Sowing in Tears and Reaping with Songs of Joy!

Since it’s always so exciting to reach a new milestone as we stand together to promote marriage restoration, it’s a tremendous privilege and with great joy that I announce that one of the earliest FAM Fellowship members will be marrying her covenant husband again this weekend! While we’ve been blessed to witness so many marriage restorations, this will be the first FAM member to remarry after divorce and there’s absolutely no doubt that many more will follow! But this will be a particularly special occasion for all of us, because the FAM members are invited to celebrate and rejoice with MNO (member name omitted) and her husband as they renew their marriage vows by witnessing their wedding via teleconference. As soon as MNO and her hubby made their plans to remarry, it was very important to her to share her testimony here to help encourage others that what God has done for her, He will do for all. So it is my hope and prayer, as well as MNO’s that you will be very blessed and encouraged by reading her testimony and that you are reminded that just as Proverbs 21:30 declares, There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD. And as MNO’s testimony and Psalm 126:5 both confirm, Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. Praise the Lord, for He has been ever so faithful to do as His Word says in Jeremiah 31:13, where He promised, Then maidens will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.May your sorrow soon turn to joy!

*****

First and foremost, I would like to thank God and give him all of the glory for the restoration of my marriage. And I feel led by him to write this to encourage all of you to trust in God and know that he is faithful to answer all that he has promised.

In March of 2006, my husband walked out on me and our marriage, and being full of pride, it was the most devastating event of my life. For months, we kept in touch and I was convinced that he still loved me and would not be able to do without me. Yet, as the months went by, I cried and cried, wondering why God had allowed this to happen. I couldn’t understand how the sweet man I had married turned into such an evil man. The few times we met as per my request, he’d flaunt his other relationships in my face. In his eyes, the marriage ended when he walked out. But in mine, we were still married in God’s eyes. So I would email him bible versus on marriage, adultery and so forth, but he just got meaner and eventually just ignored my calls; to the point that we completely stopped speaking to each other.

After six or seven months of that, I began harassing him and pressuring him to file for a divorce, and we ultimately ended up meeting at the courthouse to finalize the paperwork. I had to insist on him going there with me to ensure that the paperwork was filled out correctly, because by that time, the courts had rejected our petition four or five times. So I became impatient and told my husband that if I wanted things done right, I obviously had to do it myself. And two weeks after we filled out the paperwork, I received the notice in the mail of the dissolution of my marriage, which became official on September 17, 2007; just eleven days after what would have been our fourth wedding anniversary. But I was enraged and began to cry; not fully understanding why, since I was the one who pressured him to get the divorce. I had heard through friends how much he was partying and dating, and I wanted the same for me, but knew that I had to be divorced first. I had already tried “dating” while married and knew it was wrong and I wanted to feel good about it instead of feeling so bad and guilty about it.

God is always faithful to give us the desires of our hearts when we delight in him, but in order for us to be able to receive them, he must first purge US of all of OUR ungodly desires and he must show US where WE went wrong. My husband called me personally to deliver the news about the termination of our marriage, which just upset me even more. So from that moment forward, I began to date, party, drink, etc. But the more I did those worldly things, the emptier I felt inside. I was going out on dates with ungodly men, while just wishing that my husband was the one by my side. I was trying to deal with so many emotions, and at night, I found myself praying; asking God to keep my heart free of resentment toward my husband and to do his will in my life. I would ask God to bring me the right man, and I continued to ask him to save my husband and to show him the right way and his wrong doings, so he’d find the right Godly woman one day too.

As much as I partied, I never felt at ease. I always knew that I wanted God to bless me, but I was too hurt to allow myself to realize that I still loved my husband and that what I was doing was wrong. And it seems that God allowed me to date various types of men who were everything I always wanted in my husband; the success, money, great dancer, smooth talker, etc…I had it all. Each man had a little bit of what I was looking for. But, each and every one of them also had one of my own bad characteristics; short tempered, prideful, revengeful, ambitious, self Righteous, etc., and each one them had an excessive measure of their particular UNGODLY CHARACTERISTIC!

