A MARRIAGE SAVED THROUGH FORGIVENESS
Divorce is no match for the power of God!
Through an “out of the blue” circumstance, I was informed, just a few hours before I was scheduled to speak at a ministry center, that the ministry leader and her husband were scheduled to finalize their divorce the very next day. I did not view it as coincidental that I had received that information prior to speaking.
After I finished my talk, I asked the receptionist if I could speak with the ministry leader. She “happened” to be in the office and came out to meet with me. (It was interesting to hear later that this was her day off and she is rarely in the office on her day off.) It was a nice day, so we took a walk outside and sat on a short wall under the trees in the parking lot. I told her what I had heard and asked the question “How can I help?”
We chatted for quite some time as she poured out her heart about the pain she was experiencing. As we talked, her husband "happened" to call. I heard her tell him, "I'm sitting here in the parking lot talking to Pastor Bruce trying to decide whether or not I'm going to divorce you tomorrow. Do you want to talk to him?"
I'm thinking quietly, “God you are really good at this. Only you could set this up!”
As I began walking my friend through the protocols of forgiveness, her husband drove up with their son. She left with the boy while her husband and I began to talk. In the course of the conversation I was able to coach him to forgive several deep wounds from his past. The transformation in his eyes and in his countenance was remarkable. I was then able to help him see himself the way God sees him and to coach him on how to love his wife even if she chooses to go through with the divorce. By this time the wife returned, and the husband left for church. To make a long story short, as we finished our conversation, she forgave him for what he had done to wound her and she made a commitment not to divorce. She was free. They were reconciled. A marriage was saved.
There are situations like my friends’ around us every day. A large majority of these hurting people need help learning how to forgive. You can help them. At Forgiving Forward, we are committed to providing you with resources to help you help other people experience the freedom of the Gospel through the power of forgiveness.
