On the heels of Tara's True Life Fairytale love story, Tara who read A Wise Woman for years, there will undoubtedly be young women who falsely believe that due to traveling another path in life, not saving themselves, GOD cannot bless them with a man who loves them. Believing they would not have a testimony of their own—but this is simply not true. Please enjoy reading "The Heartbroken Heiress" and share both True Live Fairytales with the young women in your life!
It is true that if you continue on the same path to finding happiness, the same wide road most young women are traveling on of course it will lead to the same destination. Possibly getting married but then ending up here, searching for Hope for their marriage—many within the first year or first month of getting married.
What I'm excited about is to share with you a wonderful, dear sweet friend, her heartbreak when we first met, and ultimately the man who she married. And dear reader (whether you are the one hoping for your own fairytale or you're her mother or sister or friend), what I will say and what you will read is just how entirely so perfect, so planned by God, that I cannot even begin to tell you in just a few words.
When I first shared this with a friend, I told her that I just knew I need to write this testimony down and put it on one of our web pages and connect it to the book Tara and I began a few years ago A Wise Woman in Waiting. I promised my friend, that as soon as I had the page ready I would share it with you and also pass it along or share it with her daughter to encourage her.
I went onto tell her "It’s a fairytale of a different kind and in some ways, it's even more exciting than Tara’s story because it has a lot of ups and downs creating suspense and heightened gratitude at the end. It's one of God's most wonderful traits—how He loves to write the end of the story. Stories that appear hopeless. And He also loves comparing how following His way and trusting His plan compares to those who are ignorant of His ways, His promises, and His principles. That's how every one of us, ended up here to restore our marriages.
Finally, I will just tell you, as I told my friend, that the end of the story when this bride walked down the aisle, a church that was packed, that dozens of women were crying, more like weeping—coming from a place of thanksgiving to the Lord and I was one of them!
Dearest new Friend,
Some of you have been called to travel through many more distressing and heartbreaking valleys along your journey, but in the end, you will also have a powerful testimony and a happily-ever-after if you will simply trust the Lord, right now. If you don't know Him, hang on tight, and later I believe you will learn something you never heard before.
“The Heartbroken Heiress”
Let me share a very special testimony with you about a dear friend, Vana! Vana was/is an heiress. Her father is an extremely wealthy entrepreneur and as such, Vana not only would inherit a large fortune but from the time she left home, was generously provided for by way of a trust. This may sound like a fairytale but it meant nothing but heartbreak because what Vana wanted was someone to love her, not her money.
Vana’s younger sister had already married, as a matter of fact, everyone in her family of five children had married with the exception of her baby brother. The other thing going against Vana was that, unlike her other siblings, she was not at all attractive. Nevertheless and probably because of this, she had the dearest sweetest heart ever, a heart that had been frequently and horribly broken several times. When we met she told me how her father had stopped her wedding after discovering the intent of the man who had proposed and who she had been engaged to. This happened 3 times! When we met she was just coming off of a broken engagement—just two weeks from her wedding day. Everything had been paid for, invitations had been sent out, wedding gifts had filled her (paid for but modest simple) home. It was difficult for me to encourage her and assure her that this was not just her father‘s protection, but her Father in Heaven‘s protection as well.
One thing that had to happen first and the only way Vana‘s life could change course, was for her to understand she had a Heavenly Father. Maybe even more importantly, she needed to know and believe that she had a Heavenly Husband she was betrothed to. This truth is something Tara believed and lived. It was why and how she was able to wait so patiently and instead of looking for the right guy to marry—she left that in the hands of her Heavenly Father and became the betrothed or promised bride. This is what led to her traveling around the world, but I will let you read that particular fairytale we hope and pray girls and their mothers will embrace.
What’s interesting is that even though Vana came from a very Christian family, so much so, that very often some of the most well-known Christian preachers would stay in their family mansion as close friends to her parents.
It happened one time while having coffee, Vana. The Lord had me meeting with Vana on a weekly basis in order to minister to her. On this day, I mentioned something to her. I believe I asked her a question, I asked her to tell me how she met the Lord. She began by stating many rituals such as when she was confirmed or the time she went to one of many Christian camps, but never once did I hear when she met Him personally.
There was no start, no beginning to her having a true and loving and safe relationship with the Man who I knew desperately wanted to love her. So baffled, after asking several questions hoping to hear about this transformation that happens when meeting your Lover, who I met at the tender very very young age of only seven years old, she tipped her head to one side inquisitively and said, “I don’t understand.” I reached across the table, took both her hands in mine, and said, “Sweet Vana, no you don’t know.”
