Stories of God’s healing
Personal stories of how God has used Door of Hope to transform lives, marriages, and families
Abuse has permeated many of the past generations of my family. My upbringing was spent walking on eggshells around my parents as I learned poor boundaries and was trapped in fear. Growing up in a home where abuse was what was modeled, I didn’t know any different, and I unknowingly married a man who was mentally, physically, and financially abusive. After he strangled me one night and I obtained an Order for Protection, Door of Hope helped me work through a safety plan for leaving the home with my 2 young boys.
Then, one morning, I had a strong impression to attend the Beauty Instead of Ashes Conference. I was not planning to go until God brought it to my mind the same day the conference was to start. I was late to show up, and when I walked into the room, no one was in the audience, but the presenter was still speaking. It seemed strange, but I stayed, despite feeling unsure. I had dozens of questions in my mind that I had been begging God to answer. Being physically separate from my abuser wasn’t enough to be fully free.
As I sat there listening, every single one of my questions was answered through the material they were presenting. God was rapidly healing the hurts in me. While they shared characteristics of Christ vs. those of the abuser, God poured His love into me, and I began to cry. During the break time, the speakers shared how not one person had shown up to their event, but they kept going as if people were there. They had prayed for God to send one person. I was the one who showed up. They prayed over me a beautiful prayer that God has been continually answering ever since then.
I have been able to attend Authentic Hope [support group] which helped me work through some remaining hang-ups that I was having emotionally. The brain science that was woven into the lessons was powerful! Later, I became a volunteer support group leader. I have been able to share my testimony several times with various groups, including with a single mom’s group at my church. I love sharing because I get to give glory to God for what He can do when the lies are removed, and we understand our identity in Christ. I have also experienced an Immanuel Prayer session and can recommend the professional counseling that is offered at Door of Hope. It all has taken me deeper with God. Door of Hope has been a safe place that has felt like home to me.
Bobby Nickel, client now a volunteer
I was raised in a Christian home, the eldest of 4 kiddos, by Christian parents who found Jesus around the time of my birth. Both of them were raised in dysfunctional homes, so they moved far from those homes to raise us. But they brought a lot of that dysfunction into my childhood even while they were learning to love God. I found Jesus when I was 7 years old and began to learn Scripture through church songs. I have always loved to sing. I also loved to go to church and listen to the teaching in the adult services. When I was 13, my dad’s family trauma hit him like a steam train at full speed. He molested me in a moment of panic as he attempted to discipline me.
I forgot about the incident and went about the rest of my teen years in a daze, trying to figure out why I was so angry all the time. I was baptized when I was 15, hoping that Jesus would wash away my seething anger – I was becoming increasingly alienated from my family unit, and it was only one more year before my mom encouraged me to stay in my hometown to finish high school, while the rest of the family moved two hours away. My friend was in boarding school at the time, so this seemed like an adventure. I agreed to do it, and I lived alone in a boarding house 5 days a week. I was between worlds. During the week, it was homework till I dropped, and on the weekends, I babysat my siblings and washed my family’s dinner dishes since I had such a “life of leisure” during the week. I felt like hired help. I struggled to make friends.
After college, I moved to Minneapolis (from northern Minnesota) for a complete change of scenery. I felt so free and grown up. I decided that I no longer wanted to be afraid of other people, so I pressed into the fear of judgment with the Lord by my side. “Fear not! For I am with you... I will strengthen you...” (Isaiah 41:10) was my life verse for the first year here. I prayed for strength every time I was in a situation that terrified me. God gave me strength and courage for whatever I needed to face.
Then I met my husband. We dated for two years and then moved in together for economic reasons. My dad disowned me. Suddenly, my memory of The Incident returned, and I was faced with regular wakeful nights filled with grief and shame. I would cry all night long, praying to the Lord and journaling what He gave me to work through. I walked nearly 20 years of my healing journey alone - “just me and the Lord”. But I got stuck in the trauma work. I reached a point where I didn't know how to move forward, but we could not afford for me to go to counseling, and I wasn’t sure whether I was even “eligible” for services.
Because I was stuck, my husband lost hope in me. Our marriage was in danger. I needed help to maintain the boundaries I knew I needed to set with him. So in 2020, Door of Hope helped me to do that. The biggest difference Door of Hope has made, though, was in my earlier healing journey. I began to learn about Trauma A (lack of good things we should all receive, things that give us emotional stability) and all the hurt I had experienced finally had a place to go! This learning, coupled with knowing how to identify hurtful behavior, was a huge growth area for me. I had been taught to overlook or dismiss insulting and disrespectful behavior, but I was finally able to recognize that these things are hurtful because they are intended to be so. I am learning how to use my voice, rather than living in complacency. Door of Hope also gave me God's way of living out all the Christian buzzwords that my childhood had distorted – words like forgiveness, trust, love, peace, kindness, joy, and even anger.
Because of Door of Hope’s Authentic Hope [support group] curriculum, which I now facilitate, I am moving forward in my own journey of healing. I am sharing my journey with my two daughters (17 and 10), which helps them grow into godly young women – women who will not be afraid to name injustice and who can do it in a way that invites growth and change, rather than demanding it. I am also encouraged to firmly stand in God’s truth when interacting with my husband so that he can grow into the man that God created him to be. I am learning to rely only on God for what I need, to courageously trust that my family can hear from God too, and that my job is to love them well and to be honest with them about my experiences.
God has used each round of Authentic Hope mightily in my life. So much so, that my husband has recommended it to others as well. That speaks “hope” to me!
