Nearly 5 years but who is counting?

[missmyfriend]

isn't for the timid and it isn't for the brave. It isn't for the weak and it isn't for the strong. It isn't for the martyr, the nervy, the needy, the self-sufficient and it isn't for the narcissist or the self-righteous.

Standing is sacrificial devotion and unconditional love. To your spouse? Yes and no. If you are a Christian, standing is really about your relationship with God. If God isn't first in everything in your life (and that is a hard place to get to and stay there), nothing else matters and nothing will get "fixed". The most significant problem most of us face here isn't the loss or the danger of losing our spouse, even though that is an awful scenario. The biggest problem we need to overcome is putting God above everything else.

Personally, while I would love to have the past five plus years never to have occurred, I still would prefer the issues with my wife and kids, rather than not learn to what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. It is amazing that the name Jesus is whispered in most circles. If you say anything positive about Jesus in many groups, you'd be immediately thought of as strange or someone that others feel uncomfortable around. I really don't know why.

Standing is really about standing for a promise made to God about your spouse. If we take in Old and New Testament verses, understanding what laws are still required and others that are no longer required because of grace, along with listening to what Jesus says about marriage and divorce and loving your spouse, we have no choice but to stand. Us men were told to love our spouse as He loved the church. What does that mean? Even though the church was unfaithful (adulterous), Jesus gave His life for "her". Divorces were granted before Jesus because of the hardness of the hearts of the people.

I am divorced but not of my own choosing. And the divorce is a legal divorce not a spiritual one. I do love my wife and I let her go. I do not chase her or have expectations of her. I am leaving this to God. And regardless what some people (who dont know me) think, that is not an easy thing to do. I am someone who takes charge of issues. If someone offended me, in the past, I addressed the situation right then. I didn't wait. Yes, I tried diplomatic means but if that didn't work, then they would know that it wouldn't end there. Maybe that was part of my problem in my marriage but actually it was a little of control and then too much giving in, if that is possible,

Standing. Who are you standing for? If it isn't God, first, how will you remain standing when your spouse hurts you in many unspeakable ways?

And something critical that I have learned. I cannot stand without God, at all. He is the One that has my back. He has the armor, not me. He is my strength. I have no strength without Him.

God = Standing