But through all of that, I began to see all the evil traits I had within myself and how each and every one of them had played a part in the temporary destruction of my marriage, and I felt at a loss. And I was eventually forced to move back in with my parents, because I had been such a bad steward of my finances. Meanwhile, my husband had moved in with another woman within a month of our divorce becoming final, and I swore I would never, ever go back to him. He sent me one last email, attempting to leave the door of communication between us open, but I told him where to put it! As I said, I was very hurt and not thinking or behaving very godly myself.

So I totally stopped talking to my husband, and I remember crying out and truly releasing him to God in January of 2008. I asked God to help me really forgive my husband because I didn’t want to feel the pain, bitterness and anger anymore; I said that I just wanted his will for my life and that I knew he had something better for me even if I didn’t know what it was. And I asked that some day my husband would realize that I wasn’t the only one responsible for what happened in our marriage and that he’d seek my forgiveness one day too. I knew that I had tried to reason with my husband and felt that nothing would salvage our marriage. So I gave up on all of MY efforts and truly handed him to God. I didn’t call him or email him; doing nothing at all.

Then on July 25, 2008, after almost 1 year of no real communication, we ran into each other at a mutual friend’s wedding. Of course, I knew he would be there, and with the other woman, so I made and effort to look extra stunning, because I was not about to be over shadowed by the new girl. All of my friends suggested taking a date, but I said no, because it was not my intention to make him jealous; I just wanted to make sure I looked good. So I showed up at the party “all dolled up”…wearing an emerald green dress with gold accessories (my husband had rarely seen me in a dress, because I hated wearing them). I walked in and he was sitting at the table with my best-friend’s husband. I walked to their table, because I had to say hi to my friend, and my husband could not take his eyes off of me. I hugged everyone at the table and held out my right hand to shake his hand, but he jumped up out of his chair and hugged me. Then I walked to my table and began mingling with my friends. He looked so out of place, and I later found out that he had broken things off with the girl and was living with his sister. There was so much sadness in his eyes, but he was no longer my business; he was God’s.

On the late afternoon of August 17, 2008 my husband called me out of the blue and asked me if I would meet him for coffee, and I reluctantly agreed. Then I called my boy-friend at the time and asked for his permission, even though I had already accepted the invitation. The boyfriend gave his consent, and I met my hubby that Wednesday night, while on my way to a business trip. We had dinner and sat across from each other. I was bubbly and energetic, and he looked gloomy and sad. We ate dinner in an hour and I was in a hurry to leave. He walked me to the parking lot, where so much happened…. He hugged me and asked me to forgive him, but without looking at him, I pulled away and told him I had forgiven him a long time ago, and that I was saddened that we’d never find out why our marriage had not worked. I looked at him and his eyes were full of tears. I hugged him again, and got into my car and left. The next day, he called and wanted to communicate, but I wouldn’t respond.

Meanwhile, the problems with the “boyfriend” got more intense and I ended that relationship in a moment of rage. I attempted to work things out with him, but he was too prideful and stubborn. But it all worked out, because having him out of my life enabled me to be receptive to my husband’s attempts to romance me. He asked me out on another date, upon my return from my business trip and it was then that he asked for forgiveness and asked me to give him another chance. Even though my pride was still alive and well, I still could not walk away and end it right then and there. Eventually, I reluctantly accepted his proposal to get to know each other once more, but in the back of my head I was thinking, “How dare you try to come back like nothing happened?” Well, that prideful, self-righteous, unforgiving attitude ended up affecting us later on that week. We spent Labor Day weekend together and we had an argument on the last day. And he stopped calling and texting me like he had been doing up until the argument, and I lost it. I wanted to call him, and tell him “How dare you come back and romance me and then at the drop of a dime, cut off all forms of communication with me.” But by God’s grace and mercy, I held back. Then that night, I cried so much that I thought I had stopped breathing, and then I became angry with myself; wondering why it was affecting me so much; after all, I had lived without him for the past two and a half years, and I could do it again. So I cried out to God, and that’s when He made me realize that I had a big chip on my shoulder, and that I was looking down on my husband, with an “I knew you’d come back” attitude. That was a terrible attitude to have, and God showed me how displeasing it was to him and just how much I truly loved my husband. So I cried out for forgiveness on a Wednesday, and the following Saturday, my husband called me again. We met each other again and we’ve been glued to each other ever since, and we’re getting remarried this Saturday night.

