For the last 2 and a half months, my husband and I have been trying to put our marriage and family back together. Yes, I messed up. Yes, I made big mistakes. Yes, I fully admit them. (And am embarrassed by them. And wish they could be retracted.) A lot of hurts, physical, emotional and psychological have come from those mistakes. Hurts that take a very big toll on a person, and hurts that will take a very long time to heal.
When it became apparent that my husband and I were dealing with a trauma to our marriage, people in and outside of our church offered support. Counseling. A shoulder to cry on. Friendship. But when it became apparent what some of those hurts to our marriage were and are, those offers of support dwindled, and some were retracted.
Still, some remained vitally active, and actually grew the amounts of support they offered to us. I've recently tallied those avenues of support, and was somewhat surprised at what I found.
Nearly 75% of the friends and family who have continued to come forward offering us that support claim no affiliation to a denomination of faith. They are friends from "outside" our church. Interestingly, they are the ones who see a hurt, and offer the most help.
This brings to mind a scripture that I have always held dear, and have always ascribed to:
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."
Proverbs 17:17
It's a shame that from the one place you truly expect that support to be the least confidence one can have in it. Isn't there something about those being without sin?
"...He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone..."
John 8:7
