Three Hours Forever

By Meredith Strong

They were two MBAs with two BMWs, no kids, and no debt but a mortgage. Their marriage looked great from the outside. In the beginning, he was funny, charming, and sent flowers, but then things slowly began to change.

In Three Hours Forever, author Meredith Strong explores her journey through a troubled marriage, domestic assault, divorce, and finally, recovery. She shares how in less than ninety days, her life completely turned upside down. Divided in three sections, her memoir describes the telling elements of her marriage, discusses the three-hour ordeal of domestic abuse that changed her life, and narrates her journey to recovery and healing.

Sharing her emotional story, Strong communicates how she focused on growing closer to God and learned her support system was his hands and feet. She also offers a list of applicable inspirational scripture messages, poems, and songs. Three Hours Forever seeks to serve as a comfort and a resource for other women who face the same challenges in life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781490898551

Meredith Strong

Meredith Strong was a victim of domestic violence. With God’s help, she was able to overcome the unexpected emotional trauma she endured. It is her goal to share her story so that others in her situation will have comfort, guidance and strength to overcome obstacles and become who they were meant to be. She enjoys playing volleyball and being active, going to concerts, entertaining friends, volunteering, going on mission trips, and spending time with her family.

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Copyright © 2017 Meredith Strong.

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.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®, NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-9857-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9856-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-9855-1 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/16/2017

I want to

thank God for my many blessings: for giving me strength and endurance in recent times, for offering me His love and comfort, for blessing me with an incredible family, and for setting me free.

My family and friends, I thank you for your love and support. Everything you did is appreciated more than you could ever know.

Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part 1  My Marriage

Part 2  The Night That Changed My Life

Part 3  My Healing

Great Music

Inspirational Bible Verses

Resources

Author Biography

Preface

I am a Christian woman who will happily credit my strength, sense of peace, and many blessings to God. I don’t know how I would have made it through this without Him.

I was raised Catholic and felt I had a strong faith foundation. In college, I stopped going to church. I took a full-time course load and worked two jobs while trying to earn my bachelor’s degree in three years. I didn’t have a car until my last year. These aren’t excuses; my priorities fell out of place. I didn’t put God first. After college, I continued my education and got married. I thought my husband and I were on the same page in terms of our faith. Later in my marriage, I felt I needed to make a real commitment to God. I didn’t know where to turn, still feeling as though my problems would be someone else’s burden. On a beautiful starry night, I made that commitment; I felt better. The road ahead was still difficult, but although I was alone in my marriage, I wasn’t lonely anymore.

Introduction

I didn’t know how to tell my story. The process of writing this book helped me learn how to tell it. I hope my story helps those who need to heal from emotional trauma and provides comfort in knowing that they are not alone. Although every situation is unique, people are there who can relate to your story and help you recover.

I learned through experience that people did not know how to react to my situation. Understanding that they were trying to help, despite the words they used, questions they asked, or stories they shared, was a process for me. I realized that although divorce seemed common, people didn’t know what to say about it. When they found out I filed for divorce because of domestic violence, I felt a divide of people – those who were more willing to help and those who wanted to stay an arm’s-length away — and that hurt. It was hard for me to understand; I didn’t do anything wrong. Some people did not know how to help or what to say, and sometimes what they shared came out wrong. I say this so you can gain perspective and allow a little grace. That was key – if I couldn’t allow a little grace, the small group of people that helped me recover would have been even smaller. Their intention wasn’t to hurt me, they just didn’t understand. If it is the first time you have gone through this, then it is probably the first time he or she is experiencing it too. I cannot say I would have known what would have been the right thing to say, but I want to share some of what I experienced.

I didn’t know anyone who was divorced, nor did I know anyone who was in an abusive relationship. If you are willing to open up and talk about it, people are willing to listen and help you. Open up to the right people, not those who are looking to hear something they find entertaining or those who don’t truly have a heart for you. Some of you will have similar experiences and hopefully will feel comfort that you can relate.

Some events cause significant stress in one’s life. I’ve seen the list of major stressful events, but with me, experience put it into perspective. I had four of those major events in less than ninety days. In reverse chronological order, I had to find a place to live and move out of my house. I lost my job through a restructure (after being rated a top performer the prior three years). I began the divorce process. I started the divorce process because I was physically assaulted for three hours by my former spouse. I had no idea how my life could change in such a short period of time or how to deal with the emotional trauma that I endured.

I kept thinking I was fine. I had good days and bad days. Eventually the good days outnumbered the