The Voice of Faith: Following God's Path

By Heather M. Larribas

After serving Adam with divorce papers, Heather began accepting her altered life without him though Heather's journey through incredible pain and suffering was far from over.

Within a short time, her trials became so severe that all she could do was to lean on our Savior, Jesus Christ, to get her through each moment. Still, in pursuit of God's divine plan for her future, Heather tirelessly walked in faith and desperately listened for His voice to direct her.

Faithfully, Jesus revealed new visions to Heather and promised future circumstances for not only her own life but also for her friends and family. Gaining strength from His promises and humbly accepting that God's timing isn't our timing, Heather began boldly following His directions.

Allow Heather's story to inspire you to know that if you follow God's direction, he will always show you the best plan for your life.

Claiming Jesus Christ as your one and only Savior will supply you with the stamina, the grace you need to walk through the valley of death.

Will you allow Him to show you His love for you? Can you believe Him when He declares His ways are better than yours?

He is real and is always guiding us. Will you step out in childlike faith and trust God when your life feels dark, gloomy, and hopeless?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889431336

Book preview

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The Voice of Faith

Following God's Path

Heather M. Larribas

ISBN 979-8-88943-132-9 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-133-6 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Heather M. Larribas

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

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About the Author

In memory of my mother, Florence E. Selfridge. Now that the veil is covered over our eyes, and we can no longer see and talk to her here on this earth, we want her to know how much she has taught us and how much we love and miss her daily. Each day she would encourage us to Take one day at a time. One of her favorite verses in the Bible was Ecclesiastes 3, A Time for Everything.

As of now she is with our heavenly Father, watching over us and loving us from a new place called heaven.

I was thankful that she was able to read this book years ago, before it was published.

Thank you, Mom for all your love, wisdom, and strength that you have given me throughout this journey. You were my rock, and you were always there for me when I needed you. You were not only my mother, but you were my best friend. May you always stay with us in our hearts. We love and miss you.

1

Hearing knock, knock again, I immediately stopped dialing Felicia's number and ventured out into the hallway. Without looking through the peephole to the front door to see who was behind the knock, I slightly opened it and was shocked to see who was standing before me.

Wiping my tears and mascara that were running down my face, I recomposed myself.

We stood there, looking at each other without saying a word. Then he said, I have to use the bathroom.

Giving no response but looking at Adam, I opened the door further, allowing him to enter.

As I turned around from closing the door, thinking he went straight into the bathroom, I felt his arms embracing me from behind as he exclaimed, I don't want this!

Being held tightly and feeling his love for the first time in a long time, I could not help but burst into tears.

After about ten minutes of not saying anything, only feeling his soul connecting with mine, I finally cried out, I do not want this either, but I can't do this anymore. It has been forty-five months. I cannot wait another forty-five seconds, forty-five minutes, or forty-five days for you to decide on what you want. The pain is too much, and I can't bear it any longer.

Still in his arms, I said, I wish we had God in our lives when we first met. He is the glue to any relationship and marriage. If we had him, I am sure that we wouldn't be standing where we are now. I continued. I know I have done all I can. I gave you all that you asked for, but you told me over and over that you still didn't have feelings for me that a man should have for a wife.

Pulling me away from him and looking into my eyes, he said, I know. It's not you, it's me. He added, You did nothing wrong.

He was still holding me when my phone began to ring. Seeing it was Ash, I answered it.

Are you okay, Mom?

I responded, crying, Yes, can I call you back? Adam is here.

Yes, I am at the salon.

After hanging up, I told Adam who it was.

Is she at the salon? Are the boys there? he asked.

Yes, it is closing time.

I want to see them. Tell her I am coming by.

Reaching for my phone, I texted Ash, letting her know that her stepfather would be stopping by to see her and the boys.

You'd better go. Ash is waiting for you. There is nothing left to say. I can't fix this on my own, and by you not coming home for good, we can't fix this. I will no longer be the third party. I am a good person and deserve to be a man's only love.

