Testimony of Healing August 14, 1995 Issue

When I was nineteen I became involved with a man in a relationship...

Laura C. Foskett-Ely

When I was nineteen I became involved with a man in a relationship that was immoral and destructive. This relationship severed the close ties I had with my parents, made it difficult for me to be forthright, and resulted in two unplanned pregnancies that were terminated. After six years, I knew I wanted out, and with a great struggle ended my association with the man.

Afterward I felt I had a new lease on life, but found myself wondering if I could regain the innocence and happiness I once had. I certainly felt tainted. As in the Bible story of the prodigal son, my parents welcomed me back with open arms. Their love for me helped me see the necessity of loving myself as God's child, and of not feeling I was outside of His care because of past mistakes. I came to understand that God would never let go of one of His children, no matter what; that I had a responsibility to maintain that understanding; and that I had to be willing to listen to His guidance. I saw that in Him no sin had ever taken place, so none could be in the experience of a child of God. I realized that I needed to drop the sense of having a "past," and to forgive myself.

The regrets of those years began to drop away as I understood the past to be a concept of mortality. I began to comprehend that God and His creation are infinite and have neither past nor future, beginning nor end. This did not automatically dismiss recognizing past mistakes, but it helped me forgive myself, and eventually the man.

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