If a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. (1 Cor. 7:13)
MARSHA AND JOHN CELEBRATED their forty-seventh wedding anniversary. The time just seemed to fly by, and the latter years had been wonderful. But it wasn’t always so. When Marsha first met John, it was love at first sight. But after a time, she discovered things she didn’t like about John, and she tried very hard to change his actions and personality, forgetting what attracted her to him in the first place.
In her frustration, she let her feelings escape with outbursts of anger and rage. She even went to the point of throwing his clothes onto the lawn, yelling at him to get out and spewing the word divorce. But John refused to leave. Marsha felt like she was all alone and in a desert.
One day a Christian friend pulled Marsha aside and shared the gospel message with her. Marsha’s friend told her that Jesus could help her become a new person; all she had to do was believe and trust Him to do this. After some hesitation, she gave in to her friend’s message and talked to Jesus, telling Him that she was sorry.
There was hope again. Both Marsha and John learned that it was important to listen to each other, accept each other the way God created them, and to forgive often.
With God leading, they continued on this new journey and found real love again.
When you feel there is no hope, call out to God.
Rosemary Hagedorn began writing devotions in her later years. She creates picture story books for her grandchildren and is presently working on a fantasy novel.
