There is hope for every hurting marriage!  The following poem was written by our ministry’s founder, Tony Nardella, 3 years after he reconciled with his wife, Emily.  Read ‘His Story’ and be encouraged that God can heal and restore any relationship no matter how badly damaged.  By God’s grace Tony & Emily’s marriage survived and they have now been married for over 30 years.

 

HIS STORY

"Forgive her?!  I can't!"
Though he earnestly tried
To find a reason for grace
As the enemy lied.

"You can never forgive her
for your heart that she stole."
He struggled and stammered
and fought for his soul.

The battle continued,
imaginations set in.
"I can't be expected
to forgive such a sin."

He was losing his grip -
He was ready to leave.
"Are the two really one?
To your wife did you cleave?"

His heart was so broken
Many tears he had cried.
Exhausted, he left her
as the enemy lied.

Confused and dejected
The root of bitterness, grown.
Snared by hatred, his life 
was no longer his own.

Given over to torment
God's mercy withdrawn.
His spirit, once vibrant,
had grown cold and forlorn.

"O my God, please save me!
What is happening to me?"
He cried out to the One
Who had forgiven for free.

To follow his Savior;
"Can I really abide
By the words He had spoken
And live a life that must die?"

"You can never forgive her!"
The enemy lied
But the thought now rang hollow
and empty inside.

A conviction then whispered,
"Deceit's in the heart.
But it's your heart, not hers,
That's keeping you apart."

A light flickered, then flashed,
Then glowed deep, down inside.
Proclaiming the Truth
Where the enemy lied.

"My God, what have I done?!
Have I been so deceived?"
It broke him in pieces;
It was hard to believe.

The pain then exploded 
As he, now aware,
That his sin, not her sin,
Was more than he could bear.

As his horror increased
and settled into despair,
All at once he realized 
That Jesus was there!

"He's in the conviction!
He's in the light!
He's in the awareness 
That I've not done what's right!"

"If Jesus can show me
The deceit I've been in,
Can it then be too hard
for Him to forgive?"

Something rose up within,
His confidence grew,
That the One he cried out to
Had forgiven him too.

The forgiveness, now realized,
Was part of his heart.
His soul, now so free,
Could forgiveness impart.

The thought of his wife
Living so far away
Now brought longing, not pain,
As he pondered his ways.

He heard the enemy lie,
"It' too hard to unweave.
And she won't take you back ..."
But he would not believe.

That God would reveal
So much of His grace
And not give him the legs
To finish the race.

He called her, and poured out
His broken heart like wax.
"I'll trust in Christ Jesus
No matter how she reacts."

This story is over,
Their love was revived.
"It was only through Jesus 
That our marriage survived."

Copyright 1993 AMN
Used by permission