What God does now.

My friend L has been having a hard time of late. A mother of three working full-time, it’s not easy. But her struggles have hit a “high” point of late. Her husband of 18 years finally left home for another woman, taking not just his clothes from the cupboard, but the family’s life savings (of about $500), the motorbike and even his teenage son’s bicycle which he used to ride to school.

This betrayal was just the latest bead on the string of their marriage which has included years of neglect, drinking, gambling and womanising. He’s told her a number of times that he wants to take another wife. The guy is an idiot. Sure, L is not the most beautiful woman around, but she is a hard worker, talented cook, strong but loving mother who is doing everything she can to make sure her children get a good education.

Now, she is close to destitute. And her husband’s boss is now calling her to pay back the money he was loaned to pay for bogus medical bills (for her!). The boss even brought the police in to make him promise to go back to his wife or he’ll lose his job (I’m presuming so that she could then pay the loan off). He signed the form, but hasn’t turned up to work since.

I hate sharing L’s misery in a blog. It feels like I am betraying her confidence at a vulnerable time. But there is another side to this story.

In the face of such personal devastation, L is clinging to God.

For years, she had heard about Jesus from various workplaces and even began attending church out of curiosity and maybe a sense of obligation towards her Christian boss. Then about a year ago, while in a church service, she was healed from a heart condition and a dorky thumb that had made work difficult. She came to know the power of God and dedicated her life to Him.

These kinds of conversions always make me a little nervous. We hear stories of people coming to faith like this and then fall away next time God decides not to answer a prayer for healing. But He is faithful.

Ls faith has been growing deeper and she attends church weekly eagerly sharing with me what she’s learnt. Her children have been going along too and this angered her husband. When he left, he quipped to the neighbour, “I’d like to see what her god does now”.

He doing this... L tells me how the people at church are concerned for her, give her money as they can, pray with her and regularly call her to check she’s ok. She is reading her Bible with her children and encouraging them that God does provide. She even overheard her 16yo son tell his father on the phone that the only way he is welcome back is if he repents and becomes a Christian too.

She tells me that as she clings to God, He gives her peace and strength and He will get her through. She says she feels like she and the kids are on a small boat in a big sea and is heading to some new land with God. With dignity and strength, she has filed for divorce (a very shameful thing here), will lose her family home and is trusting God.

Then earlier this week, L told me that her husband wants to come back and is willing to go to church. She is torn as she does not believe he is genuine. She’s heard that he has nowhere to stay and is getting skinny from lack of food. After seeking God, she has courageously decided that if he wants to follow God, he can come to Him on his own.

There’s no fairy tale ending to this story. It’s life – real and raw, ongoing and unresolved. Yet, amongst it, God too is real and at work. I too can’t wait to see what God does now.