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Archway Publishing - Ruth Valor

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116 pages

English

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This memoir shares the author’s experiences with abuse as a child and how she began to heal through her relationship with God.
When author Ruth Valor was just three years old, a male and female babysitter, friends of the family, sexually abused her. Shortly thereafter, a family member did as well. The aftermath of abuse led her down a road of pain and she experienced a far-reaching disconnectedness in relationships. In Journey of Hope, she shares her story, helping others who have been subjected to one of the five forms of abuse throughout their life.
Valor tells how, through her relationship with Christ, she realized she had to work on herself and hope for a better future. She chose to walk through an extensive healing process by making a commitment for the rest of her life to focus on the little girl inside of her—and for the adult, too.
By doing so, she became saved, and she made Jesus her Lord and savior. Journey of Hope offers insights into Valor’s life as an abused child and as an overcomer of abuse. She communicates that a relationship with God became an integral part of her healing and wellness.

Sujets

Biography

God

Autobiography

Informations

Publié par	Archway Publishing
Date de parution	22 juillet 2022
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781665724586
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0350€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

HOW MY WALK WITH CHRIST HELPED ME OVERCOME ABUSE

JOURNEY OF HOPE
RUTH VALOR

Copyright © 2022 Ruth Valor.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

ISBN: 978-1-6657-2457-9 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2456-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-2458-6 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022910040

Archway Publishing rev. date: 07/20/2022
CONTENTS
Journey Of Hope’s Mission Statement
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Introduction

1. Early Life
2. Early On
3. My Childhood
4. Ruth’s Story
5. Relationships And Marriages
6. Relationships
7. Faulty Goals

Epilogue
JOURNEY OF HOPE’S MISSION STATEMENT
Journey of Hope is a nonprofit organization spreading awareness about the five major forms of abuse affecting many Americans. JOH strives to bring hope and restoration through life studies and support programs to victims as well as abusers.
The only way to limit the ongoing cycle of abuse is to educate the abusers on its destruction and make them part of a solution.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my son and daughter, who have given me courage, and strength. I love you two to the moon and back. We’ve shared a lot of great times together and have also been through many painful and unfortunate circumstances. Through it all, I know—without a doubt—that our Lord and Savior wrapped his armor of shield around us.
God was walking with us every step of the way. I can honestly say that I am grateful and thankful for the pure hearts that you have been blessed with and the beautiful and amazing people you have become. Thank you always for working hard to excel in school and sports. I would also like to thank you for your love, kindness, patience, and understanding. I’m honored to be your mother and extremely proud of you both. May God continue to bless you and watch over the both of you. I love you to eternity,
Gratefully his,
Mom
W hat an awesome God we have. He is the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the authority, and gives grace and mercy. He delights in you, gives comfort, and strength at a time of need. So, when others are feeling distressed, needing our compassion, and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and support God has given us.
—2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NIV
This book is gratefully dedicated to my son, daughter, mother, brothers, and my father. Unfortunately, my father is no longer with us. Heartache was the stimulus for writing my memoir. Thank you all for your love and support; it has been a true blessing for me. I love you.
Special thanks to my beautiful cousin Mone’t. You helped me when I had writer’s block, with editing, and when I needed a push. Thank you to my dear friends Criss Bertling, Christi Thomas, Jamie Klingseisen, Sultane Franklin, Monique Friedman, Wayne Gill, Dale Fowler, and Walter Bernstein for your friendship and belief in me and this project. Thank you for being a constant source of encouragement to me both personally and professionally.
I love you.
Lastly, to a very special friend who is no longer with us, thank you for believing in me and for cheering me on. I miss seeing the variety of colorful wigs you wore, which became your trademark, and hearing your raspy laugh. You were a very beautiful and special person, inside and out. Your life is now in heaven, my sweet friend. I’m happy to know that you are doing all right. Your soul is at rest now, but your spirit lives on. It is here with us all.
RIP, Tamar (1989–2021)
I love you.
RIP, Daddy (1945–2016)
I love you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ruth Valor grew up on the South Side of Chicago and is an overcomer of abuse. She is founder and president of Ministry Journey of Hope. She now lives in Florida. Valor has two grown children.
D o not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
—Romans 12:12 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
Not all walks are to be accompanied by other people. You must focus and mentally declutter from the reruns of a season captured in life. It’s time to introduce myself. I’m an overcomer. I am titled as holy. Yes, I am holy. I am set apart for God. I am special. When I became a Christian, I became a brand-new creation, and my inner person became completely new.
I have learned that who I am deep down inside changed from being someone who could not help but displease God to someone who is accepted, significant, and secure in Christ. I am also an ex-wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a niece, and a friend.
I would like you to visualize my story through my journey of life. I had had enough of what Florida had to offer. I loaded as many clothes in large Hefty garbage bags as my Mercedes could handle. I was eighteen hours and more than twenty years away from home.
I had to go back to Chicago to fix the cracked foundation of my life. I don’t know how or when it happened. All I knew was that it had to be repaired before I could rebuild myself. I sought no copilot. I opened my mind and heart to be led and protected by God.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 hit in 2020. The pandemic took so many lives, but it saved mine. I am so sorry for the many losses for the families that were affected. The disease will go down in history as the year of what we missed in everyday life as we once knew it. I truly believe that this is the time for us to trust and have faith in our heavenly Father.
It is a time for us to revisit our roots, regroup, reconnect, and rebuild our relationships with Jesus, our family, and our friends. This is a time for us to extend grace and mercy toward each other. Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Due to the pandemic. I was furloughed from both of my jobs in retail at the mall. I had just received my business plan for my organization. Journey of Hope is a nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) that spreads awareness about the five major forms of abuse that affect many Americans. We strive to bring hope and restoration through our life-support series programs to victims as well as abusers.
Shortly thereafter, I was invited to apply for a grant through a local foundation in Palm Beach. Unfortunately, one week prior to sending it back to them, they made the decision to close their foundation for the safety of their volunteers and the community. They would not be able to award any of the previously allocated funds for their community-assistance grant.
Even though I understood their decision, it was very disappointing. I was unable to receive funding for JOH, but I refused to lose hope. I also lost the short-term rental I was residing in. I was renting a room inside a lady’s home. We had met in church, and I was living with her until I could save up enough money to find a place of my own. Unfortunately, her daughter was returning from Europe, and her son was coming home too.
I tried really hard to find shelter. The day before I was supposed to move out, May 21, 2020, I found a room to rent, but I couldn’t move in until June 1, 2020. I asked Rebecca if there was any way I could stay in her place until then, but she said no. There just wasn’t enough space in her home to accommodate the four of us. I packed all my things and loaded up my car. By five o’clock that night, I was on the road for the eighteen-hour journey from Florida to Chicago. I had less than one thousand dollars in my banking account. I had to make that stretch until my unemployment checks kicked in.
I never would have thought in a million years that I would have experienced being homeless for the third time in my life. I can honestly say that God was walking with me every step of the way. God is a way-maker, a miracle worker, a promise keeper, and light in the darkness. My God is a good God. The verse that I go by every day is: “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV).
I struggled with the thought of leaving my son, Kayden, and my daughter, Paige. I had not shared with them how much I was struggling to make ends meet and keep a roof over my head. They had their own worries and struggles, and I did not want to burden them with my problems.
My son had just gotten married to Karen. They found the cutes