Divorce

Growing up I didn’t personally know anyone who had been divorced. I had a few friends whose parents were divorced, but it wasn’t anything I ever asked them about. My parents believe in working things through, they would always say divorce wasn’t an option for them. Divorce is something I don’t understand. I’m fortunate that most of my relatives have remained married, until recently I didn’t really see the devastation that broken marriages can bring.

The first encounter I got to personally know a family who had gone through divorce was while serving as a missionary for my church. This family was broken. The mom was a drug addict who had a steady stream of different men coming in and out of the house. The dad had been recently released from jail and was on probation. Their girls had three places they could stay at: mom’s apartment, maternal grandmother’s house, and dad’s mobile home. There were many problems within the home, and I often felt the children were the ones who suffered the most. I so wished for the girls to have a better home, but unfortunately their parents weren’t capable of providing such care.

Divorce isn’t the only thing that separates families, I understand there are many different circumstances that affect the family situation, but this post is to focus on responsible individuals who have been divorced but are able to come together still and have a happy family life.

One of the last areas in my mission, I met a family who was able to form a new life together after divorce. When I met them they no longer had any kids at home. One day we were helping with a project in their home, the wife, Kristy shared the story of how they met. She had been a single mom for a few years and had newly started a job at a fish hatchery. It was there that she met John. They became friends at work, and started helping each other with different projects. They eventually married, and together they made new traditions. John as the new dad in the home, let Kristy handle the punishments for her children, but he made a strong point to support his wife in her decisions and did all he could to be supportive to his new children. Together they created a new home, it wasn’t always easy but they each made sure to watch out for one another.

In class, we talked a lot about the importance of blending these broken families together. It takes a lot of work and commitment, especially on the parents’ part, but it’s manageable, it’s possible. I was grateful for the class this week because as I mentioned before I don’t understand this subject. The insight I gained helped me to see that life is possible after devastation.

In conclusion, this post was to talk about hope after your family has been broken. There’s always a choice in how you’re going to move forward. Learn from your mistakes. Apologize when you hurt others, and do what you can to heal when you have been hurt.