Faith Filled Family Magazine December 2016 | Page 88

painful experience.” I have held
the hand and wept tears with
a number of women who have
been wounded by their husband’s infidelity.
Many marriages do not survive
this kind of betrayal. But to the
wife who resolves to forgive her
husband, I have seen incredible healing. When the husband
shows true repentance for his
sinful actions (this also includes
addiction to pornography), and
seeks help from godly counselors, a wife may be willing to give
the marriage another chance.
She just might find the marriage
is healed and even more loving
than before the betrayal.
If you find yourself in this type of
a situation, I strongly urge you
to seek out godly counsel from
a pastor, biblical counselor and
maybe even a trusted, older, Titus 2 woman you know.
Children are a blessing but
they definitely bring added
stress into a marriage. What
are some practical ways a wife
can put her marriage first and
resist the temptation to always
put the children first?
Your children’s security lies in the
health of your marriage relationship. When you learn to live with
your sights upon God’s calling
on your life—to know Christ and
make Christ known—this will influence how you live at home.
Putting your children’s needs before your husband’s will not only
cause your husband to feel less
valued by you, it will also create
insecurity in your children. It will
also put undue strain on your relationship with your kids when

they come to understand your How can women resist playmisplaced priority.
ing the “blame game” when
things go wrong in their marGod intends you to live in a man- riage? What are some ways
ner that draws your kids to Christ we can take responsibility?
in good times and in difficult seasons. When your children realize I think human nature causes all
that your priority relationship (af- of us to try and turn the blame
ter your relationship with Christ) to someone else–right? I mean
is your relationship with your look at Adam after they ate the
husband, you actually make fruit in the Garden. On that day
your children feel safe.
God asked him, “Who told you
that you were naked?”
Even when your kids try to pit
you against one another so they Adam’s immediate response
can get their way, if you choose was to blame Eve and God for
the side of your child, you will his sinful actions. What I see in
chip away at the foundation of this biblical account is that as
their security.
soon as sin entered into Adam’s
heart, it broke his fellowship with
In 18 years of youth ministry we his Creator. No longer did he
observed the number one thing walk with God in the cool of the
that drove kids away from Christ day–rather in shame he was hidwas the hypocrisy they observed ing.
in their Christian parents.
When we have unconfessed
Remember that your genuine sin in our lives, it most certainly
love for the Lord—no matter sends us hiding from intimacy
how happy or trying your mar- with our Creator. Just like Adam,
riage may be—will do far more when we don’t walk near to the
to draw your kids to Christ than Lord, we turn on the very one we
any words you can ever say to love the most.
them.
It is important to take responsiWhatever trials you encounter, bility for our actions, even when
if your kids see you and your we are hormonal, postpartum,
husband united in purpose to or have a migraine headache.
display Jesus’ character in your When you learn to own your own
relationship to one another, they contribution to conflict in marwill come to understand that riage, you will be on the right
your relationship with Jesus re- path to building a no regrets
ally is the answer to all of life’s marriage.
problems.
Toward the end of the book
If your husband is not a Chris- you give practical action
tian, do not fret. God can shine steps for women to use in orbrightly to your children when der to continue in their quest
they observe you displaying hon- of having a happier marriage.
or to the Lord in how you relate One of the things you stress is
to your unbelieving husband.
to pray, pray, pray. Talk about