“And I can’t be embarrassed or ashamed about any of it, either. There always seemed to be a roadblock. But despite those very difficult times, God protected us. It may not have seemed like He was there at times, but He was. He never left us!”
Difficult times!
It’s a polite way of describing what life was like for Natalie Hawkins after she married in 1991. A single mom with a 2-year-old daughter, Natalie had looked forward to a life of excitement, including the possibility of ministering alongside her new husband, Timothy Douglas, who was a Bible school graduate. Instead, Natalie found herself in a whirlwind relationship that lasted for years, bringing with it more hardship than what she had hoped her future would hold.
Many of those difficult times, Natalie says, are attributed to her having to take on the responsibility of supporting the family. After years of struggling, she and Tim divorced in 2002, remarried in 2005 and split for good six months later.
Careful not to speak disparagingly of her ex-husband, Natalie doesn’t shy away from the fact that “the periods of his unemployment had a negative impact on the relationship.” She also says Tim has not had a regular presence in the family’s life over the years, which has been somewhat difficult for their children.
Early Church Experience
Serving God was nothing new to Natalie when she and Tim first met. At age 5, she and her mom, who was on active duty in the Navy and stationed in Norfolk, Va., began attending a church in Virginia Beach, and Natalie was enrolled in the church’s private academy a couple of years later. Natalie strayed from church for a while during her high-school years, she said, but rededicated her life to the Lord in 1990.
“Tim and I met in church shortly after I had returned to the Lord in 1990,” she explains. “He introduced me to the teaching ministry of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, and other powerful preachers.”
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