THE MIRACLE OF OUR LOVE STORY

God has been so gracious to me in every area for many years.  He has blessed me with a wonderful call, anointing, precious friends, favor, family, homes, and financial blessings.  Still, there was one area that seemed to elude me.  I would come back to a hotel after great revival meetings and still be lonely.  I had always longed for a wonderful man of God to be at my side in life and ministry.  The more I watched other couples in ministry and heard their many testimonies of restoration, the more I longed for that.  Many of you have heard my previous testimony of being saved as a child and called to preach at that age.  I refused to date anyone unsaved and was waiting for God’s man of faith and power and would not compromise God’s Word or my call.  At the age of 18, I thought I had found those qualities in someone who said he would go to Bible school and ministry with me.  We married and I woke up to abuse on my honey-moon that would continue over the next 18 years.  After his last affair, The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart that enough was enough and I would not have to live this way ever again.  I found myself alone in Alaska as a missionary with 3 sons to raise, no money, and a call of God upon my life.  Yet God was merciful.  The blood of Jesus prevailed.  God gave me supernatural favor in ministry and I began to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.  Over the last seventeen years I have taken the Gospel to 34 nations and over much of The United States and seen revival in both my own life and the lives of multitudes.

Yet, I began to believe that this area would never be fulfilled the way God intended.  I continued to have years ahead of me filled with great regret.  After remaining single for seven years without even a date, I trusted again, only to find out that people are not always what they seem to be, even in church.  I feel not to go into detail about the perversion that he was into, but after counsel with my pastors we realized that there could be no restoration.  My heart was broken, I felt foolish at best, and ashamed to have not listened to The Holy Spirit more closely and realized that I had been deceived once again.  It’s amazing how we can hear closely in other areas and allow our own loneliness and emotions to shout louder than the voice of The Holy Spirit at times.  I sought The Lord with repentance and His grace was once again more than sufficient. After several more years alone in ministry, there was yet one more mistake.   I am so ashamed to say that he was another ploy of the enemy to destroy me and this one almost did.  He not only wanted no part of ministry, revival, the anointing, but brought women into our home while we were still married, stole almost everything that God had blessed me with, refused to work, and dropped me off in Florida without a vehicle, emptied our accounts, and filed for divorce.  I was to later find out that nothing he had told me about his previous life was true.  This time, I felt I could not face anyone.  While I had been sharp in The Holy Ghost in other areas, sensitive to His voice, trusted Him completely for other impossible areas of my life, I had completely failed The Lord and the body of Christ in this area.  I resigned myself to being alone the rest of my life and possibly never being in ministry again, after seeing countless people saved, filled with The Holy Spirit, healed, delivered, filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory.  I took full responsibility for my stupidity, gullibility, and sin in not being more discerning.  I laid my life, ministry, and any idea of being happily married at the feet of The Lord and told Him to burn it out of me.  I walked the floor for several nights in prayer and many tears of repentance.  I told The Lord than even though I was a romantic by nature and not built to be alone, that I would live that way if He desired.  I had a “Bethel” experience with God that I would never forget.  I walked away from that altar believing that I would never marry and that I would bear that cross because of my past mistakes. 

Several years previously, I had held revival in Aberdeen Washington for Pastors Bob and Mary Rester.  They had become especially good friends.  I came to love them and their church like family.  Mary and I became especially close friends and she even offered to travel with me from time to time.  I never took her up on it knowing that she was married and a pastor’s wife and her time was very precious.  I held revival for them for about seven years.  They even came to visit me in my home in Florida.  Several years later, Mary went home to be with Jesus and I was heart-broken by the news.  I continued to pray for their family and church family. I did not hold revival there for a couple of years, due to my own schedule and felt that I should let them heal from grief.  Finally, the day came when I was asked to come and hold revival again in Aberdeen.  While there, I could still see that Pastor Bob was struggling with grief and I continued to pray for him.  Sometime after I left over the course of the next few months he asked God to either take him home or set him free from the grief.  He did not even want to live without his precious bride of 54 years at his side.  He and Mary had married at the age of sixteen and had a wonderful marriage.  He later told me the story of how God miraculously and supernaturally set him free from grief.  Sometime later, he began to wake up thinking of me and praying for me.  He eventually called me to ask if I was O.K. trying to ascertain why he had me on his heart so strongly.  I told him that I too had come through some things but was doing alright with the help of The Lord. 

