Rose
I went into foster care when I was about twelve years old because my momma had a mental breakdown. Through that situation I went to live with a foster family. I met Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior through the foster family because they went to church. He (my foster father) was the choir director there. Like all Christian people he did have the few problems. “He got hooked by Satan,” I say. He started sexually doing things he wasn’t supposed to be doing to me. I went all through high school with this problem. I have a son by him. I gave him up for adoption.
I know that Jesus was there with me because I saw angels around me. I praise God that He was there.
Chris
When I was twelve, the Lord woke me up one night to pray for my future wife. I had never met her before. My heart just ached. I was crying and had an overwhelming sense that I needed to pray for her. I didn’t meet her until I was eighteen. So for six years I would pray every night that God would protect her and that He would show her that He loved her, and let her know that I loved her.
Rose
I knew that Jesus Christ was there with me the whole time [during the abuse]. I never did get mad or angry with Him. I did feel ashamed of myself. I had a very low self-esteem for myself, I would say more than I was angry.
Chris
I was very angry with him for doing that to her, for sexually abusing her, for verbally abusing her. I had a hard time with it. She actually had to counsel me in how to deal with it because she had already been dealing with it. She had to help me through the anger.
Rose
[God] gave me scriptures like Isaiah 43:1 which says, “I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.” Then, later on, He would give me another scripture that I’m his beloved, that He created me in His image. He knew who I was and what I was going to go through to use it for His glory.
We went to see him (my foster father), one time after Chris and I were married, so I could tell him that I forgave him. He never asked me for forgiveness but I told him that I forgave him for what he did. I haven’t seen him since.
Chris
I am an Ordained Minister with the Church of God (Cleveland, TN). I am not pastoring at the moment. I'm currently a graduate student at Lee University. We do have four children.
Rose
(Our children) Victoria is 18, Charlotte is 16, Nathaniel is 15, and Mercy is 13.
In December we started going out. I just told him from the very beginning, I told him before we date, before you get interested in me, this is it. This is the way it was. He loved me anyway. He went out with me.
Chris
In my heart, when she told me, I felt that I wanted to dedicate the rest of my life to making sure that she felt loved and secure.
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