When I confessed my sin of pornography to Star about 20 years ago it was one of the most difficult things we’ve ever gone through.

My wife was shocked. She felt like she had just been hit by a truck. She thought I was a sicko. She thought I needed to be admitted for sexual addiction counseling. We had just rebuilt our marriage from a pile of ashes and now this?

My confession broke trust, exposed insecurities, and shattered any intimacy we had built over the 3 years before. Thankfully, God gave us trusted, experienced mentors who had been through similar circumstances to help us successfully walk through the next several months. They encouraged us, prayed with us, empathized with us, and even challenged us at times. They guided us individually and as a couple through a jungle of emotions, hurts, questions, fears, and decisions. I’m not sure we would have made it without them.

In the darkest moments after the confession, we couldn’t imagine any way our marriage could get back to where it was before I confessed. Little did we know that God would use the confession to help break down walls and build bridges of intimacy we had never experienced before.

20 years later, the pain is gone and our spiritual, emotional, and physical intimacy is continuing to grow. Not only has our marriage experienced healing, but God is using what we learned about Him, ourselves, and each other to help other couples walk through similar seasons with direction and hope through our marriage counseling ministry.

For years, my wife and I have wanted to document and distribute exactly what we learned and how God worked through this season so we could help more than just our counseling clients experience the gift of hope and healing that God gave us. But, I’m so glad Stephanie Broersma beat us to the punch with this 30-day devotional for women.

Stephanie has been where you are. She’s experienced the indescribable hurt, but she’s also experienced the supernatural healing. She has suffered through the feelings of brokenness and betrayal, but she’s also experienced the beauty of restoration. She’s been through the shock, anger, bitterness, shame, lies, and grief, that are all too common in response to a husband’s confession of a sexual sin. She can relate to where you are, but she can also help you get to a place of hope, joy, and restoration.

Her words are real, empathetic, hopeful, and rooted in God’s word. Her honesty about what she’s been through will bring a certain level of comfort that can only come from someone who’s been in your shoes. But, her words don’t stop with comfort. They are practically helpful. You need more than a someone to mourn with you. You need help to make it another day. You need answers to a thousand questions. You need help, and Stephanie answers. Her answers are based on experience, but not only experience. They are rooted in, and point to the one, who offers ultimate comfort and supernatural help: Jehovah-Rapha – The Lord who heals.

I pray this devotion serves as a mentor similar to the one my wife had 20 years ago. I pray this devotion helps direct your steps, your mind, and your heart in response to what has happened to you. I pray this devotion helps you to understand how deeply you are loved by a God who sees your pain, understands your pain, and has the ability to comfort and heal your pain. I pray that God would use this devotional to make whole what was broken and betrayed.

I pray this devotion would lead you to be reclaimed.