Out of great sadness can come happiness

To lose your wife, children, home, possessions and your business partner dies of a heart attack & you find your other partners have stolen all the money from the business to fund lives of luxury and self-indulgence in South Africa, and you’re left with a debt to pay off – life becomes a little odd to say the least.

Very dark times, I didn’t know who I was or why this had all happened to me. What had I done to deserve this, I kept asking myself. I would look into the mirror in my bathroom with tears running down my face and not know the person looking back at me, I was so broken & at rock bottom. Once I had everything, house, cars, a family, holidays & all the luxuries of life.  Now I had nothing, there seemed no hope and nothing to live for, I was in a very dark place indeed and I could see no end to it.

I was recommended to see a counselor, which I reluctantly went to see, as I didn’t think I was the type of person that would need such things. This person just so happened to have been through something very similar to what I was going through, and to top it off he had a great faith and a true purpose. Over time I felt his strength and wisdom guiding me back to who I was meant to be and what my future could be, I totally put my trust in him.

I also enrolled on the course “Restored Lives” at Holy Trinity Brompton, where I found I was not the only one having to deal with such great loss, rejection, hurt, anger, sadness and loneliness that a marriage breakdown can bring.

“Restored Lives” gave me a step by step approach in a secure and safe environment to deal with my issues and so building my confidence, and giving me the tools to deal with the new life that lay ahead of me and lastly most importantly, all of the above lead me to forgiveness and the freedom that brings.

I look back now and I see what happened through the love and kindness of my friends and family. They found me a beautiful house to live in with no bills and a pepper corn rent. I was given a job by my best friend, knowing that I was not in a good state to be of any use to him but that didn’t matter, he just wanted to help and give me an income so I could survive and have time to rebuild my life.

Out of great sadness can come happiness, out of great adversity can come great strength & wisdom and out of darkness comes light. All of the above I can vouch for.

Thanks to “Restored Lives” and all of the above, I am stronger, I am truly happy, I am wiser & humbled, I was broken but I am now healed and bizarrely a better person for it. My hopes and aspirations are now different and I realise that healing isn’t about time, time doesn’t heal you, it’s the choices you make along the way, the right ones or the wrong ones. Through this un-wanted moment in time, I have found that I need to be true to myself and true to my faith (though I am always making mistakes) and through that I have found what truly matters and who my true friends are.  It is amazing how things can work out for the better through this journey.