For my husband...

So those of you who know me and my husband may be aware of the struggle we have had since his return from Iraq almost a year ago. My husband and I were both blessed to be raised in Christian homes where we were able to allow our faith to grow. Unfortunately, even with this growing environment the world is a very imperfect place and my husband began to struggle with this faith towards the end of his deployment. Upon coming home he at first still attended church with me, but shortly after our first Easter Sunday with our daughter he began making excuses as to why he couldn't go or just outright saying he didn't want to/didn't feel like it.

The entire situation was completely heartbreaking to me as well as angering. There were many times that I felt resentful for my inability to relinquish all the controls back over to my husband upon his return. He was and is a great dad and husband who constantly thought of us and provided for us; I trusted him to provide for us and to care for us and yet I had to continue being the spiritual leader in our family which is not the design God planned. I did my best to be patient and to not push him further away in an attempt to push him closer. Its not my job to force Jesus into his life, but instead I am simply suppose to be an example of Him. Some days I was better at this than others as there were times where this burden was overwhelming.

Last Sunday (Valentine's Day), my husband decided that he would come to church with me. It was the first time I was taking our son as we wanted to watch how many sick people we exposed him to in that first month so my love decided to come with and help me out. Our Pastor's message was about 2Corinthians 6 and the message regarding being unequally yoked. Well during the closing prayer my husband chose to rededicate his life to Christ and reunite our family in a spiritual way for the first time in a year. He has now asked to start a weekly devotional time with me and prayer has picked up in our house once again. He has once again taken on the leadership role that he has always been meant to hold in our family and I am so proud of him. He has humbled himself before the Lord and has come to realize his position within our family as a provider physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

So I am writing this to thank God for answering my prayers, to thank those who have been praying with me, and to thank my husband for the man he is continually striving to improve for the sake of his family.