Editor’s note: This article was adapted from the story of a woman who attended one of FamilyLife’s I Still Do events between 1999-2002. As we prepare to hold three new I Still Do events this summer and fall, we thought you’d be encouraged by this testimony of how God transformed a dying marriage.
My husband is in the military. When he was deployed, I knew that this long separation from me and our child would either make or break our marriage.
In the middle of his deployment, I became intoxicated at a party and almost went way too far with another man. I was guilt ridden and decided that I needed to get right with God.
I was trying to get my life in order when I confided about the party to a new friend. I thought that I could trust her, but she didn’t keep my secret. It all came out in the open when my husband was still deployed. He threatened divorce.
I kept emailing my husband, asking him to forgive me. He said, “No.” Then I got an email that shook me to the core. He confessed to a one-night stand and asked me not to put him through what he had put me through. He asked for my forgiveness.
Although I instantly replied and said that I forgave him, I went through weeks of grieving over what he had done. I begged God to take away the bitterness. Finally, a great peace came over me.
I told my pastor about all of this a few days before my husband came home from his deployment. He said that the church wanted to send my husband and me to an I Still Do event. I was thrilled and prayed this conference would be the miracle we needed for our marriage to survive. I can say with 100 percent honesty that it was.
Learning about the different roles for a husband and wife was very helpful. Neither my husband or I had any idea that our marriage is supposed to reflect Christ’s love for His bride, the church. That put so much into perspective for both of us.
I Still Do changed our lives forever.
