God's Work

I spent some time this week reflecting on how I met my husband. I am always amazed when I think back to those days. I was a self proclaimed atheist, an example of someone who protested to much. I really did believe in God, I had just determined that I could not live up to his standards and had turned my back on the church. I was three months pregnant and 17. Having fought my parents to save my baby's life, they had determined that I would give the baby up for adoption. How thankful I am that God had other plans. My dear husband, despite my hard shell, despite my past, despite my pregnancy, decided to date me, decided to marry me, and decided to adopt the child as his own. How different my life would have been if it were not for this man!



I don't believe for a minute that this was fate. I believe that God, even in my sin, loved me and and had a plan for my life and the life of my daughter. He gave this incredible man the strength and patience to love me and a heart big enough to include my child. He was able to ignore the advice of well meaning friends who warned him away. His parents were able to support his choice when I know that they had to have wished for something "better" for their only son. My husband was only nineteen at the time and yet he was prepared and willing to take on the responsibility of a wife and child. A judge who had to approve our marriage because of my age, approved.



No one thought our marriage would last, myself included. I knew that my husband was to good to be true and that he would soon be tired of me. My family took bets at the wedding. Most everyone agreed that it would not last five years. Everyone except my husband and eventually myself. From the very beginning of our relationship God was at work. My husband, I was later to find out, had prayed for me for years. It would take ten of those years before I could bow before God and admit my sin to ask for forgiveness. My husbands tender heart and love were the key to my salvation. He represented Christ to me every day. Now, twenty years later, it has not only lasted but it has grown, flourished and withstood the test of time. Evidence of God's caring and work in our lives.