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“This is what I’d like you to do. Go home and go into your closet. Sit on your ottoman and turn off the lights. And then I want you to talk to the Lord. Tell Him that you want to know Him the way Erin knows You, as a True and real person. Then just tell Him every bit of heartbreak you’ve ever had, every time you have been disappointed by anyone or anything. Tell Him again that you want to know Him the way Erin knows You, as a True and real person. Then just sit there and don’t leave until you feel yourself bathed in His love. In that instance, you will feel at perfect peace.”
It was a day later that she called me, saying, “I can’t explain how I feel“ and began to cry. Not the tears of heartbreak but those cleansing tears of joy and relief. I told her “You don’t need to explain because I understand.” She said, “No you don’t understand— the feeling I have now is so different than anything I’ve ever felt before. I’m not sad anymore even though nothing in my life has changed.” I just sat smiling.
Now that she had this loving relationship with her Heavenly Husband who she was betrothed to, she still longed to be married just as I did and just as most women do or maybe did. I say “did” because we know that sadly many women have been lied to for so long that they have tried to convince themselves that they don’t want to be married. One woman who believed this lie was the daughter of a dear friend of mine who I got to know while she was our French translator and minister. Here is her story that is actually written to encourage women who have been lied to, so they didn’t marry, but found themselves later devastated after being abandoned by these men, often the father of their child/children.
When I asked the Lord how I could minister to Vana to set her along A Wise Woman journey, the Lord confirmed what I’d felt in my heart. My season of ministering was done and I needed to allow someone else to minister to her. I asked Him who that would be and instantly I remembered Cassara.
Cassara studied A Wise Woman and one day while sitting at her kitchen table with her workbook open, her daughter-in-law came in. She’d come over so that Cassara could babysit. Her daughter-in-law was going to look for a job because she was, in fact, leaving her husband, Cassara's son. There’s no doubt Cassara had prayed that this would not happen, but like all wise women, she knew to take these desires and this plea directly to her Heavenly Husband so that he could fight for them as only He can.
Before she left, Cassara’s daughter-in-law saw the title of one of the chapters and asked her about it. I’ve asked the Lord several times to remind me which chapter it was, but He has kept it hidden from my memory—because it’s not important what chapter it was. What is important is that she asked if she could borrow the wise woman workbook. This young woman took it home and began reading one chapter after another and then called Cassara saying, “I can’t leave, Marc, because it’s wrong. Everything in this book that I’ve read so far has changed the way I think about everything. As a matter of fact, I also want to have more children because they are a gift of the Lord and His reward."
- Fast forward and close to 20 years later Cassara's son and daughter-in-law are still happily married and have two more children.
Due to Cassara’s gratitude and devotion to this workbook that changed her life as well as her daughter-in-law, when I asked if she would take Vana under her wing and begin meeting with her weekly as I had done, going through the wise woman chapters, she had told me that she had in fact asked her. Months before she contacted Vana to ask if she wanted to begin studying a wise woman with her and she’d always made excuses. I told her if she asked Vana again I was sure she would be more than interested. So Cassara began meeting with Vana and when all of these principles and promises were safely planted in the soil of her heart and watered sufficiently just beginning to blossom, Vana met the perfect man for her–God’s chosen hand-picked man, Raine.
Raine was a Teen Challenge minister. If you’re not familiar with Teen Challenge, let me tell you that this is an incredible ministry. I was familiar with it because a group of teen challenge students prayed for my nephew when I shared during a church service that he was heavily into heroin, living on the street and that my sister was sure that at some point she would get the call that he had died from an overdose. These Teen Challenge students lifted their voices loud, very loud, crying out to God on behalf of Josh. If you would like to learn more about this salvation story you can read about it here.
The reason that Raine was a Teen Challenge minister was that he had personally come through Teen Challenge as a former alcohol and drug dependence mess. God radically changed his life, so much so— that he wanted to devote the rest of his life to helping others the way he had been helped. The reason was the perfect fit for Vana is because he was prepared to have the compassion and background needed to love Vana and “live with her in an understanding way as with a weaker vessel since she is a woman.” Raine honors Vana as a fellow heir of the grace of God. Raine loves Vana not because she is a financial heiress but because she was an heiress of the most-high God!
Due to so many struggles in her life, so much anxiety, and self-hatred, Vana used drugs and even had horrible burn scars covering her forearms. She had been on medication and had seen a therapist for years and years and years. Her parents could afford to pay for the best in the country and yet, Vana was one of the most broken people I have ever met. Until, of course, she met the Man who enveloped her with His love while in a dark closet, and then each time she was washed in the water of His Word.
Even though her transformation was instant when she walked out of her closet entirely a new and different person than the broken person who walked in, she still needed her mind to be renewed and her shame and guilt to be washed away. This needed an older wise woman, meditating on His Word day and night so that everything she would do moving forward she would prosper (not monetarily but emotionally and in her relationships). And Vana also needed a ready supply of promises when a spiritual attack would come against her faith.
