Bounce: A Woman's Journey from Abuse, Homelessness, and Joblessness to Giving Back to the Community

By Maybelle Regaspi

In this true story of a single, shy, and simple immigrant mother, Maybelle Regaspi takes the reader on a journey of wanting to give a better life and future to her children. But in that journey, she encountered different challenges that almost crushed her but didn't to making it to the other side, and she decided to glorify God for her victory over those challenges by giving back to the community.She trusted God and the statement "Lord, I must be on to something greater to experience pain and disappointments this big" was her mantra.It is her hope and prayer that through her testimony here, readers will be encouraged and see their challenges in a different light.May God be praised!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685701451

Book preview

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Bounce

A Woman's Journey from Abuse, Homelessness, and Joblessness to Giving Back to the Community

Maybelle Regaspi

ISBN 978-1-68570-144-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68570-145-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Maybelle Regaspi

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Not Exactly Home Sweet Home

God Has Plans

The Backstory of My Abuse

Trying to Make It Work

A Little Help, Please!

I Have Something for You, Maybelle

Serve Others, Help Yourself

Unfinished Business

Daily Fresh Starts

Inspired

Desperate Situations Can Change for the Better!

About the Author

Introduction

We never fully know where life is going to take us, do we? The choices we make play a significant role in the direction our life takes, but there are many other factors that we have no control over. These things can change our course and even lead us to places and situations we would never have chosen. We find ourselves thinking I can't believe this is happening to me! Will I ever bounce back? and we wonder how we'll get through it.

I've had my share of these shaken-to-the-core experiences, and of course, I made my mistakes along the way. We all do. But I didn't choose the abuse. I didn't choose harassment or the homelessness. Through all these hardships, however, I wasn't completely destroyed. I didn't collapse under the weight of my difficulties. In fact, I was able to bounce back.

When these crushing things happened to me, I knew there was Someone up there looking down and seeing my life. And though I recognized His power, to a degree, my faith back then was not as stable as it is now. Still, I knew that something better was planned for me. I just had to go through the process to get there.

There was a reason why I was able to make it to the other side. I slowly discovered throughout my trials that when everything around me was falling apart—when I had to escape an abusive husband, accept the fact that I was not only living in a homeless shelter but jobless as well—I was not godless. I could cling to Him. And though I was completely broken, the freedom from abuse and bondage from that marriage was the exchange, so I'll take it!

I've recorded my story in this book because I believe that the lessons I've learned and the victories I've experienced can help empower others. Maybe even you! My hope is that my story will encourage you in your own journey to keep going until you reach the other side. No matter what you're going through, do not despair. There is hope.

I was provided with help and all that I needed to rise above my circumstances. If He is able to do it for me, I have no doubt that He can do it for you too. There is a God Who can be your rock and your place of safety as well. Not only can you recover, experience joy, and bounce back but also you can become an even better version of yourself!

Blessings,

Maybelle Regaspi

(Personal names in this book have been changed.)

Not Exactly Home Sweet Home

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place we can go as we are and not be questioned.

—Maya Angelou

The walkway to the shelter

En Route to My New Home

I wasn't used to the bus system. I'd ridden the bus many times before, but only one route—from the apartment where we were living to the grocery store. That was the extent of it. But on this day, there was no we, and I needed to go someplace new by myself. I'd never had to figure this out before, but I investigated on my own via the internet what bus I needed to take and where I had to go to catch it.

Arriving at the bus stop, I