The Extra-Ordinary Journey From A Worldly Love to A Godly Love

By Linda Brown

The Extra-Ordinary Journey From A Worldly Love to A Godly Love is a piece of my life and others' lives where we share our experiences of pain and disappointment from divorce and broken relationships. These true stories of the piercing events that transpired in our lives took us to dark places and made many of us lose hope in love until we went through our healing process and discovered what genuine love is. Some of the stories may make you laugh,

cry, or just shake your head (SMH)!

In this book, you will find meditation, scriptures, poems, and an area for you to jot down your thoughts while reading about our experiences. I conducted a survey, which included men's and women's viewpoints about love and relationships, and I have included their answers in this book as well.

As you read and travel with us on this journey, it is my hope that you keep an open mind and ask God to speak to you as you may find your story between these pages and discover that you, too, can be healed if you trust the process even when the process does not seem trustworthy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781639039531

Book preview

cover.jpgtitle

ISBN 978-1-63903-952-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63903-953-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2021 by Linda Brown

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Worldly Love

Dysfunctional Love Appearing to Be Functional

I Married Him Because His Last Name Was Love

I Know Something Is Wrong, but I Cannot Make It Stop

How Did We Get Here?

The Addiction That Comes in Many Forms

The Cry of Emptiness That Appeared to Never Leave

Rejection: The Dark and Lonely Abyss

Woman, Please…Stop It!

How Dare You Give Up on Us

Who Is That Person I Married?

Desperation: The Worst Choice

What Does Love Got to Do with It?

Losing Yourself and Becoming Free A Square Trying to Fit into a Circle Hole

Literally, I Must Have Bumped My Head Relationship Hopper

Listen

We All Want to Be Heard

They Are Trying to Tell You Something

Godly Love

Love Should Not Hurt—It’s a Wonderful and Free Gift from God

The Woman at the Well

Months in the Belly of the Whale before I Exhaled

The Laodiceans: Are You Hot or Cold?

What People Are Saying about Love and Relationships

God’s Timing

He Found His Queen

New Beginnings

The Godly Marriage

Afterword

Credits

Dhinise Gray

Pin Poems and Pictures

Linda Faylin Brown

Poems

Raymond Tyree Williams

Drawing Worldly Love to Godly Love

Drawing Woman in a Trance by Raymond Tyree Williams

Joseph Jennings

Author Photographer

Bible Hub—Berean Study Bible

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

1 © Copyright 1991–2014

Sussex Publishers, LLC

Fredric Neuman. Follow Dr. Neuman’s blog at fredricneumanmd.com/blog or ask questions at fredricneuman.comb/blog/ask-dr.-neuman-advice-column/

How challenges can strengthen your relationship

by Linda Bloom, LCSW, and Charlie Bloom, MSW http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/stronger-the-broken-places/201204/do-relationships-really-have-be-hard

Addiction Center https://www.addictioncenter.com/

Copyright © 2007–2014 GoodTherapy.org. All Rights Reserved. http://www.goodtherapy.org/therapy-for-control-issues.html#

To my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

for walking with me and carrying me when needed to make it

through the many trials of this journey

To my mother, Fannie Mae Sanders,

who introduced me to Jesus Christ at a young age

and prayed for me continually until the day she left this earth

To my two progenies,

Chardae La-Rea and Raymond Tyree Williams,

who have seen me shed many tears and come out with a smile

Thank you, my son and daughter, for not giving up on me

To my siblings

who loved me and kept me encouraged

while I experienced many of these trials during this journey

To my God-fearing husband, John Brown,

who has been by my side with God’s word as I’ve learned to walk into the journey of godly love

And to all people who have experienced pain from broken relationships

A Gift For:

_________________________________________

From:

_________________________

A Learning How to Love Journey

During our darkest moments, God will show up.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body ]to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. (1 Corinthians 13:1–9 NKJV)

Introduction

I was inspired to write this book back in 2013 after I experienced the worst emotional pain I could have ever imagined from a failed marriage of thirteen years. I believe this book will be helpful to anyone who is dealing with distress from past or current relationships. This book is also for those who are desiring healing from these hurts. Although my focus leans toward God, the creator of heaven and earth, as my healer and deliverer, this book is just as helpful to those who do not believe in God, and it is my prayer that after you read this book, it will change your mindset of God, and you will trust him for your healing; even more so, you will benefit from reading the real-life stories that many have shared with me to incorporate and share in this book on the journey of love.

It amazes me now to know in my heart that God has allowed me to experience many heart-wrenching relationship trials in order for me to give you hope and, even more so, to share with you the evidence that the Holy Bible plainly states that genuine love for one another is diminishing, and it will get worse before it gets better (2 Timothy 3:2–3 NASB). On the upside of this, I want to encourage you to hold on to the hope of love because victory is how the story ends, and, even more so, God’s Word tells us that it is the evil one who has caused most of this anguish within our families, and he has already been defeated (Galatians 1:3–5, John 16:33 NASB).

For those who are going through heartbreak due to relationships ending and for those who have not healed since their breakups, I encourage you to not fret. Although your heart has experienced many pains and dark days may have occurred in your lives because of these happenings, you have to endure and stand firm because you will come out if you have faith. Our families have been suffering from these attacks of the evil one for many years to the point that we feel as though it is hopeless and will never end. The strongholds, such as divorce, depression, lies, and