Karen Jensen, client now a volunteer
Support Group participants learn, listen, build trust and discover ways to put what they learn into action
Support Group Participants Share…
“Each time I take a class, I am blessed with more knowledge and then comes the processing of information. Healing is taking place in steps… I grow stronger in the knowledge of who God made me to be and less insecure.”
“This group gave me the strength and support to do the hardest things—sticking up for myself!”
“I now know that God sees me and is with me. I can still be who He has made me to be, even in my circumstances.”
“I’ve learned how important community is; where I am seen, heard, and accepted. So healing.”
“I really loved being met with smiling faces each week and hearing how others were hearing from God. It encouraged me to dig deeper in my own walk and to not isolate.”
“I walked into my first group anxious and afraid that I would not be able to share what was really going on. I thought it would be just another way people would judge or try to ‘fix me’. That isn’t what happened at all! As time went on, I began to realize I was surrounded by women on their own beautifully imperfect journeys. We didn’t need to ‘fix’ each other, we simply listened, learned and leaned into what God was doing each week.”
“The biggest takeaway I experienced was the ability to build my trust in God.”
“Learning to use the tools I have picked up in support groups has had a positive effect on nearly all my relationships.”
I heard about Door of Hope through a friend of mine in the summer of 2022. I had been in an emotionally abusive relationship for two years, and I was desperate for help and hope.
I had grown up in a pretty dysfunctional environment. My dad was/is an alcoholic and was emotionally unavailable, and my mom was co-dependent. My two brothers were always in trouble at school, so they required most of the attention at home. I spent a lot of time isolated in my bedroom, which led to severe depression and self-harming because I carried so much shame. Years later, I still struggled as an adult with depression, cutting, lust, and several other things.
After my abusive relationship in 2022, I was done with doing life my way. Out of the blue, a past co-worker (now a friend) reached out to me and asked if I was ok. (Such a God moment!) This is where my healing journey started, and I came to know Jesus. Since then, God has delivered me from severe depression, lust, shame, guilt, and many other things. Where I felt like there was a black hole in my heart, it was made whole and filled with His love and peace.
After my salvation experience, I knew I needed to continue to work on healing. I had heard about Door of Hope and signed up for an Authentic Hope support group. The information in the book, paired with scripture, drew me closer to God’s heart for me, and the material in the book brought more understanding of how abuse and trauma affected me. Listening to other women and their stories encouraged me and let me know that I was not alone.
I would say to anyone struggling, there is hope, and that is Jesus Christ! I also would say it’s important to get connected to a group like Door of Hope because it’s a very laid-back, non-intimidating atmosphere, and it’s a safe environment for women to share their stories and receive encouragement and hope. God delivers us in our obedience to Him. Thank you, Jesus!
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Mandy Emery, client
I met Diane when I was going through my third divorce. I was broken and devastated. My therapist felt I might be helped by the prayer sessions Diane was doing. Diane and I began to meet regularly, and then I was in the first Authentic Hope group she led.
I grew up in a Christian home, but my parents really didn’t have good communication skills and didn’t show much love for each other in their marriage. There was often a lot of tension between them, which kept them from giving my siblings and me what we needed. When I got married, I didn’t really know what a healthy marriage looked like. As a child, to keep everyone happy, and minimize the tension, I became a people pleaser. This pattern helped me survive in all my marriages. However, it was exhausting, and no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t work. My children’s father was abusive emotionally, verbally, and physically, and that marriage ended when child protection got involved. I was a single parent for many years.
After a brief second marriage, I met a man who I thought was amazing. He appeared to be a solid Christian and treated me like a queen. But after we were married, our life at home was never the way it appeared in public. It seemed like nothing I did, or didn’t do, made him happy. It was three years into this marriage, after much counseling, that I met Diane and came to Door of Hope. Going through the Immanuel Prayer sessions with her was so healing. Each time she prayed with me there was a great amount of healing that came. She helped me connect with Jesus, and I began to understand His perspective and His love for me. I began to sense where Jesus was through many of the hard times I’d gone through, and I began to feel His love embracing me.
When Authentic Hope support groups began, I attended, and it was there I gained a new level of understanding of the various traumas one experiences in life and how they affect you. It helped me to understand what I had brought into these relationships that was unhealthy, as well as have compassion for the issues that were brought in by my partners. I began to make sense of it all and began to work on building trusting relationships within groups. The healing of many difficult years began. It has also given me a new perspective on my relationship with God the Father. I now trust Him at a deeper level, and I know His love for me is real and not conditional.
As my own healing continued, I became a co-leader for support groups. Since then, I have been blessed to be able to help lead many groups…
There is a healing that comes from being in a safe group where you can be vulnerable to share your story and be heard and loved through it to a better place. We expose the darkness and walk each other through to shine God’s light on every situation. We need healthy relationships to continue our healing journey, and it is such a blessing to see these develop in these groups.
I came to Door of Hope confused – they helped me find clarity.
I came to them feeling hopeless and helpless– they helped me find confidence in Christ.
I came with a broken heart filled with pain and disappointment – they helped me heal and feel whole again.
I came having a hard time finding Jesus and hearing His voice – they safely brought me into a deep intimacy with Him.
I came feeling alone – they helped me understand He was there with me every step of the way.
Romans 8:28 says - All things work together for good to those who love Him…I know that I can look back and see God always being there, despite my poor choices. Because of the relationship - first with Diane, and then with God the Father, through the support and guidance of Door of Hope, I am now able to walk with others as they find hope and healing in Jesus.
Barb Stone, client now volunteer