2 Nephi 5:5 Time to Flee

"And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me, that I, Nephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me."

(The context of this verse takes place after Nephi's father has died and contention is escalating in his family.  He is warned to flee from his murderous brothers and does so with all who shared his same beliefs.)

When events got to an unbearable point in my divorce, it became necessary to lock my own bedroom door, to keep myself protected from my stbx.  My husband refused to leave our home, which I thought was the common behavior among couples getting a divorce.  So I began quietly asking around to find a place to go to with my son, but I didn’t know how I could. I knew he would fight me tooth and nail for anything I wanted to take out of the home, even though he felt perfectly fine taking things from the home when I was at work. (I learned that he had a couple storage units) 

My husband rarely took vacations, always the excuse of 'having to work' and 'can't afford to take the time off', even though he was self-employed and dictated his own schedule and made a very nice income.  I felt stuck that he never left home while I was there.  During the divorce, my husband quickly hooked up with another woman. It was all done in supposed secret, but I couldn’t help overhearing several conversations and also seeing text message conversations as he sat right beside me at my son & daughter's graduation.  I had learned through back doors that he was planning a singles cruise with her.  When this knowledge came to me, I felt the strongest impression that this was the time to move. I fully believe that impression came from God. 

An hour after he left for the flight, I had a small army come help me pack what I needed. I had been in that home for 24 years, yet I had every needful thing packed and ready to go and a storage shed rented in five days time. I had to document everything to make sure the lawyers knew what was going on. I had to make the decision of what was fair and what was not.  I felt I left him with the majority of the house possessions so I could not be accused of anything untoward.   It was important to me that while he behaved unethically, that didn't mean that I was going to.  My counselor suggested I rise above and act with dignity and grace, and I fully wanted to.  I didn't want to act out of spite, revenge or bitterness, even though it was hard to fight those natural feelings.  But that's another topic . . . 

Just like God warned Joseph to take his holy family to Egypt to flee Herod's killing spree, I know He will warn us too in our times of need.  I wasn't warned in a dream and my son wasn't the Savior, but I knew where that prompting and impression came from.  The God I worship loves me just as much as He loved Joseph and his family.