It wasn’t that long after Vana and Cassara finished going through the wise woman a second time that she met Raine. Of course, her father dearly loved Raine just like he loved his own son and was excited to give his daughter's hand to him in marriage. So on that day, high in the Ozark Mountains, when Vana walked up the aisle of this beautiful church, Vana was gorgeous, glowing. As she passed by, holding her father’s arm dozens upon dozens of women began weeping tears of joy and I was one of them! I never remember crying at a wedding before or since, but I cried at Vana’s wedding.
All of us who knew the long and painful journey she had traveled, we who knew that the man waiting at the altar was waiting to join his life with her due to his passionate love for her. Not her millions. All of us knew it was a miracle that we were witnessing and the blessing that is possible and promised to anyone willing to trust Him for their future.
So as you can see, Vana‘s fairytale is unlike Tara‘s fairytale but you cannot deny that it is just as sweet and tender and incredible. Not only is a fairytale attainable to anyone, especially you. If this has touched your heart and you are finished, broken, and are ready to open your heart to trust in God and follow along this very narrow road, then here’s the gate for you to step through.
Simply read this chapter First Love and pour your heart out into the journal. At the bottom check the box that says that you are interested in joining our wise woman fellowship online and you will be sent an invitation.
It’s very important that you really pour your heart out so that we can seek God on your behalf to know if you need to be assigned a WOW “Wise Older Woman” like God chose Cassara for Vana.
If you know a friend or even a family member who is like you, having a desire to be married after trying all the ways of the world, please be sure to share this page with them. I promise God will reward you for it!
Epilogue: I’m happy to report that Raine and Vana are happily married and even welcomed a daughter into their lives. Without a need to make a living as a Teen Challenge minister, Raine uses the wealth he and Vana have to travel around the world investing in missions and ministries.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
My son, Easton, recently told me that he met up with Vana's husband, Raine, on a ministry trip and how happy he is as a married man and father.
Tara: It's so neat to see this story told again, as it really is like a fairytale! I too remember Vana's wedding day and what was also special was to see her walk down to the song "How Beautiful," 🎶 "How Beautiful the radiant bride Who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes 🎶, which Vana shared she wanted to be sung at her wedding before her miracle happened. You couldn't help but cry knowing Vana and her story.
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This story is beautiful! After so much sadness that Vana had in her heart, she was healed. I am also happy that she was able to study a “Wise Woman” before getting married and being renewed by the Word of God.
Es hermosa esta historia!!! Después de tantas tristezas que Vana tuvo en su corazón fue sanado. También me alegra que ella si pudo estudiar una “Mujer Sabia” antes de contraer matrimonio y ser renovada por la palabra de Dios.
What a beautiful story. After so much heartache and feeling rejected, she was finally able to find her true love in her Heavenly Husband and that is the best fairytale ever!! This story is a testimony that our happiness doesn’t come from our circumstances but from the ONE true source, HIM! as she shares : (VANA) the feeling I have now is so different than anything I’ve ever felt before. I’m not sad anymore even though nothing in my life has changed.”
I agree, with Tara, you cannot help but cry when reading this story. First, hers which is the most beautiful fairytale, and then Vana, which is a fairytale coming from a different angle, but one nonetheless. It reminded me of the time I met first my Saviour, then my Father and then my Husband! There was a very crucial lesson in Vana’s story for me as well and that was something I never pictured. I never ever picture my restoration that is coming as a fairytale. In fact, for me, it was the testimony that mattered so His name can be glorified. What happened after that, well, I am not really sure how I can explain this without sounding like the most terrible person. I could just see me enduring being married again after so many years. Thank you Vana, for showing me through your story, that of course, this is not His plan.
What a beautiful story!! I was very moved by Vana’s story. After she went through so much pain, she found her true love, her Heavenly Husband. God always surprises us with her care and love. I’m happy to be able to pass these stories on to my daughter.
Que linda história!! Fiquei muito emocionada com a história de Vana. Depois dela passar por tanta dor, ela encontrou o seu verdadeiro amor, seu Marido Celestial. Deus sempre nos surpreende com seu cuidado e amor. Estou feliz por poder passar essas histórias pra minha filha.
This is a beautiful story, thanks for sharing it with us, it is encouraging, and reminds me that our HH wants us to live a beautiful fairytale, He longs to be gracious to us, He gives us the desires of our hearts if we delight in Him and looks around the earth looking to help those whose heart is completely His! There is nothing imposible with God! I loved the exercise of getting in the closet and telling God we want to know Him as Erin knows Him, I am always in awe when I read about the relationship she has with HH. It encourages me to do it as well.