God gets ALL of the Glory for our restoration, for with Him ALL things are possible. Don’t rely on your own will, because that will always fail. With every day that goes by, God is showing me how he answers my prayers when I don’t like what my husband is doing, or how he is acting. I have to take those concerns to him and not nag, criticize or complain to my husband. God has him, and most importantly, he has our marriage.

My husband has been attending church for a few months now, which he has made clear that he intends to continue doing. And even though he’s always been romantic, now it’s to a whole new extreme. Praise the LORD! God truly showed me His Mercy and Grace, and he will do the same for you. So don’t give up; focus on allowing God to “fix” YOU, because as He is fixing you, He is faithfully fixing your spouse too. Remember, if we could have fixed our spouses, we wouldn’t have ended up temporarily separated. I say temporarily because God WILL restore!

Love,
MNO

39 Responses

  1. response by Jeni     

    This is beautiful! Thank you for encouraging us so much. May God continue to bless you in your marriage and continue to touch the lives of other struggling couples.

  2. response by Lisa     

    MNO,
    Congratulations on your wonderful testimony! God is amazing and He is a God of restoration!
    Be blessed,
    Lisa

  3. response by Priscilla     

    Congratulations and thank you for sharing what God has done in your marriage. It provided such encouragement and inspiration and illustrates God’s power.God bless you!

  4. response by Dawn in Illinois     

    This is an awesome testimony. I have always prayed for my husband to change, and it wasn’t until I found this website that I started praying for changes in myself. And your testimony confirms that God really is talking to me. I am so happy for you and your husband.

    Father, right now I want to thank you for being faithful and merciful to us. I want to thank you for restoring the marriage of MNO and her husband. And I ask that you would give them the comfort and strength to share there testimony with other couples seeking restoration. In jesus’ name, Amen.

  5. response by Tequila     

    MNO,
    I say congratulations to you, and I thank God that you shared your testimony. I know
    that God is no respecter of persons and what he has done for one, he can do for another.
    So I am excited about God showing up and out in my situation. I love it when God
    flexes his muscles. And I pray that God will continue to “Bless You” and your husband.
    Tequila

  6. response by Diane     

    Congratulations! God is amazing and you are so right; when we let go and let God “fix” things, it’s so much better. God is in the restoration and healing business and I thank Him for this. And I know He has more great things in store for you all. Enjoy this “new marriage” and keep blessing people with your testimony for God’s glory.

  7. response by Arun     

    Thank you for posting your testimony; it has help me strengthen my faith in God. May God Bless you.

  8. response by Brandy     

    Congradulations on your restoration. The Lord works in great ways, and i hope he brings me and my husband back together just like he did with you.

  9. response by Natalie     

    Thank you for sharing your testimony. It truly ministered to my spirit!

  10. response by Maria     

    Thank you for sharing your inspiring story. I pray to our Lord our God that he does the same for my marriage. I too get impatient, so please pray for me and my husband; that we will reunite and that the Lord will make our marriage stronger and better than before.

    May the Lord Bless your marriage.
    Maria

  11. response by Noel     

    Thank you so much for sharing. Your story brings me so much solace – being separated from my husband has only brought me closer to God and I feel like I have more true faith now than ever before. You’re story brought a lot of warmth to my spirit. God bless you and your marriage.

