Seeing the Good in All Things

My husband came to me one day as we were nearing our one-year anniversary.

"Sit down, I want to talk to you," he said, looking very serious.

We sat on the couch together and he stared down at his shoes.

"Carla, I really love you, but...this just isn't working out. I don't want to be married."

I felt like Humpty Dumpty, with pieces of me spread all over the floor. This was the second time that he had come to me like this. We had broken up once already and I had moved to Florida from Indianapolis. But then he'd decided that he missed me and wanted to try again. So this was a deja vu experience hearing these words.

"What am I, some kind of yoyo?" I screamed at him. He continued to look down at his shoes.

I ran from room to room throwing things, slamming doors and screaming. How could this be happening AGAIN! I didn't think that I could go on. Although I was angry at my husband, there was a part of me that felt like I was to blame. If I had only been a better wife--a better cook, lover, more supportive, more attractive....

Two weeks later, I packed up my Ford Maverick and moved back to Florida to start a new life. It would be 17 years before I remarried. But during that time I was working on myself, growing, evolving, and learning to trust and believe in myself.

I'm now married to my best friend, my soul mate, and my spiritual partner. And I am grateful to my first husband for pulling the plug on our marriage. We were not right for each other. I didn't see it but he did. What I considered a rejection was God working through my first husband to send us in the right direction.

In the Biblical story of Joseph, he is sold into slavery by his brothers, who are jealous of him. Later, he is able to come to the aid of his family to help save them. He holds no ill will towards his brothers as he has come to see that good has come from the situation.

When we are in the midst of our life challenges, it can be hard to imagine any good that would come from the situation, but that's where faith comes in. We have to believe and trust that "all things work together for good." Even as we grieve the loss of someone or something we have loved, God is providing us with new opportunities and hope for tomorrow.