Today is part one of two conversations with coach Kathy Reynolds, who talks about her own journey of disclosure, loss, and redemption in her marriage. Stay tuned for part two when we get into the nitty gritty of what to do and not to do in the dangerous waters of full disclosure.
As promised...a bit late, below is the poem Singing Warriors by Paige that was read a couple shows back.
Singing Warriors
By Paige
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you,
But will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17
We serve a God who is a Warrior who sings.
And, He enables us to be singing warriors.
Just as he fights for us, he has invited us to join Him in the battle.
And, the enemy is not our husbands.
The enemy is the one who has ensnared our husbands.
The one who has deceived them and blinded them.
The one who is out to steal, kill, and destroy.
The one who uses darkness and hiddenness.
Who tempts and then, when the deed is done,
Heaps on shame so that returning to God (and to us) feels unbearable.
So, we find ourselves here in this place.
In this battle that we didn’t see coming.
That we didn’t sign up for.
That has knocked us to the ground.
And often leaves us as a puddle on the floor.
But, again and again we rise up,
Slowly, hesitantly.
Inch by inch rising to take our place as warriors.
To fight against the enemy.
To fight for truth.
To fight for health.
We fight for our husbands.
And, as we do so, we are fighting for our marriages.
For our children.
For future generations.
But, even if the marriage is not restored.
We choose to pray.
We want to see every Christian man (and woman)
Walk free of sexual brokenness.
Welk free of hiddenness.
Walk free of broken vows.
Walk free of regrets.
God also invites us to sing.
To worship Him even as the all-too-familiar tears
Find their paths down our faces once again.
He invites us to cling to His goodness even in the midst of the storm.
He invites us to join Him in the song He sings over our husbands.
The song of redemption.
The song of forgiveness.
The song of resurrection.
The song that calls out the spark that God put inside our men—
That image of God that is there.
That always has the potential to choose…
Redemption,
Hatred of sin,
Recovery,
Restoration,
Empathy
Coming out of isolation and
Walking in community.
We join this song because of love.
Because even though we have been hurt more than we ever dreamed possible,
We also believe in the man we fell in love with.
We believe that he can be the man He was created to be.
We believe he can walk in honesty.
We believe he can resist temptation.
We believe he can learn to love.
We believe this because he is God’s beloved, too.
We believe this because we know the God of the impossible.
We believe this because we believe in the power of the gospel.
Because we believe in both truth and grace.
However, if the man we love chooses to remain…
Remain in his lies
Remain in the darkness
Remain in his pattern of giving into temptation
Remain in choosing death over life…
We will still know that we have a Singing Warrior
Who delights in us and who saves us.
We know no matter what happens
We are loved by the One who knows us best
By the One who weeps when we weep
And by the One who understands betrayal all too well.