Guilty as Charged . . . Forgiven as Promised: A Story of Guilt and Shame, a Journey Through Depression, and the Joy of Finding God’S Forgiveness

By Sally Simmone

There are good secretsthe kind that are fun and exciting, the kind that youre anxious to share. And there are bad, dark secretsthe ones you may hope and pray are never found out. Even so, like a blockage in a pipe that sends water to places it is not wanted, such secrets make themselves known.

Guilty as Charged Forgiven as Promised is author Sally Simmones story of her struggle to rise from the depths of depression caused by the guilt and shame of childhood sexual molestation and wrong choices made as a young adult. Simmone finally broke under the load of secrecy and shame and shared her secret with a friend. With the events of her life open before her, the pain was more than she could bear, and she sank into a deep depression.

After years of counseling and even hospitalization, her journey led her to discover the depth of her Saviors love. She shares some of the specific ways God brought her to where she is today and concludes with a Bible study on how one can find forgiveness from Godand oneself. The Bible teaches us to forgive others, even when it doesnt seem possible.

Simmone emerged into the sunlight of knowing Gods healing and forgiveness. Guilty as Charged Forgiven as Promised can help and inspire those who live with a hidden secret to do the same.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512700718

Sally Simmone

Sally Simmone is an elementary school teacher. She has shared her “Guilty as Charged … Forgiven as Promised” message in churches, at women’s retreats, and at a women’s prison. She and her husband, Dan, a minister of music and worship, live in Fayetteville, Georgia. They have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.

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Copyright © 2016 Sally Simmone.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture passages quoted in this book are taken from the New King James Version.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0070-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0071-8 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/13/2016

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction:  The Tunnel Of Love

Chapter 1    The Beginning

Chapter 2    College

Chapter 3    Married

Chapter 4    God Lives In Texas Too!

Chapter 5    Into The Tunnel

Chapter 6    My Journey Begins

Chapter 7    Angel In The Night

Chapter 8    Life Goes On

Chapter 9    Praising The Lord!

Chapter 10    The Dream

Chapter 11    Opened Doors

Bible Studies on Forgiveness

Chapter 12    Bible Study On The Forgiveness Of Sin

Chapter 13    How Can I Forgive?

Chapter 14    Finding Salvation

About the Author

Resources

This book is

dedicated to my loving husband, Dan, who has loved me in spite of my mistakes; to my daughters, April and Angela, who have been my great encouragers; and to my father, Rev. Dan Dunkel, who has taught me to praise the Lord through all things. To God be the glory for the great things He has done!

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just

to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all

unrighteousness."

1 John 1:9

PREFACE

I n February 1993, I came to the end of myself and was truly broken. For forty-two years I had carried the guilt and shame of having been sexually molested as a child and of the wrong choices I had made throughout my life. Even though I had asked Jesus into my heart at the age of eight, as an adult I never felt that God could really love me. As a minister’s wife, I put on my mask and pretended that all was well. Finally, I was overcome with depression. I spent four weeks in a psychiatric hospital and several years in counseling to work through a lifetime of pain. Through that journey, God healed my very deepest wounds.

A few years later, I dreamed that a group from my church was doing some ministry at the hospital in which I had been a patient. As we walked down the hallway, I felt overwhelmed with the painful memories and guilt from the past. I told my husband that I could not continue, and I ran down the hall and into a room. There on a table, I found a piece of paper and wrote the words Guilty as charged and taped it to the outside of the door. I fell across the bed and wept until I went to sleep. When I woke up (still in my dream), I opened the door to go and find my husband and the rest of our group. To my surprise, I found another note hanging over the one I had taped to the door. It simply read, Forgiven as promised. I immediately awoke from my dream with the overwhelming feeling that God had touched me.

I couldn’t get the words out of my head. I prayed that God would reveal to me a way to portray what He had spoken to me in my dream. The idea of a cross with a gavel lying at the foot of it came to mind. The gavel showed that, according to a judge, I had been found guilty. The cross showed that through the death of Jesus Christ, my sins had been forgiven.

I immediately started sketching this image on paper constantly. I knew I needed to share this message in some artistic way. You will read how God connected me with the right people to make my vision a reality. I want to thank Lea and Linwood Metts, owners of Heartfelt, Inc., for believing in this message and for getting the artist Morgan Colebrook to put on canvas the beautiful painting Forgiven as Promised.

My husband, Dan, and I have a dear friend, Christine Anderson, a handbell clinician and soloist who lives in California. We became acquainted with Christine through the Southern Baptist Assembly in Ridgecrest, North Carolina. Our paths continued to cross through musical events, and over time, we became good friends. A few years ago, we