Dearest Angela,
Do this with stone.
So, what do we make of it?
Jesus forgave when He was crucified.
So did Stephen, when he was stoned.
So did Corrie ten Boom regarding the murder of her sister. In each case, if you study it, you will see the act of forgiveness connected to the imparting of Spiritual life and in this way, there is something you can do about Dan’s sin.
You see, when we do not forgive our husbands, we introduce more sin into our marriages. We open the doors and windows wide to condemnation, despair, discouragement, and bondage of all sorts.
Forgiveness is essential.
When we do forgive, we defeat the enemy!
How?
Think, for a minute.
What is satan’s purpose? It is to steal, kill, and destroy; to escalate and exaggerate, causing even more damage, if possible. Forgiveness, a soft answer, a blessing, prayer—these are NOT the goals of our enemy!
No, you can do nothing, directly, about Dan’s sin, but you can and must tend to your reaction to any sin that might come to you from any source.
It is not hard.
It is only impossible, unless you have the power of God working in you. God will give you grace to shine like the stars.
Angela, dear Niece, you have the beginnings of a wonderful marriage, but you are married to a human. He will sometimes sin and so will you. If you do not practice forgiveness, you will be walking in even more sin.
Your great beginnings can quickly erode to commonness if someone does not walk as Jesus walked. I know you both want a righteous home life.
Angela, do your part.
So how does this look, in action? Perhaps (only for an example!) Dan wakes up one morning and just plain doesn’t feel like going to church. You know he knows that the sermon will be about marriage and feel he is avoiding facing some truth.
Pray! “Father, please have mercy on us and on those around us, and protect us all from harm because of this.” (You are praying quietly, secretly, by the way.) “Lord, please mercifully remind Dan of Your Word and of the consequences, here. Help him love obedience and fear displeasing You. Father, please forgive him and help me to forgive him. Help me to trust You, that wherever I am, You see my heart and You are pleased with me. Help me to worship You this morning, no matter what happens.”
None of these requests is too hard for God, and all of them are things you could never accomplish by yourself. You can see how much you need God.
For that reason, you must be careful not to quench His work by hugging unforgiveness close to your breast. Walk in purity and invite God into every moment of your lives.
You see, this is what you can do about any sin Dan might ever come up with. Just forgive him, love him, be an intercessor. The angels are watching because they long to see what God can do, too. (Eph. 3:10)
Let’s entreat God to cause us to be astonishing in forgiveness!
Let’s both live happily ever after!
Love,
Aunt Vic
The Conquering Mom.com 
There’s an old Liz Phair song from the grunge days of music called “The Divorce Song”. The lyrics (unfortunately including an F bomb, so not for everyone) but still, they illustrate the petty little things, left without forgiveness, which lead up to the big problems. Fighting and yelling accomplishes nothing. I agree with this post, sometimes you just have to forgive, move on, and pray like your life depends on it, because it does. 🙂
What a great motto!
“Pray like your life depends on it, because it does.”
I love that! Thanks! 🙂
I don’t think it’s mine, but I don’t know who to attribute it to–most likely something I’ve heard listening to or reading apologetics or in a homily somewhere along the way. 🙂
Early in our marriage, my husband commented that one of the hardest places to be a Christian is at home!
Oh, I think that is somewhat true, but I would add the hardest place to FAKE being a Christian is at home! 😳
Your wisdom is so simple yet as you said this task is impossible without God’s spirit. Tis in the heat of the moment that it is tough and I forget.
God stops us, though. He cares enough to provide a way out and to remind us. We simply must get used to hearing a still, small voice, saying THIS is the way: walk in it!