The account that I am reciting is 100% TRUE/non-fiction/not writing this for entertainment purposes. That doesn't mean you'll believe me, but that's not my problem. I would read the previous parts (linked at the bottom) for any context about what is about to be described below. As the title implies, this series is me finally chronicling the very real demonic influences in our life; I am finally touching on where they likely came from, why they're here, and what I plan to do about them (although that part of the story is still "in the works").

So, we left off with things looking pretty good in Colorado. Successful, loving marriage; beautiful, healthy children; financially secure and thriving; growing in our faith in Jesus. I couldn't have really asked for more, to the point that I was a little confused about my comfort and happiness. You see, in the gospel of John, Jesus says that "in this world you will have trouble." He was, of course, talking to believers. So since I thought I was a believer, I didn't understand why I was entitled to a cushy, happy life when Jesus Himself told Christians that they'd experience trouble in life. I didn't have the balls to ask God in prayer about this confusion, but I wondered all the same. And I'm not saying that He sent trouble my way because I wondered this, but still...what an idiot. I should have been more thankful in the good times.

So I get a promotion at my finance job that also happens to be fully remote (like, even after COVID). My wife decides that she is going to resign from her job to be more of a stay at home mom initially (didn't last long and I don't blame her. Kids are brutal), while also building her own accounting business. Neither of us are now tied to a geographic location, and we get the interesting idea to once again move to a different state. The CO housing market is bananas and even living in our house for only 4 years, we can make a nice profit on it if we sold. So we start looking at places with a lower cost of living to really capitalize on our situation, and ultimately land on Florida. Nice weather, cheap houses, closer to our family in New Jersey and half of her family in the Caribbean. Wouldn't you do it?

And we did. But it was very stressful trying to sell our house, making a bunch of repairs in the process, while searching for another house that we'll never see before purchase in a state that we've barely been to but heard nice things about and trying to time the sale and the purchase at very nearly the same time, all while dealing with two babies, high performance jobs, and the added stress of boxing up our whole lives to ship out. Our closing date for selling our house got pushed back twice, meaning we had to go back to the buyers of our new house and beg them to give us more time. It was a lot. And it took its toll on us.

Looking back, I can see that she was becoming more agitated and short tempered day to day. It was understandable with everything going on, and I didn't think enough of it (remember, the last incident was 4 years ago). We did end up moving cross country, which was also very stressful with 2 babies and 2 dogs in tow. When we arrived at our new (absolutely beautiful, and very large) house, it would remain empty for about 3 weeks until the movers arrived. So we essentially lived in a large cave on an air mattress. My wife's accounting business was taking off faster than she could have anticipated, which was great but also another major stressor. We were still spiritually complacent, focusing more on attaining wealth and other worldly things than seeking God. And I think most importantly to this situation, we left the church that contained so many wonderful people that supported us emotionally and spiritually. All these things left us vulnerable to attack. As the husband and head of the household (and contrary to what you're told in this world), I've learned that it is my responsibility to protect my family and house, not just from simple physical attacks but from spiritual ones too. That's something that frequently gets left out of Sunday church services. And I failed in that role.

Superbowl Sunday 2021 comes around (for you international readers, this is a very big deal in America. And it is marked by Superbowl watch parties in homes across the country that are attended by basically everyone), and my wife is a bit sad that we don't have any friends in Florida to watch the Superbowl with. She is a very social person (and not an American football fan at all), and just wanted to be around people, as she is still agitated and a little forlorn at this point (I am still chalking all this up to the stress of moving and leaving our network of friends in CO). We end up watching it at home with the kids. About halfway through the game, she tells me that she feels "triggered" and is beginning to get worked up. I try to calm her down, telling her that everything is fine and we're just at home hanging out, nothing to be stressed about. But she continues to escalate for about 30 minutes, culminating into what I can only describe from the outside as a sort of panic attack. She was standing up but paralyzed, hysterically crying and yelling about memories from her past that were emotionally traumatizing to her - issues with her father, events that happened at college, just really random (but painful) things. Almost like these memories were being shoved to the forefront of her mind to further break her down. I did my best to comfort her and pray over her, but nothing was working. I got her to lay down in the bed, holding her, but she was still spiraling out of control. In desperation, I called an elder from our Colorado church, who is a psychoanalyst and a powerful prayer warrior. She utilized both skillsets on that phone call.

She begins to speak to my wife in a very soft, soothing voice, giving her breathing exercises and doing her best to keep her grounded in the here and now. When she talked her down to a point that my wife was a bit more calm, she tells her that she's going to pray over her and that I am going to lay hands on her (which I did). She prayed for a good few minutes, asking God for peace of mind for my wife, and the binding of any spirits that would seek to harm her. After her prayer concluded, it was like the attack never happened. My wife was 100% again. To be honest, it was like she was 150%. For that night, she was almost like a different person (in a better way). We thanked the elder profusely, hung up and celebrated our "victory" over demonic forces. We were pretty sure the attack was demonic in nature, but assumed it was all over and done with. Again, complacent.

That night we had sex, and she said it was the best sex that she ever had. I want to mention here that my wife had always said that she looked at sex as a sort of "dirty" act, even if it was within the bounds of marriage. And I don't include this event because I had suddenly become a sex master, I believe it is indicative of a greater truth about the condition of my wife. I knew she had undergone trauma at a young age (and I will not describe it in any further detail here), and I have since learned that trauma is an entry for demons to build a stronghold in someone's life. As I mentioned in an earlier post - when someone is hurting and not getting godly comfort from a loved one, demons will swoop in and offer a counterfeit comfort - for a price. By accepting those seductive comforts, you give a certain element of control to them. I believe that is what happened to my wife as a young teen or maybe even younger. And once they're there, they don't leave on their own. And of course, a person who is demonized is more likely to experience yet more trauma as the years go on, which is the case here (as evidenced by the two "episodes" that she experienced, in addition to other traumatic events in late childhood). I believe that praying the demons away in the name of Jesus actually gave her a measure of freedom that she had not experienced since she was a child. And it allowed her to enjoy the act of sex with her husband in the way that God intended her to, instead of the "dirty" feeling that was associated with sex up to that point. 

But that is simply an interesting observation for our purposes here. The fact is, our victory was short-lived. You see, in my spiritual complacence, I failed to really take the guidance that God gave us in the bible into account. There is plenty of valuable intelligence on demons that can be gleaned in the bible. The problem is, there is such a spirit of unbelief in the world and even in the church that we're just not taught to worry about demonic activity all that much. You see, in the gospel of Matthew chapter 12, Jesus says this:

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state that man is worse than the first."

Well, I regret to inform you that (like every other verse of the bible) Jesus was correct. Because this is not the end of our plight. Another attack followed this one shortly thereafter, and the results were not nearly as great. But that is for the next post.

Stay prayed up my friends. And if you don't pray or believe in the One who answers those prayers, pray to Him anyway, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He will, if you really want to know Him. In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus says this:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

He's talking about truth, there. Seek it, and you'll find it. And when you find it, hold on to it very tightly. Everything in this life and the eternity after this life depends on it. And no other temporary, worldly pursuit means a damn compared to it. Until next time...

Link to Part 1 is here - Facing Down Demons Part 1 - Intro, Prologue, and Context

Link to Part 2 is here - Facing Down Demons Part 2 - The "Episode" Part 1 - Miami

Link to Part 3 is here - Facing Down Demons Part 3 - The "Episode" Part 2 - Venice Beach

Link to Part 4 is here - Facing Down Demons Part 4 - The "Episode" Part 3 - New Jersey and the Return

Link to Part 5 is here - Facing Down Demons Part 5 - The Interlude