Fifteen years ago, I left my husband, Ron, and ended our 18-1/2-year marriage. I thought my efforts to create a Christian home were in vain.
The family was devastated as Ron and I divided the children and traveled in opposite directions. Our kids always hoped that we would get back together, but I sealed my heart for years and would not allow the pain of our marital wound to surface.
God arranged for me to attend seminary to study counseling. While struggling with my own issues, my heart began to heal.
One day during prayer time I found myself thinking warmly of Ron. I was shocked, but this was the beginning of a new direction for me.
Several months later I was impressed to write to Ron. Built-up resentment from the past melted into regretful tears. I told him about my sorrow that we had lost one another and my worry that I had influenced the children’s thinking toward him.
As tenderness toward Ron grew within my heart, he responded. I am still in awe of the large space the Lord created within me to love Ron completely.
I had never experienced a love that could overcome the hatred I had for him. But the Lord was slowly drawing us back together and teaching me what grace looked like.
This process began in 1998. Since then, Ron and I have remarried. God began a miracle of restoration not only in our lives but also in the lives of our four children. Their prayers are being answered daily as their father and I grow closer to the Lord and to each other.
Neither Ron nor I had any reason to hope for restoration after 15 years apart. But the Lord overrode our plans and swallowed up sin and defeat in His victory.
American Faith 
