Over the last 10 weeks we have collected several stories of transformation.  The following was submitted by Dawn Propato:

I’m not sure where it makes sense to start my story.  After our second child was born my husband and I decided that it made more sense for me to return to work and he was going to play the role of “Mr. Mom”.  It didn’t take long for us to realize that this arrangement was not going to work for us.  Our marriage was strained to say the least and neither one of us was happy.  In March 2006 I made the very difficult decision to leave my well paying job with the many securities it offered in an effort to save my marriage.  My husband returned to work.  Nine short months later, on December 1, 2006 he was “let go”.

He struggled, now responsible for providing for his family, and accepting odds and ends jobs from family members.  I grew very angry and resentful.  We were growing apart and each day that he didn’t take the initiative to find a job with more security for his family I grew more angry.  I was done! My mind was made up, I gave him one year, that was more than fair.  If he didn’t have a job by December 1, 2007, I was filing for divorce.

During this time, I attended church regularly but I did not realize just how angry and bitter I had become.  I felt justified in my anger and discontent.  It was Sunday, November 25, 2007, the last Sunday before the deadline I set in my head.  Aaron started speaking that Sunday about the story of Jesus healing the paralytic.  After only a few words I remember thinking “no, no, no, God, no!”  I can’t think of another time that I heard God speaking to me so clearly.  Just like the men whose faith led them to lower their friend through a roof for Jesus to heal.  God questioned my faith that morning and clearly showed me that I needed to trust Him fully.  I needed to allow Him to work in me first. 

God changed my heart that day.  God changed me.  He gave me a peace and a contentment that I hadn’t felt in a long, long time even in difficult circumstances.  I looked at my husband and knew that I needed to be a different wife to him.  I needed to support him and encourage him and to love him.  I am so happy to be able to say today that our marriage is stronger than ever.  That’s not to say that everything is perfect.  However, three years later, I can share with you that God has carried us through a late miscarriage, a newborn undergoing major abdominal surgery, and bankruptcy.  I could not have done any of this on my own and I trust God completely.  I know that He has our best interests at heart.  These struggles have only brought me closer in my walk with Christ.  I now approach each day with a renewed attitude, and for that I am grateful.