  12. response by Tami     

    Thank you and I pray that you two will never go through this again. God bless your marriage til the end of your lives.

  13. response by Sam     

    MNO, I want to Thank You for your warm and strong testimony and for helping me see that God will and can restore marriages. Reading your testimony made me see myself and what I was doing to make my marriage such turmoil. Again, thanks for the encouragement! May God Bless you and your marriage forever; like God intended it to be!

  14. response by PJ     

    This is a beautiful ending. I am so exhausted and for the first time since my marriage fell apart, I can actually go through with a divorce. Please keep me in prayer.

  15. response by Autumn     

    Thank you for sharing your beautiful testimony about God’s faithfulness to restore. It gives me SO MUCH HOPE. My husband left almost a year ago, and I want my marriage to be the way God intended it to be, so I will keep on trusting God. Congratulations on your NEW MARRIAGE!!!

  16. response by Cynthia     

    This is so encouraging. My husband left eight months ago, and it has been a struggle after over fifteen years. I pray that my marriage will also be restored, and I believe that all things are possible through Him.

  17. response by Joseph     

    Thank you, MNO! Praise be to God. Mine is the reverse of your testimony, and I am still praying that God will change the situation around.

    Joseph
    PNG

  18. response by TGN     

    Your testimony is truley a step in faith and letting God be in control. My marriage fell apart about a year and a half ago, but I am still standing for my marriage. I truely love my wife, but made plenty of mistakes and she left when my efforts to be the provider failed.

    But I put my trust in God and pray for the restoration of our marriage and have turned it all over to him. And your testimony of God’s love for us helps provide strength to get thru each day and each storm of life!

  19. response by Stella     

    This has been my story, so you have given me hope. My husband walked out after fifteen years of marriage to live with an NCP. It has been two and a half years and he is still with her. But there have been days recently when it looked like things were turning around…then nothing. But I am still trusting that God will turn the situation around.

  20. response by Ann     

    God Bless you both and may you have a wonderful journey ahead in your married life. Have Faith in God.

  21. response by Mrs. Davis     

    This is beautiful. I pray that by keeping God first, you both will keep the lines of communication open between you. And I pray that you have many years of joy together. This really touched me and I too am praying for my marriage and totally TRUSTING GOD!!! Be Continually Blessed!

  22. response by Mary     

    This is a great testimony. I’m praying that God restores my marriage as well. It is so true that we have to “Let Go and Let God.” I ask God to restore my marriage so that I too can be a testimony to others going through a crisis in their marriages and to help others grow in their faith with our Lord.
    Congratulations and may you both have many years of joy together. Just remember to always stay focused on God and His will.

  23. response by Diane     

    Praise God! He healed the covenant that was blessed to start with; what god has joined together let NO Man put asunder. Many times, our spouses’ departures are to help cleanse us of our issues, but God is good…all the time! Thanks for sharing.

    Diane

  24. response by Mrs. A     

    This is a wonderful testimony. May God continue to bless your marriage! I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ helps all of us in our marriages and restores what has been lost. May He guide us and give us wisdom every day of our lives. Amen.

  25. response by Mrs. L     

    This was so encouraging. God Bless you both.

  26. response by Iris     

    Thank you for sharing this testimony. My marriage has been in trouble for quite some time now and my husband recently got involved with a non-covenant relationship and is now filing for divorce, and I’ve had to move back in with my parents. This is the most hurtful thing I’ve ever experienced in my life and certainly my walk of faith, but it’s my desire that God restore, heal and deliver us. I know that my God can do the impossible, and even though my marriage appears to be dead, there are many dead situations in scripture which demonstrate how God breathed abundant life back into them. So I’m praying for us and that my husband will return back to me and to a rightful place in Christ! Again, thank you for your testimony as it is food for my faith!

