Brenda Savanhu

At 31 my life fell apart, 10 days after my birthday I filed for divorce. My marriage had ended. It was time to move on. I’m sure some of you know, you don’t just wake up one day and get divorced. At least I didn’t. It had been gradual. A little chip here, and a little chip there until there was not much left of what we had built.

In the unraveling, I read a book called, “Lies at the Altar” by Dr. Robin Smith. The more I read, the more revelation I received. I realized the slow erasure of myself for the sake of being a good and supportive wife. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a good and supportive wife unless you lose your true, God-given identity to get there (this would apply to any area of our lives…our relationships, our work, our ministry). I answered the questions in the book taking inventory of the areas concerning my identity and pre-marriage dreams. I was blown away by how much of both I had discarded.

This revelation led to a deep time of reflection. How did I get here? What was I going to do about it? I pondered these questions  and looked back at my  faith-filled childhood. Yet, in adulthood I drifted away from my faith-based roots. I remembered how God had showed up during our most dire needs. I sat there stumped. What had happened for me to drift away from God? How did I get here? It dawned upon me. I had stopped looking at the miracles of old. I stopped looking back at the places God had showed up. That did it! I looked up nearby churches, and my journey back to a life of faith resumed.

My church attendance was sporadic until a year later when I joined a prayer and relationship focused church. My faith strengthened as I learned to “become in Christ Jesus” by pursuing relationship with Him. This time of reestablishing proved invaluable as several years later, God took me on a journey that required an untold amount of faith that could only have been cultivated by remembering His past faithfulness and being consistent in my day to day relationship with Him.

My new journey with God took me to a new city which challenged me in every way possible in my work life, finances, health, and community. I quickly realized I was in a wilderness season, and the only way I would get through it was by documenting when God’s faithfulness in my life. When I went through bouts of fear and faithlessness, I read my journal entries. Recalling led me to thanksgiving and renewed faith that He would show up again.

I’d love for you to join me on this journey of remembering the faithfulness of God. Start writing your story with God today.