Testimony of faith. A sharp turning point

I am 21 years old and pregnant. Three weeks after announcing it to my mother, I got married, without being in love. At the time, there was no question of doing otherwise. I am continuing my studies in psychology, even though we have three children in four years. Very quickly, life as a couple turns out to be difficult. My husband doesn’t respect me. What to do ? I take it upon myself for years, but suicidal thoughts cross my mind. One day, the parish priest came to the house, next to the church.

He wants to talk to me about the baptism of the children (the last one is already in kindergarten), enters without knocking, as we do in our Belgian countryside, and finds me crying. Father Hyacinthe listens to me. I did not have a Christian education but, at the same time, I became a religion teacher, and the study of biblical texts began to change my outlook. A few months later, at the end of my strength, it was me who came to the cure. The priest’s quality of listening allows me to unfold the thread of my life. Our meetings become regular, like a kind of therapy.

My life then took a sharp turn: after a serious road accident, I spent three days in a coma, from which I emerged following a “near death experience”: I saw myself as in a dream, moving forward effortlessly. in magnificent landscapes, attracted by a beneficial light in which someone is standing. But I have to go back and wake up in the hospital.

For six months, bedridden, I received a visit from Father Hyacinthe who came to read me the Gospel of the day and discuss it. He teaches me to pray, to live in familiarity with Jesus and Mary. I remain disabled, but my new faith gives me the joy of living. When I return to religion classes, the students notice the change: “Now, Madam, you have faith! » Years pass. My priest remains close. I’m not always okay, but he helps me put my husband’s behavior into words.

The children having become independent, I decided to file for divorce, pronounced on the anniversary of our marriage. I find my place in my family, in the parish. My husband had isolated me from everyone. “You are resurrected,” Father Hyacinthe rejoices. Every morning when I wake up, I say hello to Marie. Life is beautiful.