Darleen had her first child when she was 18 years old. Thinking that she needed a man to complete her, Darleen was constantly in and out of bad relationships. She was so convinced of this lie that she stayed in an abusive relationship for 12 years. One day, she looked at her face in the mirror—black and blue and swollen—and didn’t recognize herself in the reflection. Darleen cried out in a small, but powerful, prayer, “Lord, please help me! I’m a mess and I don’t know what to do!”
Well, the Lord heard Darleen’s prayer. The very next day, Darleen was able to escape to safety with her children and never saw her abuser again. A while later, God blessed Darleen with a wonderful man who helped raise her children with her. And while Darleen was still counting her blessings, she learned that life doesn’t always go according to our plans.
Darleen’s youngest daughter became addicted to drugs. Because of this addiction, she did not want to take care of her baby so she gave the baby away to the father—who was then arrested for burglary. One day, Darleen received a phone call saying her grandson may have to be put in foster care. All Darleen could think to do at that moment was pray! Darleen said, “Lord, help us! If this is your will, we know everything will fall into place.” And sure enough, Darleen was able to get custody of her grandson and became a mom again. As her grandson finally came home, she looked into his eyes and was determined to not give up on him just as God did not give up on her.
