Please pray for Stephanie and Skylor…
My husband of 4 years/ my (2yr.old) daughter's father had been verbally and emotionally abusive towards us in multiple ways on multiple occasions starting 5-07. I opened up to our pastor about the abuse in 1/08 and Pastor got my husband to agree, finally, to see a therapist. In late 4/08 my husband ‘fired’ our therapist for confronting him about his controlling, selfish and abusive ways; calling the therapist abusive and belittling towards him. He refused to move out of my house. I moved my daughter and myself out of our house and to my parents' house the first week of 5/08.
My daughter started telling my mother and me things her daddy did to her that are sexually inappropriate in late 5/08 and had been having many behaviors that suggest she had been sexually abused. My first attorney misrepresented me in court in 6-08, and then dropped my case; stating he did not feel comfortable representing me any more due to me and my mom just recently voicing our suspicions that Skylor’s father has sexually abused her.
In 8-08 my husband Paul was court ordered to get to continue living in my and my daughter’s house, get unsupervised standard visitation with our daughter Skylor and to have to start paying the mortgage for the house in which he was/ is living and child support.
DSS would not intervene prior to the 8-08 order stating Sky was not in immediate danger as I was not allowing unsupervised visits with Paul. After the 8-08 court order, Skylor’s therapist wrote a letter to DSS requesting they open an investigation on Skylor and DSS again refused, this time stating court orders exist, so they will not get involved.
After the 8-08 court order, my husband dropped out of therapy, Bible study and church.
My daughter’s court ordered guardian states he believes me and my mom and has concerns about my husband, but has done nothing to protect my daughter: has not interviewed anybody regarding my and/or my husband’s character and will not schedule an emergency hearing or back my daughter’s therapist during any such hearing. The guardian verbalized that he will not support any changes to visitation unless my daughter speaks to someone other than myself or my mother about the abuse; which Sky’s therapist states is unlikely to happen given Sky’s age and the type of abuse that occurred.
My daughter’s therapist believes sexual abuse has occurred by my husband to my daughter (due to Skylor’s regression, behavior, resistance to speaking with her in therapy and the therapist’s belief that my mom and I are telling the truth about Skylor’s words and behavior) and is preparing an affidavit and getting ready for an emergency hearing to attempt to prevent my husband from having unsupervised visitation with my daughter from 12/18/08 to 12/25/08.
I believe that “all is well†and everything that occurs, no matter how painful or unjust it appears to be, is according to God’s will and somehow for the “greater good.†I feel this experience is a test for me in some way.
I have asked God to please remove the fear from my heart and bring to me instead feelings of peace, joy and faith. I know that God can turn this situation around in a heart beat and have prayed for a miracle; that Skylor will be safe at 111 Smithfield Ave. the week preceding this coming Christmas (as celebrated in the USA), all day and night this Christmas (as celebrated in the USA) and every day and night thereafter throughout her childhood. However, being a mother who loves her daughter dearly and wants to protect her daughter, but has been unable to do so; I have been unable to shake the feelings of pain, helplessness, guilt and anger.
Please pray for Skylor and Stephanie.
I want to share with you the 4 blessings that have come out of my marriage to Paul.
1. I became pregnant and gave birth to Skylor. I have a beautiful gift from God; a daughter.
2. I have learned to listen to my intuition about people and now choose to only pursue intimate relationships with people who are true Christians per the way they treat others and live their lives
3. Pastor Hein will be better able to provide counsel, spiritual guidance and support to anyone who comes to him for such who is in an abusive relationship and/ or seeking to get out of an abusive relationship or marriage
4. I will be better able to provide counsel, spiritual guidance and support and able to empathize with others who: are in an abusive relationship; are seeking to get out of an abusive relationship; have child(ren) that are/were abused verbally, sexually or emotionally; receive injustice or no support from or are currently just dealing with the legal system; feel helpless, guilty, like a failure as a parent for being unable to protect their child(ren) from an abuser/ abuse.
With Love and Gratitude,
Stephanie
