Things fall apart and can be put back together..."No matter what..."

It is a proven fact. Nothing will ever stay the same. Our world is in a state of perpetual motion. Our lives are wrapped up in that same motion.

Look at the Grand Canyon. It has been cut out through many years of natural erosion. Water and its movement have cut the canyon and made the original structure into something different than what it once was.

Have you ever experienced erosion in your life? I'm not talking about the water and dirt type of erosion...I talking about life erosion.

Lets look at a disintegrating marriage. We start out fully loving one another and believing that together we can tackle anything the world throws at us. Over time though, little things start chipping away at us, parts of our relationship begin to erode away.

Finances are tight...chip.
There is more time at work than at home...chip, chip.
Children arrive...chip, chip, chip.
Extended family meddles around...chip, chip, chip, chip.
We talk at one another instead of with one another...chip, chip, chip, chip, chip...
Our lives become a to do list instead of a TWO do list...pieces fall off.

We wake up one morning and we realize we don't even know the person who is lying next to us in the bed. Sure, we always knew the tingles would go away but we never thought that we would get to the point that we were no longer connected to one another. You sadly realize the landscape of the marriage you have today is nothing like the one you started out with. That beautiful picture of love, joy, enthusiasm, and happiness has been replaced by images of loneliness, anger, hurt, and despair.

What do we do with our new picture. We  know we can't go back to the place we started because it is impossible to go back. Too many things are different or have changed. We are different and so is our spouse. The foundation of our life is different.

We can stay in that place mourning the loss of what we felt and the ideas and plans we had when we stood there and eagerly said "I do!" We can grow resentful and bitter because we lost what was so dear to us. We can let those things erode us to the point that we live a life of quiet married agony. We may even consider setting out on our own to find a new life.

God does have a new life planned for you. It is a life full of hope and a future...but you will not reach that life if you walk away from your marriage, or if you stay stuck where you are. 

God can renew your marriage and make it stronger than it has ever been. He can even help you fall in love with your spouse again.

Recently I asked God to help me fall completely, totally, and passionately in love with my husband again. I even told Him..."What ever it takes Lord, please do it."

The week after I prayed that, my husband was in the hospital with his second episode of blood clots at the age of 42. I felt like our family was playing a game of "blood clot Russian Roulette". With the knowledge that 1 in 5 people who have a blood clot (or DVT) die, and we were now in the middle of second go around. I remember coming home from the hospital and telling God, "Well I guess making me afraid he is going to die will make me care a little more." Little did I know that was just the beginning.

Over the past 6 weeks since I said that prayer, we have had many life changes. Nothing has been in our control. He is now home and on short term disability. There is a chance that his current job will not allow him to return to work if he has to remain on blood thinners for the rest of his life. If that is the case, our family is faced with the possibility that he could be forced into long term disability in March. Our financial future is completely in God's hands. My husband's physically health is completely in God's hands. This truly is the first time I have fully understood what walking by faith and not by sight means.

 Through all of the life changes we are experiencing in our home and family God has blessed me beyond measure. I can honestly tell you that I fully, completely and passionately love my husband even more today than I ever have. He is truly my best friend and my cheer leader. He is my support. God answered my prayer. He will answer your prayers too.