For those that have somehow managed to negotiate it, what were some of the things that helped you through it?
- Prayer
- Support of my parents and siblings
- Support of a few close friends
- Intel (it helped me stay detached, and more in "game" mode and not going all mushy/needy/grabby on her)
- Journaling
- DB forum
Each morning, I would read one Psalm and one chapter from Proverbs, and I would ask God to give me wisdom, understanding and DISCERNMENT for my sitch. "Please let me see and hear what You feel I NEED to see and hear, and no more than You feel I can handle. Please put people in my life each day that I need to help me."
I was amazed at how He honored those simple requests, over and over again.
I also prayed this daily, for my wife and for our family:
MY PRAYER FOR MY MARRIAGE:
Father, thank you for my family. Thank you for giving my children to me to care for, and (Wife) to me to help. Forgive me for the times that I haven’t appreciated them, and done my very best.
Father, I lift up (Wife) to you and ask for you to protect her today. Protect her from physical and emotional harm, and from the enticements of this world. Strengthen her to be the godly woman and strong mother that you want her to be. Give her encouragement that there is hope for her marriage, and that her efforts can result in a better, happier life for her, me and our children and grandchildren someday. Please open her eyes to the painful realities of divorce and separation and infidelity, and give her wisdom to make good decisions. Lord, I acknowledge that you gave us all Free Will, but I ask for your extra grace for Susan during this difficult time.
Father God, I lift up myself to you, and ask for you to give me strength today. Give me the strength to do the daily work that needs to be done to restore my marriage, my family, and my finances. Give me the wisdom to make good decisions, and please give me the godly discernment to detect potential danger to my family, and give me the courage to be vigilant and do what’s necessary to protect my wife and my family. Lord, give me the PATIENCE to keep working at this, and help me put my faith in the substance of things HOPED FOR, And in the evidence of things NOT YET SEEN, instead of in appearances and the seeming hopelessness of a given situation.
Father, help me restore my marriage. Help me to be a better father, a better husband, and a stronger example to my children, especially my young men. Help (Wife) to be a better mother, a better wife, and a godly example to our children, especially our young women. Help her display, in her daily life today, the balance between strength and independence of a confident woman, and the humility and godliness that you require of her, and let that be an example to our daughters.
Lord, help me get thru this day, and live it in such a way that if it were to be the last day of my marriage, That you would be proud of the effort I gave, and the example I led.
