Any marriage-related post on this site came after the bottom fell out in my marriage as I didn’t write about marriage before then. It’s been a long, tough journey to get from that first day to this point.
This is not a story I ever wanted. In fact, I wouldn’t wish this story on anyone. The hurt, the fear, the anxiety has been almost unbearable at times. But I was determined to survive this journey, in whatever manner God would choose to lead me.
Many of you have expressed the same thing. You never imagined you’d be in a struggling marriage. Everything had been going so well, yet here you are. Your situation leaves you longing for hope, full of questions, and broken-hearted.
When my own journey through marital struggles started, I begged God to give me just one person who I could encourage on this journey. I knew that if I could share what I went through, it would give purpose to what I was dealing with.
God has gone above and beyond answering my prayer, giving me more than just one person to encourage. He has put people in my life who have encouraged me and helped me navigate this journey, and He has sent people who need encouragement as well. He has taken a story of pain and is using it to show His power of redemption.
One of the people who has been instrumental in encouraging me is Jen. She and I crossed paths in a blogging group. We grew as blogging buddies, as prayer warriors and friends. In late 2016, God placed an idea in our hearts to share some of our marriage struggles with others.
Hope for the Hurting Wife is a 30-day devotional that looks at the journey through a struggling marriage. It is a compilation of writings that Jen and I want to share with you. We have taken turns writing for each other’s blogs, mostly on the topic of marriage. We’ve both struggled in our marriages and we’re joining forces to offer a resource that we think is going to be beneficial to you. As wives who have experienced the hurt, we share from our own experiences of when marriage is hard. Jen and I are both committed to fighting for our marriages.
We take a look at topics such as communication, loving him in the tough times, the power of prayer, dealing with your emotions, support for times when you want to give up, recognizing progress, and seeing hope.
You’ll find encouragement and support for the real-life problems that arise when marriage becomes difficult. You’ll find hope for the journey of standing for your marriage, an understanding of the times when you pass through the deep waters of discouragement and fear, and you’ll learn that we aren’t perfect in our own fight for our marriages. We’re two women who share the hurt, but also the hope from drawing close to Jesus in this time. We want you to know that no matter what happens, God has a plan for your life.
It’s our desire that this book is a blessing to others who are in similar situations.
Be sure to sign up as a subscriber to be one of the first ones notified when Hope for the Hurting Wife is available! You can sign up using the box at the bottom of this post.
Stop by the Facebook page to see a video that I put together for the book!
We can’t wait to share this book with you!
Are you looking for support in a struggling marriage?
Click this link to fill out the short form for the Facebook group.
Sharing with Kelly Balarie at #RaRaLinkup, with Holley Gerth at #CoffeeForYourHeart, with Alisa Nicaud at Salt & Light, with Crystal Storms at #HeartEncouragement, with Suzie Eller at #livefreeThursday, at Writer Wednesday
Rebekah,
I applaud you for sharing your struggle and your story so that others can be encouraged. When my husband left the first time in 1999 and had an affair, there wasn’t much out there to read on trying to save your marriage when the other party clearly did not. I suppose I prayed a lot and trusted God working. After a year we were reconciled. Then 10 years later it happened again (with other affairs in between). I still tried to save my marriage, but there does come a point where all trust is broken and after much counseling, I felt God releasing me to move on. It was also a verbally and emotionally abusive marriage and I don’t believe God desires that for his daughters. I have been married for 3 years to a wonderful, godly man and whether it’s through redemption (which I pursued relentlessly) or release, God can bring beauty from our ashes. God bless you both for your writing!!
Blessings,
Bev xx
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Thank you for persevering and for sharing the story so that others can be blessed and encouraged!
Michele Morin recently posted…The Spiritual Practice of Curiosity
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Wow, what an emotionally raw, beautiful post. I really needed to read this. I will recommend your blog to others who need redemption in their marriage. Glad I linked up at Salt & Light and found you.
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Rebekah Reply:
August 15th, 2017 at 10:44 pm
Thank you so much, Denise! What a blessing your words are!
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Rebekah, yesterday a friend told me, “My breaking was my making.” God had redeemed her worst moments with His grace and transformed her in addition to birthing a ministry from it. It looks like He is doing that for you too. May God use your brokenness to bring healing to many.
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Rebekah Reply:
August 15th, 2017 at 10:41 pm
That’s exactly how I’m feeling - my breaking was my making. I have spent a little time specifically looking at what God has done in this time of growing and stretching, even amidst the pain. I know that the things that are happening today would not have happened without this dark period in my life! Blessings!
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