After I walked him to the door to escort him out, he hugged me one last time and said, I love you.

Watching him walk away before shutting the door, a part of me wanted to run after him to plead with him to stay, but I knew I could not. He was still choosing his life without me.

My phone rang yet another time, and Felicia was on the other end, You need to come over and stay with me and Paul. We don't want you to be alone tonight.

Knowing she was right but afraid to leave in hopes that Adam would come back to stay, I agreed that I would be there shortly.

After packing an overnight bag and placing it in the back seat of my car, I was headed to their house.

On the drive over, I kept rehearsing the conversation that Adam and I had exchanged. In all the years that he had walked away, he had never once come right back within minutes. It was always weeks or months later. As I remember hearing back in a flash, I asked God, Is this what you meant? I waited for an answer but only heard silence in the car.

Pulling into their driveway, I saw Paul and Felicia standing on their doorstep, waiting to greet me. As I ran into their arms with tears, they both hugged me.

I knew I was doing what God had asked me to do, but the pain of knowing my marriage was over and that papers had been signed, I felt and saw my life ending in the blink of an eye.

Sharing with Paul and Felicia the conversation I had with Adam, they knew I made the right decision by letting him go.

In the past year, Paul and Adam's friendship grew. Paul was angry for what was happening to me but always knew deep down that Adam was and is a good guy. He prayed that Adam would find his way back to me and most importantly to God.

To overcome the sad mood, Paul suggested making us a night snack. Felicia and I were sitting on the stools in the kitchen while Paul was preparing nachos and cheese for us.

Felicia was scrolling through her phone to find some uplifting music. She played all sorts of eighties music including one of my favorite songs, I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.

Watching Paul and Felicia dancing in the kitchen together, I began to cheer up. Witnessing their love for each other, which was so transparent, made me realize even more that I deserve to be loved the same way.

Paul and Felicia are an example of what it takes to demonstrate a good marriage. With communication, laughter, honesty, loyalty, trust, and genuine friendship on both their sides, the most important element they have is allowing God to be the center part in their marriage. They challenge each other in ways that God challenges us. They argue and disagree, but through their relationship with Jesus Christ, they both know that whatever comes their way, they will get through it together with Christ.

Ash called to see how I was doing a while later. She stated to me that when Adam walked into the salon, he was crying. He walked over to her and hugged her and told her that he was going to fix this, insinuating to Ash all the choices and mistakes he had made regarding our family. She did not believe him because of his past actions of coming back and forth throughout the years. Although he had never said that to her before, he gave her hope that he was serious this time.

While he was visiting with the boys, Ash mentioned that she had to leave to go shopping. Adam asked to go along with them, which allowed them more time together.

She noticed Adam was not emotionally present at times while they were walking down different aisles with the boys. When he needed to go, he had tears in his eyes as he hugged her and the boys one last time.

Hearing what Ash had to say to me about Adam gave me some peace. Knowing he was shedding tears in front of her spoke volumes. Adam is not the type of person to show emotions, so when I did not see any tears in his eyes when we spoke, I thought he was emotionally fine.

It was getting late, so I said good night to her as I started heading downstairs to the guest bedroom.

Knowing that I get cold easy, Felicia made sure that I would be comfortable sleeping under a heated blanket. Sitting on the bed with me so we could talk, Felicia spiritually prayed over me and said, This isn't the end, Heather. He's coming back.

I do feel this was what God has been showing me for over four years. Now this all makes sense. I must keep my faith and trust God now.

We both were tired, so Felicia went upstairs.

Lying in bed, I began talking to God and asked him for his next direction. I heard him say, I will take it from here. At that moment, I knew I had to surrender my life over to him, not knowing what was going to happen.

How many times have you thought you had given situations, tribulations, fear, worry, and uncertainties over to God? Just when you thought you had, I bet you could feel deep inside of you that you were still holding on and struggling to let go.

