Lina Mercado thought that marrying her then boyfriend, José Patiño, at 17 would erase all her past traumas. However, to her horror things not only worsened, but her life was totally upended to the point that she thought the only way out was to try and end her life. Keep reading to find out what she did to turn her situation around.
“I don’t remember a time in my childhood when my mother spoke calmly. 
Her deep bellow of rage towards me was all
I’d ever known. If I told the truth, I was beaten. If I lied, I was beaten even more. She would make me do all the chores in the house, whilst my other siblings didn’t lift a finger. I grew up thinking my mother hated me.
“For this reason, I kept a lot of resentment inside of me. My words were never pleasant and I’d fight anyone that looked at me in the wrong way. I couldn’t think straight when I was angry. I was like a bull that saw red and reacted by starting a fight or throwing anything within my reach at anyone who ruffled my feathers.
“When Jose caught my attention, I saw him as a ticket out of my mother’s house! I always walked past his workplace on my way to school. It wasn’t long before we formed a friendship and later got into a relationship, then rushed to tie the knot.
One year into our marriage, it was already a living nightmare.
“My anger was so out of control that I once drove my motorcycle into a girl who was flirting with my brother who was married, at full speed. But it didn’t stop there. A few days later, she retaliated by trying to stab me with a knife. For my own safety, my husband and I left our lives behind in Colombia and moved to the UK.
“We went on to have four children, but I still wasn’t content. I wasn’t working and instead of asking my husband for money, I would go behind his back and take out loans for thousands of pounds, spending it on expensive clothes and holidays back home to Colombia hoping it would comfort me, but the joy was only momentary.
This is when I sought help from witchdoctors, which didn’t work either. I just didn’t know what to do. So, I planned to throw myself from the third floor of our apartment to end it all, but for my children’s sake, I couldn’t go through with it.
“The turning point in our marriage was when my daughter was invited to the Universal Church. When she told me about it, I attended with her but I 
didn’t understand anything so, I didn’t go back until eight months later, because I was fed up with the way my life was. This time I put all my strength into this fresh start.
“I started attending the services three times a week and putting into practice what I was learning. I would read the Bible daily and little by little, I noticed I was dealing with my husband and the situation at home differently.
“I was calmer and more in control of my emotions. The difference in me brought about the difference in him!
“We communicated instead of yelling at each other. It was a journey. Deciding to forgive those who hurt me was key in me finally being free from my past.
Today, I am no longer a ticking time bomb nor depend on alcohol. I am a completely different person. We have been married for 30 years now and our relationship has completely changed.
We have differences, like all couples, but it does not take us long to sit down, talk, and find a common ground. We are closer than ever!
Now there is respect and understanding and best of all, I’ve found the inner peace that was missing for so many years.”
Lina Mercado
