On her wedding day, it’s hard for any beaming bride to imagine that her joy could turn into despair and sorrow in just a few years. For Sarah Jakes, it was only four years before she had to face the sad reality of divorce.
Now Sarah is ready to open up a little about how she is overcoming her recent divorce. In August, the daughter of mega-church pastor, Bishop T.D. Jakes, made an announcement, through her blog, that she was ending her marriage after only four years.
The 24 year old mother of two who leads the Women’s Ministry at The Potter’s House in Dallas wrote:
“I have built my ministry and identity around being the best wife and a mother I can be. For quite sometime I have tried to steer through some serious troubles at home. As much as I wanted my marriage to last, it cannot.”
A little over a month after what must have been a very painful announcement to make, she has written another blog post sharing how overcoming her own hardships has opened the door for her to give a testimony to other Christians.
In her latest blog post, she wrote,
“This time last year I was preparing an introduction for my father at Woman Thou Art Loosed that would change the very essence of who I am. A year later and I have experienced many highs and lows, but I haven’t faced anything as devastating as who I was before I gave in to that small still voice. I, nor anyone who knows me, would have ever imagined that I would stand before a crowd and speak from the heart about who I am, what I’ve done, and how God used me anyway. When I spoke last year at the conference I spoke about what I did and what happened TO me, this year I will stand a living testimony about what I discovered was IN me.”
Even though her divorce from her NFL free agent husband, Robert Henson, has been a painful and challenging experience, Jakes feels that it is important for her to share her story. She went on to write,
“A part of trusting Him, for me, means being honest with the people He has placed me in front of… From the moment thousands heard my reality or read my blog there has been one consistent message: transparency… It is the desire of my heart to always remain the most authentic version of myself, to never lead a life that suggests there was no need for the blood shed on Calvary. I will not choose to live a life where I lead people to a God, I can no longer access for myself. I truly believe his strength is made perfect in my weakness. I will constantly live a life displaying my weakness and vulnerability so I can tell you about the strength of our God.”
The Bishops daughter was courageous enough to speak of all her shortcomings and shared that she had been redeemed by God even after her decisions in life, writing,
“So here I am….teen mom, divorcee, preacher’s kid, daughter, sister, book lover, writer, chef, part-time comedienne, smart mouth, mother, friend, food lover, and television enthusiast…good and bad this is what I have to offer… I may look like a mess on paper, may not be much to look at yet, but He still trusts me with this genuine message. I am not perfect, I am not always right, I do not always handle things the right way, and I have certainly had my fair share of struggle, but I am redeemed.”
I applaud Sarah Jakes for speaking so honestly and sharing her challenging journey. Obviously divorce is an ugly process to have to endure and it hurts everyone in its path. That being said, I hope Sarah’s message can be the healing and encouraging word that someone who may be in the midst of a crisis needs to hear.
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This was first published in Black Blue Dog
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