A few months later he attended my pastor’s camp meeting in Tampa, Florida.  He asked if he could spend some time with me to talk to me.  I informed him that I did not have the time to do so.  I was busy attending two services a day, attending to international guests that I had brought to camp meeting.  I also had many guests and friends from all over the world that wanted to spend time with me.  Pastor Bob told me that he completely understood and didn’t want to interfere.  By the end of camp meeting, I had only spent five minutes with him all week but told him I would meet with him for an hour.  He began to tell me of his supernatural deliverance from grief, more of his call not only to his church but his heart for souls and the harvest.  He told me he had always respected me and had been waking up praying for me and didn’t know what it all meant.  He asked me to pray about it all.  Then he left and went on a trip to Alabama where he was originally from to see family.  He returned to Florida a week later before departing to Washington.  He called and asked me if I would have dinner with him.  I told him that as old friends and fellow ministers, I could do that.  It was a beautiful dinner in Tarpon Springs at a wonderful Greek restaurant by the sea.  Somewhere at the end of dinner, he nervously began to tell me of his romantic feelings for me and wondered if I thought it was possible to reciprocate those feelings.  My whole life passed before me, the mistakes, the grief, the repentance, what people thought, my request to The Lord to burn out any idea of future romance, the many obstacles at stake including our different callings, locations, families, and age difference. I told him of my deep respect for him and how much our friendship has meant over the years.  I already knew of his character, the Godly way he treated his wife and children, the way he was respected by his church and community and friends, and that it was what I had always longed for in a husband but perhaps it was too late.  I went home and tossed and turned all night. 

I have had a fear of what people think my entire life, since childhood.  No, I did not fear what people thought in my meetings.  I have been fearless against religion and sin and persecution.  This was different.  I have always been very sensitive to people I love and respect.  Relationships were always the most important thing in my life after my relationship with The Lord.  I was always afraid to question anyone’s decision and the first to give up what I thought to bow to others.  I never was rebellious by nature and always eager to please.  I was terrified that this could be God but that no one would believe it because of my past mistakes.  The Lord and men have been so gracious to forgive me and stand by me and I did not want to chance anything else.  I called Bob the next day and left him a message, explaining this and said I could not pursue a relationship.  He then called back and left the most unselfish and Godly message that I’ve ever heard.  He apologized and asked my forgiveness if he missed God, told me that he hoped this would never interfere with our friendship and wanted to continue to have me for revival.  He then asked if it would be alright for him to come to my meetings and bring part of his church the next week.  I was holding revival at a church about two hours away from his. 

Upon arriving at my next revival meeting in Silverdale, Washington, I again tossed and tuned in bed all night.  I sensed The Holy Spirit talking to me about my fear of men and about Bob and his character.  I then called him and said I felt I had made a mistake because of my fear of men.  He said that he understood and would see me at the revival.  Over the next week, we spent a lot of time together between the revival meetings.  We fell head over heels in love.  I will never forget the afternoon of him reading Eph. 5 to me and telling me what it means for a man to love a woman like Christ loves the church.  He proceeded to tell me that if I agreed to marry him I would finally know what it was like to be loved as Christ loves the church.  He told me of all that his wife had taught him and that I would reap the benefits of that.  I wept with joy at the possibility.  He also talked about our age difference.  He assured me that longevity was belonged to most in his family and that he believed for another 15 or 20 years with me.  Then added “but if we only have 3 to 5 years together, I will have what I have never had in my life in that amount of time.  He is a healthy man who has always taken care of himself and in greater shape than I am.  I do not even see an age difference.  He has to wait on me when we walk anywhere.  He has the energy of a 40 year old.  After asking me to marry him, we went into my service that night.  No one in that church even knew that we were seeing each other.  After teaching on giving, the pastor’s wife ran up to the front crying.  She said “I know you aren’t quite through teaching Debbie and I never do this but I must right now.  God told me to break open my alabaster box tonight and give it to you.  It is unusual and I don’t understand it because you are a single woman and it is wedding rings that I must give you.  They are the most precious thing I have and belonged to my husband’s grandmother and were passed to me.”  I began to cry and looked back at Bob who was grinning from ear to ear.  We knew that God had given us those rings and it is what I wear today.  They aren’t ordinary rings.  The diamond is surrounded by rubies, my favorite stone, with red being my favorite color.  When she gave me the rings, Bob’s daughter Charlotte fell out of her chair in the service.  She is not given to flakiness, visions, etc. and is usually very skeptical about someone having them.  However, she told us later that she saw her mother in heaven at that moment.  Charlotte had been troubled by nightmares and memories of her mother’s last sick days, and the severity of her symptoms.  In this one moment, however, when she saw her healed and whole, she was delivered.  She heard the Holy Spirit say, “Your mother will share in the harvest of what these two shall reap.”  We have no idea how interconnected we all are in the view of eternity.  What a Holy Ghost moment all of this was.

