“At 5 years old, if they would just have looked at me, somebody would have known,” Ursula says. Now, she was surrounded by a new family that refused to notice the yells, the screams, the black eyes. “I can relate with “ Don’t give up or settle or turn to something that numbs the pain. Because when that stuff wears off, you are going to start feeling life. Pray and have faith. ” women that get punched in the face for no reason – the battered wife syndrome,” Ursula says. On multiple occasions, she planned her escape, even enlisting in the military and taking a break from him for at least six years. She moved around the country and mentions, laughing, that she acquired eight different IDs while fleeing from him. Even so, she would feel lonely and long for him. “There was something that made me miss him, and I would go back to him,” Ursula says. She recalls being dragged down the concourse at the airport, punched so hard that her pierced earrings fell out of her ears, being shot at with a rifle. She would pray and ask God to change him or send a sign if they were meant to be together. She honored her vows in fear of displeasing God. One evening, she was waiting for her husband to come home. She found herself at the loaded rifle sitting by their front door in case of an intruder. Ursula studied it and contemplated, in her words, “blowing his brains out.” That is when she describes hearing the audible voice of God. She clearly heard him say, “Sweetheart, you don’t need to do that. It is time for you to go,” Ursula says. Ursula knew that was the confirmation she had been praying for. She got into contact with an Atlanta agency called Battered Women’s Underground, which helped her relocate to Kansas City. On Valentine’s Day, Ursula packed all she could carry in her car and finally left her husband. She drove nonstop from Atlanta to Kansas City. Unfortunately, the organization’s arrangements for housing didn’t work out, and she was forced into a shelter. While climbing the stairs at the shelter, she spoke to God, 16 | ENVISION PROVEN SUCCESS MAGAZINE saying, “Well, God, there isn’t anything else I can do but go up.” During her stay at the shelter, she found clarity to reevaluate her life. Bible study was a requirement at the shelter, and she appreciated the opportunity to reconnect with God. She learned to embrace her singleness and enjoy the fragrance of God. She was reminded that she was the bride of Christ and all that she was searching for could be found in him. She quickly became known to many as the “encourager” for her efforts to support the people around her. She constantly reminded herself that where she lived did not determine who she was. Though filled with a new sense of purpose, she still did not wish to divorce her husband, though she had not spoken to him in some time. While Ursula was attending a church service at Rhema Christian Center in Columbus, Bishop Lafayette Scales, now her spiritual father, delivered a message to the congregation that spoke directly to her. Scales laid out three words, each beginning with ‘A,’ from the Bible to mark only times God gives permission to dissolve a marriage: adultery, abuse and abandonment, the latter of which she had felt even in her husband’s presence. This was the breakthrough Ursula needed to divorce her husband and be set free. She now raises her voice for women in hopeless situations: “You can come out. Don’t give up or settle or turn to something that numbs the pain. Because when that stuff wears off, you are going to start feeling life. Pray and have faith.” From there, Ursula has obtained an associate’s degree in biblical studies, a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in Christian counseling and pastoral care. She can’t explain how she made it through all her struggles, she says, but clearly understands why. Just a few short years ago, she dreamed of a life where she could provide a safe haven to women who needed a rescue. When she was referred to the visionary Barbara Freeman and the Freeman House, the dream became a reality. The Freeman House is transitional housing for survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence. She and Barbara agree that it was a divine appointment. Ursula moved in on Feb. 27, 2018, and today is the proud on-site administrator. Affectionally
17 Publizr Home