By Steve and Carla McRee
“I wish you had never been born.” Those are the words Debbie remembers her
mom saying to her when she was just a little girl. Debbie believed she was so unworthy of love that when she got married and her husband abused her, she hung her head and kept silent.
“Even when he threw me down the stairs, I never reported the
abuse. I was so embarrassed,” she says. When Debbie got brave enough to leave, he scared her into staying longer. “He told me that no one else would ever love me,” she remembers.
NEW LIFE
But, finally Debbie did leave and she came to Shepherd’s Gate. From the moment
she walked in she heard about a different kind of love—true love. The love of Jesus Christ.
“I’ve been trusting the wrong man all my life—but now I trust the Lord,” she says smiling.
Today, Debbie is a Shepherd’s Gate graduate and she is full of hope. Even though she was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, her biggest goal after graduation is to give back however she can. She has changed so much that, no matter what happens, she knows she won’t go back to the abuse.
“I know I have a voice and I am somebody,” Debbie says today. “The best gift I received here is the knowledge that God loves me no matter what.”
PLEASE PRAY FOR DEBBIE
Debbie recently graduated and although she has grown tremendously, her family is still adjusting to the new Debbie. Please pray for her health and for her to continue to grow closer to Jesus as she faces a future full of hope, but not without challenges. Please pray also for the health of her family and that she is able to keep plenty of distance between her and her ex-husband while she continues to walk in her new identity as a woman of God.