No, not ours...but that of a couple who were, and still are, dear to us. When we returned to Quito, they had separated; she had remained here with their three young children, and he had gone to the States. During our first year back we had a lot of interaction, serving as a shoulder to cry on, as sounding boards...and just loving them. We cared so very much about the outcome of this precious couple's life. They were broken-hearted and we wept for and with them. We prayed for and with them.
(It'll be easier for you to read if I give them names, won't it?... not their real ones, of course. We'll call them Jack and Jill.)
As time progressed, it seemed like there wasn't going to be an easy solution for their situation, BUT on another level, even more basic, God was doing wonders. Jill told me once that before, she had gone to church, etc., just going through the motions, not from the heart. But now, she said, she was doing it because of her love for Jesus! She went with us to see a small drama that Debbie's class presented at school, and when they sang "If God can make a whole new world, He can make a whole new Me.", Jill turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, "That's what He's done for me!"
Someone once said, "God can mend a broken heart, but He has to have all the pieces." For Him to mend a marriage, each one has to "get down to the basics" with Him FIRST, give Him all the pieces, and then let Him start to work. The best foundation for a marriage is an honest relationship with God. (Something that takes a lifetime to learn, maybe, but is worth it, as we ourselves are still finding.) So Jack and Jill needed God to touch their hurting hearts, individually, and bring them back into line with His.
About a year later, the divorce was finalized. But that was no obstacle for God! Once the kids had finished the school year, Jill left to the States to take up residence near to Jack so that they could both have time with the children, and to do some counseling. And then things started happening that had us cheering!
Jack wrote that, as he and Jill spent time together, he was falling in love with her all over again! I think it was the new Jack and the new Jill that were being drawn together. Approximately six months after the divorce was finalized, we got an invitation from their children for the re-marriage of their parents!
(It was in the States, so we couldn't attend, but we were thrilled!) More than 20 years later, he tells me that they are still living the miracle God so graciously bestowed on them!
I wrote this poem for them about the time they were re-joining their lives. I wanted to include it here so that you could share it with anyone who is going through similar circumstances. God doesn't just stick bandaids on broken hearts. (That's what WE try to do, and it doesn't bring a lasting solution!)
Bright Colors (or This Second Time)
The first time, all we could see was BRIGHT COLORS.
Then they started to fade...into WARM PASTELS.
We grew afraid, drew back...and they turned into COLD PASTELS.
The COLD PASTELS iced into dingy, dreary gray.
Then gray melted into black,
and black wove its tent around us.
When was day?
When was night?
What was black?
What was white?
Who was wrong?
Who was right?
We had to fight!
But it was so dark, we couldn't see the enemy...
so we fought each other.
Then God picked up a red-dripping Cross
and slit the tent, ripping open the darkness.
How the Light hurt!
But as it seared in,
we saw each other again...
I was horrified to see in you
the reflection of my darkness.
Were you frightened, too?
Pride and pain of years.
Angry, sorrowing tears.
We both were wrong.
We both were right.
We had to fight!
But then we began to see our common enemy.
Then we began to cling to our common Conqueror.
Then we began to listen to each other's heart.
And, little by little,
the black melted back to gray,
then to COLD PASTELS...(a little color!)
Come, beloved,
let us pluck the COLD PASTELS
- those tiny buds of hope,
those tiny sprouts of faith -
and hold them to our souls...to warm them.
WARM PASTELS...
kindling the fire of the Creator-Artist's BRIGHT COLORS
- brighter yet this second time -
that will once again give us
the day,
the night,
the black,
the white,
the strength to fight!!
but not against anymore.
Not against, but for,
as I see in your eyes reflections of His Light,
in your smile reflections of His Love,
in your words reflections of His Peace.
We'll let His colors rhyme
this second time.
******************************************-Becky Rhon******
God bless you all. See you next time!
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| It doesn't last if we try to fix it ourselves. |
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