If our prayers do not get answered right away, will we continue to trust God? Read how June waited for more than three decades to finally meet her father and be reunited with him. Here is her inspiring testimony.

I was only two years old when my father left me and my mom. When I turned 11, I started asking about my dad, but my mom would always refuse to talk about what had happened. Because of that, there had been an eagerness in my heart to see him and ask all the questions I had been asking myself all these years.

In 2001, I found my dad’s social media account and learned that he lives in the United States. We started communicating through email, but a few things happened here and there, which further widened the gap between us. I started to harbor resentment against him because of that.

When I went through Victory Weekend in January 2014, my resentment against my father came out. I tried to ignore it, but a few years later, while I was going through a counseling session, my abandonment and rejection issues resurfaced. Unable to take it any longer, I made a resolve to finally deal with all the hatred and unforgiveness in my heart. During our time of prayer and fasting last year, I asked God to make a way for me to see my father. I wanted to finally meet him and tell him all the hurts and pains that I had been struggling with all along.

I knew that releasing forgiveness is a process, and I couldn’t do it overnight. In August last year, while praying to God, the Holy Spirit prompted me to finally release the hatred I had been harboring in my heart for years. I cried out to God and let it all out. A month after that, an opportunity for me to go to the US came about. I knew it was the chance I had been waiting to get since I was kid, but I knew I did not have the resources to go there anytime soon. I prayed hard to God and even fasted about it.

Not long after, my half-sister in the US told me that she and her husband were willing to pay for my round trip ticket—and my family’s, too. (I am now married with two kids.) She offered a place for us to stay and even arranged a surprise meeting for me and my dad. I was beyond grateful. I knew it was God working through them. As if that were not enough, God also provided for my family’s visa expenses through my mother-in-law. Our interview went on smoothly and we were granted a ten-year multiple entry visa to the US.

Finally, on June 20, 2018, we flew to San Francisco and stayed in Tracy, California. My dad drove all the way from Vallejo to Tracy on the day of our arrival. We were all excited but at the same time anxious. After 34 years, I finally met him. We hugged each other, and he whispered “I love you” to me. I did not know what to say for a while because it all felt surreal. It felt as if all the hatred in my heart melted at that moment.

During our brief stay in the US, God made a way for me and my father to have a heart-to-heart talk. He said sorry, and we both cried. I learned about what had happened when he left us, and hearing everything straight from him somehow pieced together the puzzle in my head.

Until now, I am still in awe of how God worked in our midst and made a way for me to finally be healed from all the bitterness and hatred I had kept in my heart for years. God is not just a healer of illnesses. He is a healer of relationships.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

God can heal the wounds in our hearts. He makes all the pain-filled parts new with His love. We can surrender all our broken parts to the Lord and allow His grace to restore every ailing piece.