This devotional helps married couples to navigate the storms of life together. Working through the book of Job, Sarah Walton (author of "Hope when it Hurts") and her husband Jeff reflect on their own experiences in a marriage that has faced chronic illness, baggage from the past, a child with neurological challenges, and financial difficulties—and show how to cling to Christ and each other.
This is not a “how to” guide on having the best marriage, but, rather, a walk alongside you and your spouse, sharing the realities of suffering and the effects it can have on a marriage. It is an encouragement to lift your eyes above your trials, off your spouse, and onto our all-sufficient Savior.
Every marriage experiences storms. For Jeff and Sarah Walton, some of those storms felt more like full-blown hurricanes. How did they, and do they, survive? For Jeff and Sarah forgiveness, humility, and commitment are all important, but it is fundamentally about clinging to Jesus. If you want your marriage to remain strong, and even thrive, amidst the challenges life throws your way, you’ll find this book encouraging and uplifting.
--- Greg Smalley, Vice President of Marriage and Family Formation, Focus on the Family
Contents
Introduction
1. Our Hope in Life and Marriage
2. When Trials Come
3. How to Cling to Hope in Loss
4. Holding All Things Loosely
5. Loving Your Spouse Through Chronic Illness
6. Learning to Lead (A Word for Husbands)
7. Learning to Follow (A Word for Wives)
8. Only God Can Change a Heart: When Your Spouse Fails You
9. When People Bring Judgment Instead of Comfort
10. Waiting Well When God Seems Silent
11. The Strange Gift of Lamenting
12. Walking the Valley of Despair Hand in Hand
13. When Your Pasts Threaten Your Present
14. Who Am I Now? Identity Crisis and Your Marriage
15. When You Feel Alone in the Storm
16. Suffering and Intimacy (Part One)
17. Suffering and Intimacy (Part Two)
18. Longing for Kids, Struggling With Kids: When Family Isn't What You Dreamed Of