Beyond the Ashes … The Journey Back to Wholeness

Ministry wives who limp along the dark and lonely path of their husband’s moral failure share a common desire — to find healing for their broken hearts.

By Trisha Matthews*

I dedicate this article to the ministry wife who might be limping along a dark and lonely path carved by her husband’s moral failure. This failure can create issues that range from the inability to fulfill one’s role in ministry to the shame that accompanies moral failure. One thing is certain: Those who limp along this path share a common desire to find healing for their broken hearts.

No other pain can rival the pain of a broken heart. Details surrounding the events that brought the pain etch themselves into our memories with uncanny distinction. Even the feeblest trigger has the power to bring to mind the intricate elements that surrounded the proceedings of that day.
In a moment we remember the meal we shared. We recall the clothes we wore and the order of the errands we ran. We reawaken to the sensations we endured the moment we learned the devastating news.

Let God Do It His Way

"Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean. But Naaman was angry." (2 Kings 5:10-11, The Amplified Bible)

So often we miss out on what God wants to do for us because He doesn't do it the way we think He should. We work up an idea in our minds about how He's going to heal us, for instance. We think He's going to send some famous preacher to lay hands on us or that He's going to knock us off our feet with a blast of His power. When He doesn't, we let our faith drop and foul up what He had actually planned to do.