Promise?

Disappointment settled around her like a familiar companion as she made her way to the bedroom. Another broken promise. “Why did I even bother asking?” she wondered. Maybe, it was the eternal optimist in her that thought, maybe this time her husband would follow through. Maybe this time he wouldn’t put her off, again. This time he would keep the promise he made to her 4 years ago.
This time.

Familiar conversations with God

She breathed a heavy sigh and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Father…” she whispered.
She wasn’t angry. There was no resentment or bitterness. Just a tremendous sadness that enveloped her like a shroud.
She sighed again.

“Father…did you see?”
She waited. She was familiar with this conversation, because she’d had many conversations with God about her husband over the years.
“He promised, God. He promised me, years ago. Why is he doing this?”

She tried to calm the emotions that began to build.
She loved her husband. Furiously. Forever. But she was beginning to be disappointed in him. And she didn’t want to be.
She waited.

God’s reply

Child,

Oh, child.
I see you!
I see your sadness…your hurt…your disappointment.

Give this all to Me, love.

I see your husband too.
I see his heart, his thoughts…and his fears.
Things you don’t see.

You must trust Me with the things you don’t see.

You are worried about becoming disappointed in your husband because of a broken promise.
Is this promise so important that the balance of your relationship hinges on the keeping of it?

Does your disappointment in him stem from his actions…or your expectations? 

Let me ask you a very important question, my love.
If your husband never keeps this promise, would it change your love for him?

My will for all of my children is that they grow more and more into the image of my Son. Set apart. It is the process of sanctification.
I do that in many different ways, for each of my children.
How I choose to do this for you…or for your husband, is not for you to dictate.
Remember this my child.

And remember, I love you! Furiously! Forever!

Love is a choice

She sat on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath. Compared to the love she had for her husband and the importance she placed on their relationship, whether he kept this particular promise or not didn’t seem to matter anymore.
She marveled at that!
How could she be disappointed in a man who struggled as she struggled? A man who faced sin just as she did? A man who did his best to follow hard after God. 
She bowed her head in a prayer for forgiveness, then lifted her hands in worship as tears made a watery path down her cheeks.

Photo by Alex Iby (unsplash.com)