Second Time Around
By Betty Predmore
If at First You Don’t Succeed…
I am doing this “wife” thing for the second time. My first marriage, all 22 years of it, brought a lot of pain and heartache, coupled with abuse, alcoholism, and complete dysfunction. Four children were brought up in that house of anger and bitterness, but they have overcome, for the most part, the struggles.
So here I was, this single mother of 4, trying to make it work emotionally, financially, and spiritually. That is when the Lord got a hold of me in a special way. I grew closer and closer to my Savior, and there was such a joy to be found in this new, wonderful relationship.
He was my strength. He was my guide. He was my source of comfort. Our God is such a good God. He is such a generous God. He knows just what we need and when we need it.
He brought a new man into my life at just the right time. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
The Best Place to Find Your Husband…
I met my husband at CHURCH. He is an elder, and a lover of Jesus. He has overcome his own battles in his past. He is loving, he is gentle, he is slow to speak and slow to anger. He doesn’t care for confrontation and wants to love his wife with all of the pieces of his heart that are left after his love for Jesus.
He has loved my children as if they were his own. He has taken me as his wife, with all my heavy baggage, and vowed to spend his life caring for me, loving me, and providing for me.
Not only did my husband take on my family as his own, but together we have taken on even more. How fortunate we were to adopt three siblings from foster care and give them a permanent place in our home. How wonderful it is to be able to guide these three little lives through life and share Jesus with them.
Gratitude Makes Me Want to Try Harder…
I am grateful for all the marvelous things God has done in my life. I am grateful for His grace, that has flown so freely over me. I am grateful for His guidance and protection over me and my family.
I am so blessed by the relationship that I have developed with my Lord. I am especially grateful that He chose for me the one whom my soul longed for, the one who would love me unconditionally, the one who would accept me for who I am and encourage me to be all that I can be. When my heart was hurting and alone, He knew just what I needed. “For there is a time and a way for everything, although man’s trouble lies heavy on him.” (Ecclesiastes 8:6).
I go through each day trying to be the best wife I can be. Some days…I am near perfect. Other days, I fail miserably.
I have learned to submit to my husband’s direction, which has been a process for me. I do this because I know it is God’s design for my marriage. “Wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. (Ephesians 5:22-24). I have also learned that submission involves mutual respect.
My relationship with my Savior has made me want to be a better wife. It has made me want to imitate that ever-famous, all-encompassing Proverbs 31 woman as much as I possibly can.
I want to be a wife of noble character. I hope with all my heart that my husband considers me worth far more than rubies.
I take pride that he can have full confidence in me and lack nothing of value. And I most definitely want to bring him good, not harm for all the days God gives us. I am some of her every day, but never all of her in a single day, and that is okay.
Thank you, Lord, for giving me such a precious gift. Thank you for knowing me so well and knowing just what I needed to be complete. Thank you for this generous, loving, kind, patient, honorable man that I get to spend my days with. I pray that you help me to always serve him well, respect him, and love him with my whole heart.
Betty Predmore is Founder, Director and Licensed Counselor/Small Group Facilitator of Mom-Sense, a faith-based women’s organization providing small groups and individual counseling on various women’s topics including parent, addiction, marriage, conflict resolution, grief, building confidence.
Betty is an author and speaker, having published two devotionals, and being a part of several Christian blogs and magazines.
Betty has dedicated her life to sharing God’s Word with women in a profound and inspiring way, sprinkled with honesty, humor, and encouragement. Her blogs can be found on her website at http://www.bettypredmore.com and in her Facebook group Mom-Sense.
Betty has authored two devotional books: Pondering Virtue and Whispered Grace.
Betty shares her life with her husband Jim, and their 10 children (three of whom are adopted). Of all her positions, she loves her role as wife and “mama” the best.