I find it so interesting how God uses certain situations to bring us to our knees and to really make us let go. It's like flying a kite. We are so afraid if we do not hold onto the string with a strong grip, our kite will fly away, and it will be lost forever.

I feel like that is what we all do out of fear. The feeling of forever seems so dark and empty. Jesus knows all that we feel as he has felt all emotions before, so God puts the pressure on us through the Holy Spirit and makes us surrender to him one way or another.

The Holy Spirit that is living within us forces us to do exactly what God has asked us to do no matter what. It is our job to trust and to keep our eyes on Jesus and ask him to walk with us while we are suffering and facing situations that feel so helpless.

When we lean into our Savior, Jesus Christ, that pleases God and allows him to finish his work. We must get out of God's way so he can finish what he has started to do in our lives.

During all the sadness, I began to feel more peace even though my heart was breaking into pieces. I knew I had let go of "my kite" and allow God to finish his work.

I drifted off to sleep while listening to Christian music.

Waking up the next morning early, I gathered my belongings after making the bed and headed upstairs.

Meeting Paul and Felicia in the kitchen, I thanked them for letting me stay. After I gave them both a hug, they walked me to the door. As I got into my car and honked, they waved goodbye.

With only four days until Christmas, I had some extra errands to run, so I came back to my place to take a shower.

While I was taking my shower, I knelt down in the bathtub and thanked Jesus for being with me and expressed to him, Your will is my will. I will do all that you ask me to do.

Feeling the warm water pouring over my body, I felt as if I was being made new all over again, giving me hope.

After getting ready, I headed out to finish my shopping and then went to the salon. Listening to Christmas songs lifted my mood and spirits.

Helping customers to prepare for the holiday was a nice distraction from what I was feeling inside. Sharing the Christmas spirit and the gospel with anyone who would allow me to made me feel happy and joyful.

A couple of nights later, after returning from the gym, I decided to relax and take a warm bath. As I was lying in the sudsy water with my eyes close, not hearing any sounds, I began seeing in my mind papers in flames. God also showed Adam running toward me, waving papers too. I wasn't sure if they were divorce papers or what kind of papers he was trying to show me.

Feeling the heat from the flames caught my attention. Taking the washcloth that was placed over my face, I sat straight up and asked, What are you trying to say or show me, God? Again, he floated the papers that were burning in flames in front of my face.

Still trying to comprehend what he showed me while I began drying myself off, I called my mother to share with her what God had just shown me. She was confused as much as I was. She told me to keep the faith and allow God to continue his work.

Walking over to the picture of Jesus that was hanging on my wall, I knelt and thanked him for showing me what he did. Your will is my will, Lord, I repeated.

Falling asleep that night, again I was being shown the two images he shared with me earlier that evening.

2

Waking up the next morning, I realized it's Christmas Eve. Our salon was only open for a few hours.

Taking my old journals to the salon to reread, I went back to an entry dated December 2016, which read Christmas miracles.

In the entry, I was also seeing an X over Adam's face in red marking when looking at a picture of him, and seeing him hit his knees in front of Jesus.

One of the captivating things that I read further in my journal was that Adam was afraid he had lost me and that he was going to make things right between us.

Rereading all that I had written years ago made me question if it was really the end for us, or if my timing was off.

Finding myself trying to take control again, I stopped and reminded myself that God's timing is perfect, and he will reveal it when he is ready.

*****

There had been no contact from Adam since the night he left, and I had not reached out to him at all. I had been asking myself and wondering why he had not messaged me the financial figures that I needed to complete the blanks for the paperwork.

Sitting in Christmas Eve service with Ash and the boys, I shared with her all that I was experiencing. Ash said, Well, maybe he is going to fix everything. He told me he would.

We will see. If it is God's will, he will, I said.

After service, we all came back to my place. We played games and ate some nighttime snacks. Eastyn and Brystyn were excited, knowing that Santa Claus was coming later that night.