  27. response by Yemisi     

    Thanks for the testimony and thank God for restoring your marriage. I pray the Lord will begin His repairs right now in me and my hubby, who has been threatening to move out since last week. And I don’t know what to do but trust the Lord.

  28. response by A.D.     

    Thank you for your testimony, surely it has touched many hearts, including my own. May your testimony continue to give hope, strenghten and help people turn to God. In Jesus’ holy name.

  29. response by Brittany     

    Your testimony has truly blessed my spirit! It is amazing just how similar a situation I am in right now! I have been waiting on answers, but being impatient, some times I give up and do my own thing. But just like you, I am unhappy and confused; God is trying to do something here. So I want to thank you for hearing God…thank you for obeying God. You didn’t go through that just for yourself but for every woman who you have blessed with your testimony. May God continue to bless your marriage and life!

    To God be the Glory!

  30. response by Jeremiah     

    This made me cry…so awesome! God is rad!

  31. response by Kathleen     

    Your testimony has really touched me because my husband and I are going through the same thing right now. we have been married for twelve years and have a twelve year old beautiful daughter. I have recently turned back to God. We have had a lot of problems in the past and have worked them out, but this time it seems a lot harder. I just found your testimony and it really went straight to my heart. I have been lost for a long time and now I find myself listening to God. May God continue to bless your family.

  32. response by Heather     

    WOW!! I went through this the same way with my husband, and we give god all thanks and praise for our restoration as well. He hasn’t yet accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, but I know the Lord is still working in him because he has been attending church with my son and I without me even asking him to go.
    I’m so happy for you and for your family’s restoration! We serve an awesome God! Take care and God bless!

  33. response by Delanie     

    I had been searching for some kind of Hope when I read your testimony and I’ve been Praying since my husband left and divorced me two years ago. I had begged him, but he was so “in love” with someone he met on line that nothing mattered to him. And we did have a lot of problems in our Marriage.
    Since being alone, I wish I had thanked him for much more than I did and truly appreciated all that he did for me and my Family. I can now see my selfishness and other things that contributed to his leaving, and I am so sorry. But I’m hopeful that God and my Husband will forgive me and that our Marriage will be restored, and that hope came even more so after reading your testimony. Thank God for our faith!

  34. response by Mr H     

    Awesome. Your testimony is such an inspiration and congratulations to you both. My wife left me and filed for divorce and is now involved with someone else. But I am standing in faith for God and my marriage.

  35. response by NAJ     

    Wow is all I can say! You just don’t know how much this ministered to me. I am in a similar situation right now and just cant understand why my husband is not acting like who I married. But I am praying and fasting and have others praying with me. So I appreciate your testimony and will work on me and wait on God and give my husband to Him and not try to fix things myself. Thanks so much.

  36. response by Mike     

    Your testimony made me cry; I was so touched and am also praying for my marriage to be reconciled.

  37. response by Jessica     

    This is an amazing Testimony. Thank you for sharing it with me.
    Today, I had been thinking that maybe I didn’t love my husband any more and that I should move on. But for whatever reason, your story helped me remember how much I love him. It also gave me more hope!

    Thank you and may God continue to bless your husband, you and your marriage!

  38. response by Lauren     

    I can not thank God enough for your beautiful life and testimony!

    I’m praying for my husband’s salvation and the restoration of our marriage. When he first left, I said, “Okay, God, I’ve got some work to do, eh?” Ha! There’s so much that I have learned about myself and our relationship–about me trying to serve two Masters. God is my husband now and gives me flowers every day…flowers of love and truth and hope. So I’m glad my husband left me. He has not returned yet, but what a great opportunity to see what God has to offer. I prayed every day for His Will and HERE IT IS! Amen!

    This is well written and I am so very happy for you both. God bless you all!

  39. response by Sophia     

    I’m really happy for you and your testimony gave me comfort. I’ve tried to fix my marriage all by myself so many times and I think it’s time that I let God do the work. Thank you!

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