When The Truth Comes Calling

By Loren Wedrien

A gripping tale that talks about a real-life journey of a mother who has walked through the traumas of Domestic Violence within her marriage.

A true heartfelt testimony of the journey that Loren has walked through and how she has overcome her experiences, fought one of the biggest battles of her life and protected her children along the way all while allowing God to work through her in bringing her into full healing.

As she tells her story, allow it to speak to you as you read through each page and how it can help you also walk out your own journey.

Through walking through adversity, remember that you are stronger than you give yourself credit for and if you allow God to meet you where you are, He can help bring you true healing that will last a lifetime.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Loren Wedrien
• Release date: Jul 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9781922956873

Book preview

Prologue

Have you ever wondered what your life would look like if you had made one different decision? If you could look back on your life and change things, would you? We all have a different journey that we are walking and as I’ve discovered, life hasn’t exactly turned out the way that I was expecting it to.

One final decision can change not only your life but the lives of many others around you, the people who you are closest to. Even though the pain may be unbearable at times, I know you already, you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. How do I know this? Because I’ve been where you are and there have been so many times where I definitely haven’t been strong enough to get through what I was dealing with at that point in time. I have needed my support network and community of friends from all walks of life to help get me through to the other side. Often the contemplation of what we are feeling is far greater than the actual situation itself. Our emotions and thoughts play a massive part in the way we handle what we are dealing with at any given point in time.

If I had given into the way that I was feeling many years ago, that one decision would’ve not only changed my life, my children’s lives but also my friends’ and families’ lives, in a moment, if you let it, everything can change.

Sometimes, this is within our control, and at other times, it’s out of our control. We try to control as much as we can within our lives as it helps decrease the feeling of overwhelm and it’s not often that we genuinely get to a place of being okay with things being out of our control and going with it.

One decision, one thought, one harsh word, or one act is sometimes all it takes to push someone far enough over the edge. You never know what someone else is going through and for me, many decisions, many more thoughts, thousands of harsh words and one unforgivable act was enough to bring me to the brink of being at rock bottom and ending things for good.

Thankfully, I had some very supportive friends, a loving church family, and the support of my family. Without this, I am not so sure I would still be here today and that one decision on my part would have changed so many people’s lives.

I know that today may be hard and you might be struggling. I also know that you are strong, capable, and resilient. So much of what I’ve been through and will continue to bring to life will be hard for some to read as it will hit close to home. I also know that for others it will bring closure knowing that they have been through something similar and know now that they are not alone. Yet for others, it will help them to support others who are struggling and are walking a hard road at the moment. I can assure you that if you can get through today, you can definitely get through tomorrow and the day after. You have so much to live for and no matter how bad things have been in the past, the future is bright and you can and will get through this. If I can, I know you will.

Dreams of mine have been shattered time and again over the years so let me take you on a journey to discover how I got to the place that I’m in now, allow me to take you deeply through my journey to see how I hit absolute rock bottom and have come back. A journey through domestic violence, was never something I wanted to live, nor did I ever see it as being a part of my story, yet here I am to tell you more about what I have unexpectedly walked through in the hopes that it may bring more clarity and perspective to your own situation or the situation of a loved one.

My friends and others that hear my story will tell me that I am strong and I am resilient but I beg to differ so much of the time but come with me as you’ll read my journey and you will get to see just how much. It really is up to you to make your mind up and decide if this is worth fighting for … if you are worth fighting for! I know you are because you are invaluable and loved.

Welcome to my story and continuous journey, may it bring hope, courage, inspiration, and more than anything strength to fight for who you are and who you are meant to be. The person you feel you are called to be is intrinsic. The Lord has wonderful plans for your life. I pray that the healing and restoration that I found in Jesus, you too would also find not only as you read through the pages of this book but also in the journey along the way.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

Chapter 1

Life Changes

Some children grow up in beautiful neighbourhoods, with a mum and dad, sometimes one or more siblings and for many they even have a family pet. This is not always the case but in an ideal world or at least the one that I had planned for my life, this was what life should’ve looked like.

