War Cry - September, 2014 Page 5

e reeled me in by pretending to care.

He hooked me with his sympathetic ear, but
it was all smoke and mirrors. In sharing
myself, I gave him the formula, so he knew

how to hurt me. He recreated the rape, and his dis-
turbed mind experimented with new ways to trauma-
tize me that I dare not write about.

This man was a magician. He distracted me with

slight of hand, and he never told me anything in-
timate about himself. I was a CIA agent; he was a
domestic terrorist who just wouldn't confess.

During the relationship, I invited Christ to be

my Savior. My boyfriend's blatant blasphemy and
attempts to deter me from church were the hard-
est things I had to endure. All the while, I prayed
fervently for his salvation. The nearer I drew to God,
the worse his demeanor became. Don't ever date
someone who is unequally yoked! "Don't team up
with those who are unbelievers. How can righteous-
ness be a partner with wickedness? How can light
live with darkness?"(2 Corinthians 6:14).

One evening he came home at midnight. I went

to bed at 3:00 a.m., and he roused me from my
sleep around 5:00 a.m. Jumping on the bed, he ex-
claimed: "Heather, wake up, they're trying to erase

you!"(Later I realized that was a line from a movie.)

At first I thought he was joking, but I was entering a

whole new nightmare.

He punched out all the windows in our living room,

and I called 911. "There's something wrong with my

boyfriend." Outside, I was coherent and aware but
inside I felt confused and petrified. He was running
around in his shorts and jersey at the supermarket
across the street. The operator encouraged me to
call him back inside.

He stormed the front door with ferocious tenacity,

followed me to the kitchen and started beating the
living daylights out of me. I dropped the phone near
the refrigerator. As I felt my life slipping away, I
cried,"Oh God, please help me!" After what seemed
like an eternity, the Erie Police walked into the
house. "Get away from her or we'll mace you."

Unfortunately, they hit me too, but I was just

grateful my heroes were finally there to catch my
villain in the act. They took him away, handcuffed
and hog tied, assuming he was on PCP.

I thank God and the Erie Police Department for

saving my life. I'm here for a purpose! God has plans
for me! "For I know the plans I have for you," says
the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster,
to give you a future and a hope"

(Jeremiah 29:11).

After my grandma and I visited my boyfriend in

the hospital, we both decided that the man I should
stand by was Jesus. Grandma bought me a mobile
home outside of the city, and my entire life changed.
Reclaiming my salvation in Christ, and therefore my
victory, I began storming the harvest fields with a
consuming fire.

If not for all the horrible things we go through,

most of us wouldn't see our need for Christ because

The War Cry | SEPTEMBER 2014

S E P T E M B E R

Frontlines

continued

Photo by Ryan McVay

BATTERED

to Blessed

Jesus led me to Freedom and Peace

HEATHER DALRYMPLE