How Did I Survive & Overcome Domestic Violence

How Did I SURVIVE & OVERCOME

Domestic Violence

By: Prophetess Covington

Iam a Sixty-five-year-old mother of two, grandmother of ten, and great grandmother of three. I’m so grateful to God that He has kept me and that I don’t look like what I have been through. I was a child born into rejection, one who has been abused, in some way, by every man that has been in her life. If it wasn’t for the Lord by my side, I really don’t know where I would have been. Being rejected as a child and not having the love that I needed caused me to look for love in all the wrong places and to feel less than I am. I had low self-esteem and was extremely shy or timid.

My need to be loved made me allow myself to be mistreated and abused by men. I met my ex-husband at a sports bar when I was backsliding. I’ve always loved the Lord and grew up in the church, but because of my issues of rejection, I wanted a man who would love me. Little did I know I was in for a rude awakening. Shortly after we met, we moved in together. Things were okay but not great. He acted as if he cared for me, but deep down inside, I knew he didn’t.

I started going back to church. I joined and was very active in the Ministry. I went to school to become a minister, and graduated to become a certified Evangelism Trainer. I was living a double life because only one person who was my friend in the church knew I was living in sin. I felt unclean and convicted every day, but I didn’t stop.

This man was cheating, and I knew it. Even when I found out, he laughed. I accepted his fake apology and dealt with it. This went on for about a year. I started getting depressed and always worrying about what he was doing, when he wasn’t at home.

One evening, sitting at home, I heard a voice say “Leave him.” I started feeling a stirring in my spirit, and I knew that it was God because I heard Him say it again, “Leave this man.” I started looking for a place and told him I couldn’t live in sin anymore, that I was leaving. He called me from work one night, crying, said he was sorry and asked if I would marry him on June 19th. I was so excited he asked me to marry him that I forgot what the Lord had told me. I was definitely deceived because I was a Christian, and he wasn’t. We were unequally yoked, but that didn’t matter. I was so excited to hear a man say that he loved me that I got off focus on everything else. I married this man, even though my girls were upset.

The day I walked down the aisle, I looked at him and saw a demon. His face was disfigured, his eyes were a deep red like a demon’s, and he had this sort of crazy looking smirk on his face. My legs started wobbling, and I

“I had to forgive him, not for him, but for me. As long as I held stuff in, I became sick in my body, and this man had me in bondage. But once I let go, I was set free.”

was shaking My brother, who walked me down the aisle, asked what was wrong, and I said nothing. I married this man and lived eight years in misery, torment, scare, depression and stress. My disobedience also caused me to get ill and become hospitalized more than two times. I developed Fibromyalgia along with some other illnesses that the doctor said had come from my being so overly stressed and depressed.

My husband and I bought a house together, which he and the broker lied and said I couldn’t put my name on. He had us get life insurance policies. One day, shortly after, I felt uneasy in my spirit,and I called and changed the beneficiary to my daughters. A few days later, when I came home from work, he met me in the driveway, pulled me by my hair, and drug me in the house, cursing and calling me names, saying why did I change the beneficiary, that the money was his. He was looking for the insurance policy because I had hidden it. And to find it, you had to really go through a lot of stuff. It was at that moment I realized that he was going to try to kill me. I should have expected something because I would always see him under my car doing something. When I asked, he would say he was checking the brakes. He fought me, causing me to go to jail one day because he lied to me. He had me put out of the house.

I was homeless, but I made it. No one at first would let me stay with them, but I made it. The Lord told me not to worry about that house that he would give me much better. He told me to forgive him. It was hard for me, but I let the house go. I went to my husband, and I told him that I forgave him for what he did. Once I was obedient to God, and let it go, I felt like a load was lifted off me. I felt free. I had to forgive him, not for him but for me. As long as I held stuff in, I became sick in my body, and this man had me in bondage. But once I let go, I was set free.

I have someone who loves me unconditionally with all my flaws, He loves me for me. He doesn’t abuse me; He is very intimate with me. He takes his time to explain things to me; we have a wonderful relationship, and he lets me know every second, every minute, every hour, and every day that I am the apple of His eye, and that’s Jesus Christ. I am better and not bitter. What I have gone through has made me a stronger woman.

Rod J. Turner MD, PA

Education

Tulane University School of Medicine M.D. Xavier University of Louisiana - B.S.

Post Doctoral Training Baylor College of Medicine

Research Fellowships Baylor College of Medicine

Licensure and Board Certification

Texas State Board of Medical Examiners Board Verified by American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Academic and Administrative Appointments

Clinical Instructor for Baylor College of Medicine, Dept of OB/GYN

Hospital Appointments

Clear Lake Regional Hospital Bay Area Surgicare Center Dr. Rod J. Turner is a Board Certified physician providing a full range of healthcare services to women through all stages of their lives - from puberty to child-bearing ages, and through menopause and beyond.

Dr. Turner states “My office prides itself on providing high quality care in a personalized and comfortable environment.”