I was the prodigal wife living in sin, with no plans on returning home. My husband however, made it clear that he wanted no one else but me as his wife. He was indeed a faithful Stander for our covenant marriage. At the time, I didn’t really know who Jesus was, and for the life of me, I just couldn’t understand why he would want to stay with such an awful wife, as myself. I confess that I secretly wanted him to be the one to leave me for good! If he were in agreement about getting a divorce, it would have proven to me that we were somehow not meant to be, and relieve me of my own guilt. So, I did everything within my own power to discourage his Stand.

I obviously did not value my husband, myself, or our covenant marriage. I treated him as if he was just not good enough, and yet he persevered under the worst of circumstances. At the time, I thought he must have had a really low opinion of himself to constantly put up with me, but then I couldn’t help but notice that he had this inner confidence, and never seemed to take to heart how poorly he was treated by me, or lose hope that one day I would return as a completely new woman. I sensed he had a vision that one day we would love one another in a way we never dreamed possible. I had eventually become convinced of this because of his walk of faith. His leadership influenced me to make a change, and return home! He was completely overjoyed and welcomed me back with open arms.

It never mattered to him what people may have thought when we were separated, because in the vision of hope God gave him, he was hopeful our marriage would be restored.

The world hasn’t a clue about the unfaltering love of God, and as believers, how we are able to withstand the most tragic circumstances in our marriages and persevere under trials. There is simply no humility in those who place themselves in their relationship as “number one” and when their spouse fails to meet their expectations, their selfish sense of pride tells them to just “move on”.

The world has no concept of how to treat their spouse more significantly than themselves, by putting “self” aside for the best interest of another. Their kind of love is as shallow as buying a new piece of furniture. As long as it looks good, they will take it, or as long as it feels good, they will keep it. If the marital relationship isn’t working out for “number one”, they will have no solid foundation to persevere under any type of pressure.

As the prodigal wife, I was in need of a faithful spouse, or I was doomed!

I eventually realized that I made a grave mistake by the way that I was living as the prodigal wife, but somewhere deep down, I wanted nothing more than to have the chance to come home, and have the kind of marriage we always dreamed of from the very beginning.

My husband knew who Jesus was long before I ever did, and had the power within him to persevere through the years of dark valleys in our marriage. I am so grateful that he never gave up on me when the circumstances of our relationship made things look so hopeless. It was in fact, his faithfulness that provided us with the chance to finally make things right in our relationship.

I have come to realize that my husband shared with me the kind of love that was far greater than the world knows of. I was the prodigal wife who finally experienced an indescribable feeling of knowing that while I was on the run, and living in utter chaos, my husband cared about me more deeply than I did for myself.

As a Stander, he never made the mistake of exposing my wayward life. He never shared my transgressions with anyone. He was completely discreet about the details of turmoil in our lives. He only confided in a best friend that he knew he could trust and share that our marriage was hanging on by a thread. He had the wisdom to understand that sharing the things that I was doing with most people would only open the doors for them to talk negatively about me. He protected me from those he knew would want to gossip all over town about me, and persecute me for my immoral behaviors. He still loved me as his wife, “til death do us part’. He would not ever give the opportunity for those hypocrites to judge me. His discretion protected our family from the harsh judgement of the world.

If this discretion was not used, the possibilities of other’s opinions may have been entertained by my husband. If not careful about sharing my lifestyle, he may have been influenced by others to support the idea of divorce. He knew the less he said to others, the easier it would be for my homecoming. If he had told the world about everything I was doing, it would only strengthen my decision to stay away. My husband provided me the easiest environment for returning.

I pray that all Standers would be more careful about publicly revealing their spouse’s lifestyle. The less you say about your prodigal’s sinful lifestyle, the easier it will be for their homecoming.

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