O Lord, the lifter of my head — experience of Diaconate’s Divorce Care Group
I came to the group soon after my husband moved out when I felt my life was falling apart ...
It’s hard to imagine the impact of a devastating breakup of one’s marriage — the shock, the pain, the shame and condemnation, just to name a few. In 2013 the Diaconate saw a need to provide a care group that shows God’s grace to women who are separated or newly-divorced. The experience of the four groups so far is that women seem to embark on a fresh start by diving into Scripture together and encouraging and building up one another’s heart response to the Word with mediation and prayer. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and reminders of God’s character, beautiful testimonies of God’s goodness emerged from some of these women’s journeys:
In my hour of total darkness, it was nice to know that others were going through a similar pain. Reading the Bible and praying together was the beginning of my journey to seek God. It gave me strength through that very hard first winter. – C. W.
It’s a difficult group to join, not the party to which you were hoping to get an invitation, being only open to those with big serious marital problems. In the group you face the truth of your own life, your own failures and experience of pain. Sharing sad realities, we were God’s agents of love to one another and we asked hard questions and figured out something about ourselves. – K. W.
I experienced God’s grace on so many levels as we journeyed together and experienced His provision in very dark times. When someone got stalled, we remembered God’s patience and perfect timing. I never expected to face a divorce but am humbled by God’s providing these women. We gained a foundation not just to survive a devastating situation but to grow in Christ. – K. E.
In the beginning, I couldn’t tell people about my divorce without crying. After the group ended, I could talk about it without crying. It was comforting to know that God extends grace in these circumstances of abandonment and infidelity. – A. L.
Through our tears and struggles we addressed issues of anger and forgiveness. In Psalms we recognized God’s faithfulness and over the weeks we grew, healed, progressed and became stronger in our new reality. After the group the friendships have continued and we still meet to encourage each other. – M.D.
In Psalm 3:3 we read, “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” What beautiful imagery we have in this verse that our Lord is the lifter of our heads. This group epitomizes this verse that we can indeed count on God to lift up our heads when we feel ashamed, condemned, or beaten down.
Please pray for these women as they courageously face their brokenness and invite God to do his great work in the midst of extreme pain. And please reach out to [email protected] or 917-206-1359 if you would like to explore participating in this bi-weekly group that is scheduled to start on evening of Thursday, September 10.
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