Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You!
by
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CHAPTER XVI
On April 2, 1979, I awakened with a start, realizing the house was too quiet. Maybe Frank hadn’t come home. Then, I heard the sound of the shower.
He’s home all right, I thought. Lord, I know you heard my prayer last night, and I put all my trust in You.
It was late, and Gina had a treat ahead of her—one of the parents had offered to drive her to school.
I went in to wake Gina up and was surprised to see how sound asleep she was. I called to her very quietly, “Gina, it’s time to wake up. It’s late; we must have overslept.”
She woke up smiling, just like when she was a baby. “Hi Mommy!”
I turned from her and hollered at my husband. “Frank, how long are you going to be in the shower?” His mumbling was indiscernible. I listened at the door. It almost sounded as though he were speaking a foreign language.
When Frank walked out of the bathroom, he shot me an odd look.
“Frank, what’s wrong?” He didn’t answer.
I rushed Gina into the bathroom and gave her a quick bath and hurried her into her room to put on her school uniform. Noticing her rumpled hair, I said, “Gina, come in my room. I want to fix your hair.”
The noise behind me made me turn quickly. When I looked, Frank had a strange smile on his face.
“Frank, what’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” He had one hand behind his back and when he pulled it out, he held the gun I thought he’d disposed of years before. Without a word, he held the gun to my head. He looked over his shoulder as though he were awaiting instructions from an unseen being.
“It’s over, baby,” he said. “This is for you and what you’ve done to me.”
I looked into his eyes, and I knew this was the turning point.
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About the Book
Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You” is the story of a young woman who, against the wishes of her friends and family, decided to marry the handsome man she met during her senior year in high school. Exactly one year after their marriage, this dream turned into a nightmare of physical and mental abuse which lasted for 9 years. Her world was full of beatings, seclusion and threats. Despite all of this, “Daughter” has a message…This is not the end; you can be free.
This book is not just the story of an abused woman; it is a story of hope. It provides the experiences and thoughts of the author as well as resource information for those in similar situations. This book should be read by every survivor and victim of domestic violence, and used as a resource for anyone who is involved with or knows someone involved in family abuse.
About the Author
Bonita Chase Darby once was trapped in the snares of domestic violence. For nine years, she endured the verbal and physical abuse of her spouse until the day he put a gun to her forehead, threatening to end her life and take their 7- year-old daughter. That day, on
Bonita Chase Darby is an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She is the Executive Director of Fighting Abuse In The Home, a resource ministry dedicated to providing much needed information to clergy and their congregations about family violence. Rev. Chase Darby travels to various faith communities facilitating seminars and family violence conferences. She considers herself a VICTOR, not a VICTIM and has dedicated her life to spreading words of hope to others who are in violent relationships.