Not My Place To Say

I realize some of you may not care for the last post (If We Were Friends) and that’s okay. You may think it audacious of me to assume I have any place to talk about the lives of John and Kate Gosselin. And that’s okay too. You may be right. (But since this is MY blog….)

But I just have to say something here. I watched TLC last night, as I’m sure many of you did. And I listened very careful and cried through the last fifteen minutes. And cried myself to sleep and woke with a horrible headache this morning so distraught. Stupid? Maybe. Here’s the thing: I wasn’t so upset about John and Kate in particular, though it is terribly sad what they and their children are going through, but they were the visible picture to me of what hundreds, if not thousands of couples are going through. Right now.

In my own sphere of influence I know of three couples whose marriage are dissolving as I type. All “good” people. (What does that mean exactly, anyway? “Good” person?) All would profess to be Christian. Nowadays, it doesn’t matter what you believe in, your divorce rate is the same as someone who professes atheism. Marriage is hard, absolutely. It is not for the faint of heart. You have to remember your commitment. And that your commitment was made to GOD. You may have said it to your partner, but the covenant was made to God. And He, dear friend, has never fallen short on His end of the deal. Therefore, you are always, committed to your end. Now, I know that there are “certain situations” that society has deemed appropriate for divorce. And that the Bible says there are acceptable reasons for divorce. (I’m certainly NOT saying that if you are in an unsafe, abusive relationship to stay. Use the brain God gave you and get out and get safe!) But the Bible also says God hates divorce. I think even when the reason is acceptable, He still hates it. And why? Because….

The effects of divorce are devastating. And not just to the kids! I watched with such pain for John and Kate! They both, BOTH were having such an obvious hard time, both struggling. And I’m sure if we knew the whole story, BOTH had a part to play in the way things turned out. Not only will the kids feel like their world is turning upside down, but so do the spouses. “It wasn’t suppose to be this way” “I don’t know what happened” “How did we get here” and the effects are long lasting.

I’m not a professional, not a counselor, not someone who has a place to speak with authority. I know. And yet, I felt so compelled to write about John and Kate, the visible couple going through what the hundreds, thousands of invisible couples are going through too,(invisible to TV viewers not invisible as in, unimportant) because it just breaks my heart. It breaks God’s heart. I think it makes Him so sad. Marriage was suppose to be a visible picture of the invisible relationship between Christ and the church. And don’t you know that Christ will never, ever divorce His bride, treat her with contempt, cheat on her, abuse her, neglect her. Even now, with tears in my eyes, shaking my head, there is such sorrow in my heart for those with hurting marriages, marriages in trouble, marriages on the brink of separation.

Pray for them. Pray for yourself. Pray for your spouse. Pray for protection. Pray for strength. But don’t judge. Dear friend, don’t judge. I have heard so many share criticism’s and judgments on John and Kate Gosselin. We may think we have the right to pass that kind sentence on them, but it is unfounded. Our only position, especially if we are among the believers of Jesus Christ, is one on our knees, in prayer for John and Kate and anyone else we know struggling with such a devastating situation.

And now I’m done. The end.