"Nevertheless I went forth, and as I came near unto the house of Laban I beheld a man, and he had fallen to the earth before me, for he was drunken with wine. And when I came to him I found that it was Laban."
As we continue the story of Nephi, he let himself be led by the Spirit of God into the city Jerusalem and found Laban, drunk, passed out and all alone. Laban was the man who had tried to kill Nephi and his brothers twice, had stolen many riches and treasure from them, and refused to give them the plates of brass. As we can see from these verses, God had delivered Laban into Nephi's hands, and Nephi was able to obtain the plates of brass and return with his brothers to his family.
I had never had an enemy in my life until I filed for divorce. I had hoped it would have been civil, but it was anything but. It was disheartening in a way because it was like the previous 30 years had never happened. What it did was show the true colors of my husband, and even though I had always suspected his duplicity, I hoped that I had been wrong. I wasn't. From the beginning of the filing he began to steal things from the home while I was away at work. In general, husbands leave the home during a divorce, especially when there are still children living there, but my husband was anything but the general kind. He refused to leave, although he had choices available to him. Many people reached out and offered, but No. He got a storage unit outside our city and just started carting things off, thinking I didn't notice. Unbeknownst to him, I had taken pictures of our entire home and its contents before I told him I filed. He was also threatening me with a prolonged divorce, which promise he made good on. He also stopped contributing to the family checking account and laid all the home's expenses and taxes and all insurances on my shoulders. My youngest son still lived with us and it wasn't like I could let the electricity lapse. The final straw for me, though, was that he started coming into my personal space and stealing personal items of mine. I had my Dad come into our home and put a keyed lock on my bedroom door so I could leave home in peace, and not spend the day wondering what he'd take next. One time I was in the kitchen when he came in and took the food I was preparing right out of my hands. I couldn't live like this any longer. I wasn't making an income sufficient to rent an apartment, so that wasn't an option for me. For personal reasons, I couldn't move back in with my parents.
And then a way opened -- two very good friends of mine opened their home to me. By this time my son had moved in with his sister in their own apartment, so it was just me. This family gave me a spacious room and more than that . . . . a spacious place of rest that was filled with peace and love and lots of caring. The constant buffetings of my husband had worn me out, and these two precious souls bolstered, loved, supported, and gave me everything I needed at this time. It was a joy to spend time with them in their home, and when all was said and done, and I was ready to move back into my own home that was awarded to me in the divorce, it was hard to leave. They had become an integral part of my daily existence. To me, this couple opening up their home to me was my being rescued from my enemy. The God I worship prepares a way for our deliverance, and can even inspire the best people to reach out and save.
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