sparked a fire in her. My husband was, spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally, in a bad place. I could tell that he just wanted her to leave and was tuning her out. He did not seem interested in “getting help” or working on our marriage. He was distant and cold towards me, a man I did not recognize. After a few weeks, my husband told me that he was going to leave me. He told me that he could not get “her” out of his mind, that he loved “her” and did not love me. His actions were all business and he seemed almost emotionless. Since he no longer had a job, he had plenty of time to find a new place to move into. After he moved out, Kathy called me and convinced me to attend the upcoming RLI conference. I was heartbroken, hurt, rejected, angry, and needed healing. At that point, I decided I could not help my husband, but I could help myself. I really did not know anything about RLI but was open to the possibility of healing my broken heart. I attended RLI in April of 2015, staying in a hotel in West Chester, by myself. It was my husband’s birthday and I was devastated knowing that he was celebrating his special day with another woman. After that first evening at the RLI conference, I knew that was exactly where God wanted me to be. I went back to my hotel room, read more of my RLI booklet, showered, and went to bed. About 4 AM in the morning, I woke up in a panic, sensing that my husband was in danger. I prayed and opened my Bible hoping for direction and clarity. God spoke to me and said, “Your husband, my son, is like Peter.” That’s all He gave me. I immediately started researching Peter’s character and tried to make connections. What was God trying to tell me? How was my husband like Peter? I could not get back to sleep and went early to the next day of the RLI conference. It was an eye-opening experience. I felt such a strong sense of God’s presence in that church during praise and worship and as I listened to the teachings of Bryn, Mike, and several others. I remember talking to Mike, during one of the breaks, sharing just a little bit about what I was going through. Mike was a good listener, but I sensed that my story was one that he has heard before. That evening, Bryn guided me and others through the deliverance of the spirit of unforgiveness. I was crying during the process and almost felt sick. To be honest, up to that point, I did not really understand what deliverance was or the impact spirits have in our lives. I was a little skeptical but open to all the healing I could receive, anything to ease my emotional pain. I left the conference that evening, completely exhausted. I slept soundly and woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to go to church.
I saw a church along the highway that looked a little more contemporary and decided to give it a try. After praise & worship, the lead pastor announced that his sermon was going to be about forgiveness. Oh, my goodness! I had been struggling with feelings of unforgiveness and bitterness towards my husband and especially his “girlfriend”. I thought to myself, “Well I guess we will see if that spirit of unforgiveness really left, last night. This will be the true test.” During the sermon, I literally could not even think of the negative, bitter, unforgiving thoughts I had had for months. I really tried. It was like those thoughts were erased from my memory. I was absolutely amazed! After the service, I was convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that any negative thought that entered my head was from the enemy and I had to be vigilant about keeping those thoughts & spirits from getting in my head. I attended the rest of the RLI conference and participated in Mother’s Love and Father’s Love. It was an emotional and spiritual cleansing experience. I felt so free, filled with hope, filled with love, filled with compassion, and ready to take on the world. I had a new sense of power and determination to get through my storm. I also left with an answer as to WHY my husband ran off with another woman and started acting like a man I did not even know. About the same time, God gave me several visions showing me the evil that was surrounding my husband and also showing me that “they” were controlling his mind, will, and emotions. God also told me to love him. I knew from all of the sermons I listened to my husband preach that I had to listen to God. Even though it was going to be hard, I just knew that God would give me the strength to do it. Had I not gained a better understanding of how someone can unknowingly allow spirits to take over their mind, will, and emotions, I would have given up on my marriage and kicked my husband to the curb. That’s what everyone and I mean everyone, family, friends, coworkers, and even my Christian friends suggested that I do. But I knew he was not well and that the best thing I could do was to love him, just as God instructed me to. It was only a week after I finished the RLI conference that my husband contacted me and asked to come back home.
I’d like to say that after he came home, we lived happily ever after, but it took a couple more years to restore our marriage. In all, I thank God for leading me to RLI. I know that without that experience, I would certainly not be married and I would not be who God wanted me to be…a loving, supportive, wife to His son, my husband.