We sought The Lord extensively over the next few weeks.  However, as I expected, good friends and people that I’ve looked up to spiritually were very concerned, especially because of my past mistakes.  After they expressed their concern, (which I completely understood), I canceled meetings and went back to Tampa to do nothing but seek The Lord.  I made no contact with Bob and told him that it was over because I have always believed in spiritual authority and Godly counsel.  Of course his heart was broken, as well as mine.  I gave up what I knew was a Godly man, believing that since I had been blind in this area before, I would have to depend on what others said.  It was the most miserable six weeks of my life.  I prayed in The Holy spirit day and night.  I tried to believe that everyone could hear but me and even convinced myself that they were right.  I thought I accomplished it until a night six weeks later when The Lord spoke to me more directly than I have ever heard Him by that still small voice with a peace that I will never forget. 

I knew that this decision would bring me more happiness than I had ever known on one side and cost me on the other side with some of the people I loved and respected.  After much deliberation, I called Bob and did not know how he would respond after all of this.  He was still the loving, Godly, forgiving man I knew. 

After returning to Tampa, selling a house and most of my things, I moved to Washington.  Bob proposed on one knee in front of his congregation and we were married just weeks later.  The wedding was Godly and beautiful and after a short honeymoon on Whidbey Island, Washington, he took me later for two weeks to Greece.  It was a storybook honeymoon.  We have been serving God together both in our church and on the road.  The board of Central Park Neighborhood Church has been gracious to allow him to travel with me from time to time and we have seen people born again, filled with The Holy Ghost, healed, delivered, marriages restored, and the joy of The Holy Spirit come to countless people.  Bob has been at my side even in teaching and preaching revival.  It has been the fulfillment of all I dreamed and asked for and more.  What a God of restoration. 

In retrospect, there have been so many interesting things that God has done along the way.  When I held revival for Bob back in Sept of 2007, he was still in the middle of terrible grief.  One night after the offering teaching, his daughter Charlotte, approached me and gave me a beautiful sapphire necklace that she said had belonged to her mother and given to her after her mother’s departure.  She said as she gave it to me, “This is hard to give because of the sentimental value.  My father gave it to my mother and The Lord said to tell you that you will someday know a love like that, a love like my father gave to my mother”.  She was crying and I cried.  Neither one of us could ever have imagined that I would know that exact love from the same man.  However I have come to know the love of the Godliest man I have ever known with a heart as big as Texas and Alaska together.  That heart is first for God and then for me and family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

I realize that I am sharing more than most ministers would dare to risk.  I believe it is time that we all get real, gut-level honest, and show people that God can restore anyone.  His blood truly does reach to the lowest valley and the highest mountain.  He still uses the foolish things to confound the wise and flawed people who are human, have made mistakes, but always know who to come back to.  He uses people who stay hungry and repentant.  He uses people who will get back up and not give up.  He uses people who admit that they are nothing without Him but everything with Him.

Another wonderful thing occurred after our marriage.  Bob is ordained and licensed through the Assemblies of God.  His church is also an Assembly of God church and he knew that he might be risking his credentials to marry a divorced woman.  He decided to put it all in The Lord’s hands.  We were interviewed by the northwest district and submitted paperwork to both them and the general assembly in Springfield, Missouri and waited for the results.  One day the letter came welcoming me to the Assemblies of God.  It was a very merciful letter and decision.  They granted me an ecclesiastical annulment based on the scriptural grounds for divorce and remarriage.  I am thankful for a group of men who sought God and heard from him.

I remember talking to my son awhile back and him telling me something very simple and yet profound.  He said, “Mom, the strength of your ministry has always been your testimony.  People are blessed because they can see you’re not perfect, have been through a broken marriage and God still uses you.  Even though you have been through more things since then, we live in a society where people have been through more than one of those and need to see that someone can even survive that more than once with God’s help.  Don’t give up Mom.  You just wanted to be loved and trusted too much and didn’t see some things but there are far worse sins.  Your heart has always stayed tender and you get back up.  Do it again and show people that He is even God when you made the mistake more than once.”  I’m so glad for that wisdom.  I still have a mighty God. I thank God that the giftings and callings of God are without repentance and I still can take the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, and I have the best husband on the face of the earth.  When I was holding revival in Toronto, Canada, recently, the pastor came up to me and said, “Debbie, Bob is the best thing that has happened to you since Jesus”.  I laughed and said that I tell Bob that everyday.  What a good God to give me the best, even after the mistakes.  He wants to be that kind of a God of restoration to you too.  Don’t give up. 

Many of my friends who were concerned have now seen us together and see the joy and happiness and have said that they have never seen me so happy and content and have asked my forgiveness for their expression of concern.  I thank God for that restoration, as well.  Bob and I both have understood their apprehension.  They loved me, cared for me, stood by me through the mistakes, and wanted to do everything to protect me. That’s a good friend.  I still believe that the others will see that too.  In the end though, we stand only before God to give an account.  How thankful we are for the blood.  The same God, who has saved me, kept me, called me, used me, healed me, has also restored me and given me His best.  What an awesome God!  What a miracle story!!