My journey has been a long one, more like a marathon than a sprint. God has been teaching me many things through this journey, lessons which I hope to share with you through a series of articles about my experiences. My husband battled sex addiction for 12 years during our marriage; however, his story began in childhood. Although we went through years of individual counseling and marriage counseling, we eventually filed for divorce. But thankfully God brought us both to a place of healing, and that divorce never happened! My husband is walking with God, and our marriage is in a better place than it ever was before. I share this to encourage your heart. Truly all things are possible with God who restores and lays new foundations (Isaiah 41:10).

In this series I will be sharing my own journey with God and the process He brought me through. He helped me deal with this addiction and healing for my heart.

I have been a part of two support groups that were very helpful to me through my journey in healing: Pure Desire Ministries International and Prodigals Partners in Process. It definitely is possible to heal from betrayal and to move beyond it into healing broken trust. It is a marathon that requires holding God’s hand. And yes, it is entirely worth the effort because of the spiritual growth that will come with time. My first series of articles is inspired by my experiences working through Pure Desire’s nine pillars of healing broken trust.

1—Managing the Crisis

2—Understanding the Nature of Addiction

3—Commitment to Personal Healing

4—Trauma’s Undercurrent

5—Codependency

6—Healthy Boundaries

7—Grief and Anger

8—Forgiveness

9—Restoring Health and Closeness

I will share how I worked through these areas, plus helpful tools and scriptures that encouraged my heart. If you are reading this and find yourself in a similar painful place, my prayer for you is that you will come through the distress and damage and find that both you and your spouse become not only reconciled but also closer to God. While not every marriage survives this journey (because God allows people to make wrong choices), I hope and pray you will find strength and encouragement as you overcome the impact of sexual addiction in your own life. As Isaiah 61:3 says, God wants to give you “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” You are not alone.