What you said. For my kids, yes, certainly. And a lackluster marriage doesn't have to always be that way, even if it never (again) attains the "terrific".
Great counter-questions, Theoden.
If you were guaranteed complete custody of the children, would you divorce your spouse?
Yes. Fairly easy question for me now -- before a month ago I would have been stumped.
Assuming you have grounds for divorce (adultery), why aren't you divorcing you spouse?
Because having the legal or biblical "right" to divorce my wife does not absolve me of my responsibility as a Christian and for the sake of my children to afford her every opportunity to come to her senses and repent. I don't have anything to gain by me filing for D anyway. That could change, but it hasn't so far.
What changes must your formerly adulterous spouse make for you to want to stay in the marriage?
Contrition. Quit her current job. No Contact. Be willing to move if necessary. Dismiss her work "friends". MC, MC, MC. Retrouvaille. MC. Renewal of our vows. MC. Dare I say it -- an STD screening. A long, hard talk with her mother, with me present.
Have you been so hell-bent on keeping the marriage together and concerned over the welfare of the children that you haven't stopped to think, "What do I want?"
No, not really. I want my family. I want to enjoy the very reason I work so hard -- my family. I want to build on my renewed walk with Christ. I want to love and be loved for who I am, not despised for who I am not or who I cannot be changed into. I want a simpler life.
