VIA ELEV8:
By Lisa Claiborne
Not long ago I received a call from a dear friend and I could here the plea of desperately needing someone to hold on to. I could hear the pain in her voice and for as long as I’d known her, she’d always been somewhat guarded and reserved, so to hear such resolution really concerned me. We’d worked together for several years so I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with she and her dear husband from time to time and as a young, gorgeous couple, genuinely enjoying the time they spent together; I was sure with a little hard work they could get through anything.
I was on my way to church the evening I got the phone call. I could hear the anguish in her voice and I knew I couldn’t ignore it so I turned around, dropped my son back off at home, and met her at our favorite coffee shop.
She told me her husband had revealed to her that he no longer loved her; that he wanted out of the marriage. She and I aren’t the best of friends, but over the years we’ve spent quite a bit of time together; enough for me to recognize he was lying immediately. I’d witnessed first hand how much this man adored his wife; how he adorned her with gifts and the way he smiled at her when she wasn’t looking; even the endearing things he said about her, not only in my presence but others, and it was genuine. While we know there’s no such thing as the perfect marriage, I thought this couple had the determination it takes to make a marriage work. And sadly, they’re going through a process of separation with every intention of filing for divorce soon.
Now for a little history… They started dating in college and later married. My friend was saved, had a relationship with the Lord, however, he did not. In fact, while he professed belief, he shunned the church. In addition, he was extremely jealous and brought past issues into the relationship, because apparently his ex-girlfriend cheated and he expected her to do the same. Counseling ensued before the wedding and life began to happen. She had some medical issues, so sex wasn’t happening as often as a young twenty something male would have liked, but they sought help and it was corrected. Slowly, but methodically, my friend’s husband began introducing things into their sex life that she felt would further distance her relationship with God…
