Second Chances

My heart is smiling today.  For a couple reasons.

First, dear friends of ours welcomed their 6th child late last night. They are a military family whom Kenz helped with babysitting, errand-running and home-schooling for her last few years of high school. And we think so much of them, they are the ones who would raise our kids should Todd and I both pass away (at which point they’d have NINE kids! Yikes!)

Secondly, today in rural Michigan, a wedding will take place. And a dear, loved and life-long covenant friend will rejoice in the God who grants second chances.

Without going into detail, nor debating the whole remarriage hot-button issue many Christians love to banter about, let me just say that we in our family witnessed first hand over the last year-and-a-half the God who rescues, redeems and renews.

Just fours years ago we saw our friend’s world come crashing down.

Betrayal, bewilderment and abandon reared their ugly heads.

Circumstances swirled and whirled about to the point that darkness and depression set in.

Our friend suddenly sat smack-dab in a placed never dreamed of: in the midst of an unwanted and ugly divorce.

There were days we wondered if we’d wake up and discover the awful headline of suicide. That sweet children would left without their parent because life had dealt such a horrific blow that recovery was utterly impossible.

But God…..

Those two little words have popped up all over the place lately in books and articles and blogs. However, they were first penned many years ago in the pages of the Bible.  Whenever things were looking bad and it appeared that Satan was winning, those two words popped up on the pages “But God…”

And the story turned out just the opposite of what seemed to be happening.

Today, a dear friend will be given a second chance to live out a strong commitment to biblical marriage, just as they always intended to decades ago.  It seemed all hope was lost of being one half of a til-death-do-us-part marriage that would last a lifetime.

But God……

When things look bleak and you today and you are just sure the ending is going to be bad; very, very bad, remember those two words…

“But God….”

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done” Genesis 50: 20

I’m off to find me some tin cans. There is a certain car I gotta go help decorate…..

4 Comments

  1. In the last 7 months I have experienced all the tough things mentioned above. Betrayal, brokenness and now divorce. Yet God has brought me my “morning”. I blogged a bit about it earlier in the week.

    Though weeping was a LONG night for me…I am waking up now to a new MORNING and seeing HIS hand in my life. Not only has he brought me through horrible financial and emotional issues of this past year, but in the pain of my divorce and wishing I could repair my marriage, God showed me my OWN sin and began humbling me.

    I can now say that God has brought a wonderful Godly spiritual leader into my life. A man who I know was hand picked by God for ME. I feel so blessed by God and his “endless chances”.

  2. Thank you for your words of hope and encouragement today. BUT GOD…..After reading the article in the latest P31 magazine, these two words have been my mantra of late. There are SO many times when we can finish out thought with BUT GOD.
    So thankful for His love, mercy and grace.

    Blessings
    Jessica B.

  3. I just love the way you boldly avoid “banter” about divorce and remarriage. I am reading the book “When a Woman Meets Jesus” by Dorothy Valcarcel and how Jesus handles “sin” so differently than “WE” the church do. It is a must read for ALL.
    Praise the Lord for a new life and a new marriage; have fun with the tin cans. I didn’t know that was still done.

  4. So happy to read this today – for both the new baby and the new marriage.
    Thank you for saying that God has given a second chance for a lifelong marriage commitment. I was divorced over 17 years ago – but that was certainly not part of my plan! But in a few months, my second marriage will celebrate 14 years of love and hard work. Sometimes as I strive to make God first in my life and to serve Him with joy and gladness, I will hear the enemy attack me – accusing me of not being able to do any good because of my prior divorce. That is a lie! Thanking Him each day for those lovely words, “BUT GOD…” :)

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