Here’s the story of the week I was unfaithful to my wife…
In fact maybe we were unfaithful to each other…
You decide…
Down time… An open week… Time to spend with my family…
I was looking forward to the next week. My calendar was open! A true miracle.
A greater miracle: My wife’s calendar was open, too. We could actually spend time together.
Then I got a call. Could I attend a meeting Tuesday night?
The group holding the meeting meant a lot to me. It was just one night.
At dinner, my wife told me about a class she’d forgotten on Wednesday.
That was just two nights. We both looked forward to spending most of the week together.
Can you guess what happened next?
An unexpected out-of-town trip crossed another night off the list…
An old friend called my wife and practically begged for a chance to meet for dinner. She needed advice on a personal situation…
How could my wife turn down someone with a real need?
A week that had started out mostly unscheduled had turned into a busy, tiring week.
My wife and I hardly saw each other.
The next week started early Sunday morning…
The sun wasn’t quite up when I headed out the door to volunteer at church. My wife would follow later. She was volunteering too, but her group would serve after the service.
“Call me when you’re finished”, I said. “We’ll do lunch.”
“We’ll do lunch”?? Had I just said that to my wife?
The service ended. I left church and drove home. Half an hour later my wife called. “I’m on the way home”, she said. “Meet me at the fast food place just up the road. I have errands to to do near there.”
“Great. While you do the errands, I’ll buy the groceries.”
We saw each other for 15 minutes.
That night we tried to talk about our planned week together that had vanished into a series of commitments.
We tried to talk about it, but every time we looked at each other, we started laughing.
My wife and I have been married for 36 years.
Through the grace of God our marriage continues to grow, and 36 years after we said our marriage vows we are still deeply in love.
But every once in awhile one or both of us will make decisions that don’t honor our marriage.
That’s what we had done with the week that vanished. We each made a series of conscious decisions.
Each decision was good:
- To serve others through volunteering
- To attend a class
- To go to a meeting
- To meet an old friend who needed advice
But because of those decisions we did something that was not God honoring...
We were unfaithful to God and to each other with our time…
We had forgotten that the command to love one another starts with the person closest to you…
John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
3 thoughts on “Unfaithful to My Wife? Unfaithful to God?”
Sorry, I respectfully disagree that you were unfaithful–from my own perspective. Perhaps you were unfaithful–if you feel you were disobedient, then you were. But my husband and I could have a week like that and, secure in our relationship, feel no guilt. What do you think?
I agree with what you are saying… it’s not a matter of guilt…As I say in the story, my wife and I both laughed about it… and yes we all have weeks like that. I just know that I have to be careful or my individual choices, made one at a time end up changing who or what I am actually being faithful to. For instance, it’s sometimes easier for me to be faithful to the ways in which I serve God than it is to be faithful to God Himself. Thanks so much for your comment!
Things happen. Christians need to be flexible. A loving spouse understands.