A few weeks ago we had an unusual thing happen. My husband had run over to our church late on a Saturday afternoon to pick up a guitar he wanted to practice with at home. While there, the church phone rang so he answered it. On the other end of the line was a young woman, very distraught, and wanting to talk to someone about divorce counselling right then. My husband explained to her that, as it was Saturday night, there was no one at our church that could meet with her right then. However, she was so upset that he said she was welcome to come over to our home and we’d be happy to talk to her if she couldn’t wait until Sunday or Monday.
I admit, when he came home and told me this story, I knew that she wasn’t going to come to our house – she had no clue who we were. But not 30 minutes later, she was in our driveway!
We invited her into our chaotic abode and for about an hour, we just listened. It’s bad, folks. Really, really, not good. I didn’t know what to say – I’m not divorced, my parents aren’t divorced, even my grandparents stayed married until they all passed away. My husband is a child of multiple divorces so he did most of the talking and once she was talked out, he was able to share his testimony with her and tell her a little about the One who will walk through this situation with her.
The point of this story is to share one small thing that my husband said that I have been thinking about daily ever since he said it. Our new friend was sharing how she didn’t understand why “he” would leave her – they had been together for so long, they had a beautiful wedding – why wasn’t he commited to staying together. Travis’ response?
The ONLY reason that Stephanie and I haven’t gotten a divorce is because we love Jesus. Period.
Bottom line, I love Jesus. Yes, I love my husband, too, but somedays it’s harder to love him (and it’s harder for him to love me). 🙂 We are both sinners, but we love Jesus and we are committed to glorifying Him, learning about Him, and walking with Him – that’s the only reason we don’t yell “divorce” or “I hate you” or “I’m tired of trying” when we disagree.
Something that’s just been on my heart and mind a LOT lately – how well am I loving Jesus in areas like my marriage, raising my girls, diligence in managing our home, etc.