I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?

Jeremiah 32: 27

As I conclude my Thanksgiving series, I’m thankful that nothing is too hard for God, and I’m grateful God intervened so I would never have to be a divorced woman. I know that may sound strange to some readers but the thought of getting divorced when my husband left me was something I prayed would never happen. I certainly had biblical grounds for obtaining a divorce but I felt I was to stay committed to my marriage, regardless of what my husband had done.

My husband did file for divorce, but it was never meant to be. God intervened in the most amazing way. Below is a copy of an email I sent to the women at my church who had been praying for my marriage. It gives a detailed account of what happened when I traveled to Ohio for our divorce to be finalized. Following this interesting turn of events, the hearing was rescheduled a second time and got canceled again. The court date was reset a third time, and two weeks prior to the date, my husband texted me in the middle of the night and told me he contacted his lawyer and stopped the divorce because he needed time to think.

My attorney called me the next morning and said she received notice from my husband’s attorney that we had reconciled. Since we hadn’t reconciled, I just assumed his attorney misunderstood the turn of events. My husband said he never stated that we reconciled, but when the papers from the court arrived it stated the divorce was terminated because we had reconciled. I still have a copy of the paper to remind me of the mysterious ways God intervenes in our lives.

Email:

I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for me regarding my marriage and pending divorce. I traveled to Ohio this past weekend for our scheduled divorce settlement hearing.  We were supposed to sign our final papers Monday morning at 10:00. The weekend was grueling for me emotionally. I was dreading walking into that court room on Monday. I had not seen my husband in almost 2-1/2 years since he left to live with his girlfriend in Ohio. I was wondering if she would be there. I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster. I cried most of the weekend. I prayed God would stop the hearing, but it seemed hopeless. It was a day away, everything was going as planned, and I kept telling myself I had to accept that I was going to be driving back to Pennsylvania as a single woman after the court hearing.

I was reading 1 Samuel on Saturday morning and a verse stood out to me:

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (1 Samuel 17:45)

I thought about how the other woman had called several months ago and screamed obscenities at me because I sent my husband a text message. When I told her I was praying for our family to be reconciled, she screamed, “Pray all you want, it won’t work.” There were other verbal attacks that I won’t elaborate on. The enemy was using her words as weapons to try and destroy my faith. I felt this was a spiritual battle from the beginning. Satan was waging war against my home, marriage, and family.

I continued to meditate on I Samuel 17: 45 throughout the weekend. Monday morning I took a piece of the hotel stationary out and wrote the verse on it. I folded it up and put it in my pocket. I was nervous and scared, but I kept thinking that I was going to face this difficult time in the name of the Lord Almighty.  I kept repeating the verse as I finished getting ready. I felt strengthened and prepared as I drove the 30 minute commute to the city.

I was minutes from the court house when my cell phone rang. It was my attorney telling me there was a problem. The judge had canceled the hearing because we were all “no-shows.” They asked me to find a place to stop and wait until they called to see what was going on. They soon called back and said apparently there was a mix up with the time. The court had our hearing set for 8:30 AM,  but all of our papers said 10:00 AM. The judge and the attorneys didn’t understand how the time got changed, as everything is computer generated and the time listed in the computer system was still 8:30 AM. Yet it printed on our copies as 10:00 AM. They said they had no explanation regarding how the time had printed differently and they never had that happen before. The judge refused to reschedule the hearing that day, because it would delay all the other hearings.

My husband called shortly after and we decided to meet and talk. We were able to spend about 30 minutes together. It went well. He hugged me several times and said he loved me. He said he just couldn’t bring himself to return home because of what he has done and the fear of facing everyone is more than he could ever take. He is a very prideful man and admitted he misses his family but knows he could never face friends and family again due to the humiliation. He said fear is the only thing keeping him away from home.

God intervened and stopped the hearing on Monday for a purpose. I don’t know if he is going to bring my husband home, or if it was just delayed so I would have that time alone with my husband to have some sort of closure. I do know it was divine intervention and for some reason it was not meant to happen that day. We were minutes away from signing our final divorce papers.

 I ask you to please continue to pray for our marriage. At this time we are waiting for a new date to be set. It could be weeks or months depending on how backed up the court system is. I don’t know what God’s plans are, but I am praising him for this divine delay. Thanks again for your prayers! They are greatly appreciated.

Blessings,
Joni

God is in control. As most of you know, there was never a happy ending to my marriage story. My husband died suddenly of a heart attack in a truck stop several years ago before we ever had a chance to reconcile. I’m not sure why things turned out the way they did, but God has a reason for all things. I have no regrets for honoring my marriage vows and standing by my husband.

I’m grateful God heard the cries and prayers of a woman who never wanted to be divorced. I keep a copy of the scripture verse I wrote on hotel stationary in my Bible as a reminder of the power of God’s work and his sovereignty over my life. Nothing is ever too hard for God.