My wife Susan and I met in September of 2010. We had what I can only describe as a whirlwind romance, and married in July of 2012. Since we married, we have seen lots of ups and downs; we have moved twice, I have changed jobs multiple times; and most importantly, we adopted three kids from Poland in March of 2017. Just 16 months later, we have separated, and she has asked for a divorce. I am devastated.
But God has been faithful through this trial. Sue first told me she was going to separate on June 7, and I fought against it. It knocked me down and made me reassess everything I thought I believed. Though I am perhaps on the brink of losing my wife and my marriage, I have been forced to place my trust in the only thing that has not moved, The Lord God Almighty. He has not abandoned me.
When we had gone to Poland to adopt, we had all kind sof problems. At the time, I thought, this would be a great book, and I even sat down to write it. But I could never get anywhere. The story didn't feel like it was mine. There was no lesson, no redemption. It was a trial that we lived through, but what was the point?
The reason it felt pointless is, I hadn't learned the lesson. The thing that was missing in that trial, was God. It was a test of faith and I failed. But now we are here, and the story continues, and this time I am holding on to God with all my heart and all my soul. Each day, morning and evening, I pray to God that I will become a Godly leader for my wife and children, that he will soften my wife's heart, and that he will redeem and reconcile this marriage, and use it for his kingdom. Through His work, I have also found a group of accountability partners that have been a tremendous blessing to me, and through them, I have many people praying with me for my wife and my marriage. As it says in Matthew 18:19,
Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
There is a church in Uganda praying for my marriage. The Brooklyn Tabernacle is praying for my marriage. Churches in Tennessee, in North Carolina, in California, in Pennsylvania, even a church in China is praying for my marriage. Who is praying for my marriage to fail?
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
So, I am hanging in there, I am waiting and praying, I am walking through the fire. I am being refined by God, as in Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
If our marriage can be reconciled, then I have a story to tell. Its not my story however. Its God's story of how He saved a marriage and brought it back from the brink. It is a story that he can use to further his kngdom. I pray he allows me to tell the story
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