THE GOD OF SECOND CHANCES

by LEAH FIGUEROA
(PHILIPPINES)

Seven years ago, when I walked out of my marriage, I thought life was immediately going to get better. After the dust has settled and the tears dried up, I thought my new found freedom was all I needed to begin a new life for myself and my children.

When I was thrust in my new role as a single mom, I did not just find myself on a bumpy road, it was a walk in the wilderness. My children and I knew what it was like to feel alone, forsaken and even bitter.

I did not know which way to go. But I decided to hold on tight to the promise of God, that He will be the father of my children. I decided to believe. It was the only sure thing I had. I couldn’t afford to commit a mistake. Four lives were at stake.

I am writing a chronicle as a remembrance of this journey. I want my children never to forget the moments when God visited us and made Himself so real, we can almost touch Him.

I hope to encourage other single mothers who still feel that they are walking alone. I pray the story of my children will encourage children without fathers that the God of the universe is loving enough to provide all their needs. I wish to share some lessons we’ve learned along the way.

I also write to declare the goodness of God in our life and how He has honored His promise that He will be the father to the fatherless and the defender of those without husbands.

I am now excitedly waiting for the things that He will still reveal in my journey to recovery. And I hope that by His grace, I will see a glimpse of the woman I can be. I look back and I cannot recognize the woman who walked out of that marriage. The fearful woman who was never sure of her worth. In her place stands a woman with a brave heart whose strength comes from the love that God has shown.

When my marriage fell apart, I thought I was a failure. But God has redefined victory in my life. Victory is not about being whole, it was about learning to pick up the broken pieces and allowing God to reshape my life for His purposes.

The God of second chances is helping me pick up the pieces of my life. He has made true to me His promises in Isaiah 61: that He will give me beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning and praise instead of heaviness. My life may turn out to be a beautiful story, after all.