God Is Your Husband: Protector, Provider; Lover of Your Soul....

There are three components to a godly husband, of which Father God is the epitome: Protector, Provider and Lover of your soul. Until the Lord introduces you to the man He has ordained to be your husband, with watchful prayer and supplication, single women MUST trust God to fill the void of their lives. He is the example of what a godly man is. He is the head of your household, in Spirit, to fill all three of these voids He instilled in all of us, until He bequeaths you to the perfecting man designed and created JUST FOR YOU.The world makes this type of thinking seem unfathomable, because by the world's standards, singleness is an abnormally. Family will pressure you to hurry up and marry someone with the old saying: "Something is better than nothing". And that's exactly what you will get, following the ways of the world: some THING. Not a man of God. Sometimes not a man at all. Singleness has been inordinately compared to loneliness! True, that it can be lonely at times while single and waiting for that special someone, but PLEASE, out of desperation, DO NOT substitute the good gift God has for you out of impatience. God wants us to rest in Him. They that wait on the Lord will renew their strength. He cannot lie. And He said that it is not good for man to be alone. This scripture is gender neutral. He applies his promises to male and female, because we are all His children. Be of good courage and wait...on the Lord.

Long story short, its 1988, I now have two baby girls 16 months apart and back in the micropolitan I grew up in. Isn't it God to bring you back to the place you ran from? What an awesome God we serve! By the end of the year I wasliving in the projects, receiving assistance because of repetitive problems from my C-Section cut, and trusting God with my life. A relationship was the last concern I had, being still wounded from my ex. So I delved into the Word of God. Read it. Learned from it. Studied with others over it. And began to grow in it.

During those years, again the Lord proved Himself to be my husband, my Protector. I remember one spring morning I opened my front door for fresh air as I began my morning regimen of preparing breakfast and spending quiet time with the Lord before my children would awaken. Normally I kept my screen door locked at all times, but I had accidentally missed locking it the night before, and wasn't aware of it. A young man was laying on my stoop, presumably asleep, with a needle hanging out of his arm. When I saw him I reached to lock the screen door, however he sprang up, grabbed the screen handle, yelling obscenities and to let him in. I am praying and holding on with all of my strength to keep him out (all 115 pounds of me) and he's winning. Out of nowhere one of my neighbors comes running out of his bungalow across the street with a shotgun in his hands and stops about twenty feet away. Pointing the gun to the stranger, he tells him to let go of my door and to leave or he will blow him away. Now I'm really praying because I don't want to get shot, but I can't let go and allow this man to run in my house for shelter from this huge shotgun. It was as if he woke up. He apologized, as stumbled away. I loved my neighbors from that point on.

God blessed me with many mentors who reached out to me with wisdom and love. Another thing that I see now that God did for me, without my awareness, was shielded me from church drama that some single women in church experience. Most of the female friendships I developed were with married women. Reflecting back on that I am amazed at the love these women walked in with me. Since then I have encountered many women who have suffered the brunt of insecure married women who believe that many single women in church are out to "get their man" which to me is foolish thinking. Why would I want your man? If he would cheat on you, what would stop him from cheating me me? is my mindset. Yet I have several women share tragic stories of being debased by married women in church, of sexual involvement with male leaders of churches (married or unmarried); cases of emotional adultery. How gracious God was with me in bypassing all of this drama that I didn't have any idea existed in the church community until later in my walk. For all of my sisters who have suffered the abuse of leadership and relationships within the church: God can heal your hurt! Church hurt is probably the hardest type to overcome, being that it is stemming from a place trusted as a source of shelter and safety. But nothing is impossible with OUR GOD. Just give Him the time and be willing to walk down that path of healing with Him. It will involve your repentance of involvement, but being willing to surrender it to God leads to the path of full recovery. I can say this because I have had to ask God to heal me. But that is another, story, for another time.

In a situation when the Lord protected me occurred while driving home one night a few years later. My maternal grandmother lived in the country and we went to spend the day with her. While driving home that night, I got sleepy. I prayed for God's protection as I struggled to keep my eyes open. Yet I could barely keep my eyes open at the wheel. I could feel large hands covering my hands, as I struggled to stay awake up. I awoke fully two blocks away from home, at a red light. God protected me and my kids in my state of semi conscience. Another time, the Lord's protection was on me occurred while dozing off. Every night I would get on my knees in prayer. Often I would fall asleep while praying and crawl in the bed when I would wake up. One night in particular, I felt a my bed droop as if a large person had sat down on the empty side of my bed. It actually woke me up yet there was no one there! I quickly covered my head with my blanket as I heard a growl. Talk about praying! I prayed fervently! Suddenly, I felt whatever it was laying beside me being jerked up out of the bed. My mattress actually bounced! The next night, being aware that there was a spiritual battle going on involving me somehow, I prayed for God's protection. Nothing happened, so wide awoke, I got in the bed to go to sleep. As I began to doze off, I heard a pitter patter of small feet. It sounded like one of my daughters (who were one and two at this time) had put on her patent leather shoes worn for church as was walking around the house. I got up and went to my daughters room and they both were sound asleep, so I laid back down. The sound came again. I began to pray hard again and it suddenly stopped. The next morning I called a friend and shared these encounters with him. He annointed all of the entrances of my home and it never happened again.

Driving home one sunday from church my children and I were in a car wreck. As I entered a highway an out of town driver switched lanes and hit my car from the right side rear. I saw the car scrape the right side of my car and pulled over. Immediately ran to our aide along with the other driver's. We were okay and waited for the police. It felt like a slight bump to our car. However when I got out of the car to talk to the police I was amazed at the damage to my car. The entire right side of the car looked as if a can opener had been used on it! None of us were hurt at all. The other driver went to the hospital for a bump on the head but thank goodness nothing serious. Her car had only a broken left light, but mine's was almost totaled.

Another driving instance occurred driving to work. There was a bad snow storm and I had to get to work (I worked for a utility company that did not allow call outs-period). As I was driving to work my car slid in the soft snow, The next thing I knew I was on the wrong side of the road, and a car was headed uphill towards me. All I could do was pray as I struggled with the wheel. Through the mercy of God somehow I ended up on the right side of the road and the other driver barely missed me, because they weren't able to slam on breaks in the snow either. We both looked at each other, trying to figure out how we missed each other. I was so grateful.

While in an abusive relationship, God protected me again. This person was beating the crap out of me while holding a baby. All I could do was pray for God to protect me and my baby, because he wanted to take my baby and leave the state. As I called out to God to help me, his hand froze in the air, unable to move. And it was as if he woke up, and he ran and grabbed towels to try to stop all of the blood - it was really bad. Out of panic he ran off, leaving me alone with my baby. My brother so happened to show up and rushed me to the hospital where I was diagnosed with a concussion, had to have seven stitches due to cuts over my right eye, severe trauma to my left retina, sprained wrist and my nose with a hairline fracture. I now wear glasses because of that attack, but I know with all of my heart that the Lord intervened with angels who held his arm and woke that man up out of the rage that blinded him to that degree of violence.

No weapon against you will prosper. And every tongue that rises against you, you will condemn. (Isaiah 54). Read the entire passage. Every promise and provision in that passage God has done for me. And will do for you.

I am trying to condense my life in short stories. There are so many more incidents of His divine protection in my life throughout the years. I am sure there are many of you that have greater stories than mine's. Let's share and praise His name together in our testimonies!

On to the the next title: He is my Provider!