Growing up in a quiet suburban street in the South Eastern part of Sydney, Australia, life in the suburbs seemed easy, beautiful, quiet, a perfect place to bring up a small family. My mum, my dad, a younger brother and an array of childhood pets to love. We had an outside cat, some fish, some mice and eventually, after our much loved cat passed away, we would welcome two puppies into our hearts and home who would become family just as much as any of the other animals had before them.

With bushland backing onto the bottom of the hill that we grew up on, bush walking became a regular occurrence among friends. We would catch the bus to school in the mornings, we would often walk the five blocks home together, gradually dissipating as each of what started off as a large group would turn down their own streets to head home. As my friend and I were some of the last, we would always walk and talk along the way and before we knew it we were home as we only lived around the corner from one another.

The local primary school was what we had grown up with and to us, we didn’t know that there was anything else out there. We understood that there were other schools other kids went to, but for us, it didn’t matter until sports carnivals rolled, around once a year. As the child who grew up being the tallest in my entire year for many years, I never took into consideration that, one day, my friends may just outgrow me quite literally. As the years went by, I stopped growing and each of them caught up and overtook my height. Looking back now, I realise that I was quite competitive when it came to my schooling and every part of it. I never knew that in a few short years that everything about this would change. How I had longed to study, how I enjoyed learning and growing and wanting to get to know more about different cultures. Had I taken on too much during my Higher School Certificate (HSC) year at school? My final year in High School. Working two jobs, studying for my HSC exams, and then studying one night a week in growing my language skills. I thought I had it all together and was doing well.

Whilst working at my supermarket job just casually, I would often come home from school, have something to eat, get changed, and head off for my shift and then head from one job to the next, this was pretty standard for me. I enjoyed working, and being around people. I enjoyed seeing customers and getting my job done right. Often working late nights, finishing at my McDonald’s job at 11 pm and sometimes even then heading off to the store down the road that was short-staffed, needing overnight crew and finishing at 3 am. Heading home for five hours of sleep, my slender body and long strawberry-blonde hair often handled these shifts with the greatest of ease.

That was all about to change, my exams were just around the corner and I was yet to realise that I couldn’t do it all. No matter how hard I tried. My grades were the ones that suffered as I had thrown myself into work. Saying yes to picking up as many shifts as I was able to between both jobs, wanting to pay out my car loan quickly. The little silver Toyota 5-door hatchback Yaris was my pride and joy, the first very big purchase I’d ever made and I was keen not to be stuck paying money on it for the next seven years as the loan terms had been agreed upon.

The one thing I wanted more than anything was to be able to get a job where I could travel, where I could work and travel and help people. How I loved Japan, how my heart longed to return and at the end of that HSC year was exactly where I was headed. International translation was where my heart sat as I had pondered for many years about who I wanted to become, what I wanted out of life. As a child, I never really knew what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up’, even in Year 10 as I had done some workplace prac in the Australian Museum to look into a career in Marine Biology, but this pathway was short-lived. However, I did make an awesome new friend from that experience who now lives in The Netherlands.

I thought that I had my entire future worked out, well apparently, life had a few twists and turns of its own as I was yet to discover.

Exams

Days of the exams rolled around, the sun shone as we entered the large school hall, bags parked at the back with desks lined individually next to one another. We sat in our light blue shirts and for the girls, dark blue tartan skirts (for the boys, long grey pants), white socks, and black shoes with our exams and equipment. We waited with anticipation, each day, for the supervisors to announce You may start…. You have x amount of time for your exam. Two weeks and one day later, my exams had come to an end. At the end of that week, we returned to the school, dressed in full uniform for our graduation. Outside that same hall, we had sat our exams in only days prior, the same friends we had seen every day for the last six years would be leaving some of our lives potentially forever. Our year advisor, Mrs Mason, came to us outside afterward to tell us how proud she was of us and our graduating year of 2006. Shirts were signed, hugs were given, and more than a few smiles and tears were exchanged amongst the dearest of friends as we exited the school grounds for what would be the last time in our schooling years.

Japan—Solo Trip #1

The following week, I was boarding a plane by myself and heading back to Japan to see my host family. My friend who was meant to be coming with me, decided that there were better places to go instead, leaving me travelling alone. Thankfully, my host family from my student exchange a couple of years beforehand was keen to have

Reviews for When The Truth Comes Calling

[kevinsargeant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! What a story, and what an encouragement to endure. Some really great insights too along the way.