the tears o f the unwanted, mis placed child, the horror and gloom could be called to witness in the divorce courts, no child would again have to walk the dreadful road that starts with the signing of those final papers in the di vorce courts. Instead, the tears would become your own and in the valley you would realize that the ones who suffer in divorce and remarriage are the innocent children. Thank God, in my struggles through that darkness I met the Saviour and slowly—very slowly —began to live again. Since that time I have married, and at one time it seemed that I would fail as my parents had. But through sacrifice and love I was able to prove that marriage can be made to last. My wonderful husband and lovely children are my re ward after having, as Job, drunk scourging like water. Many will say, “But my case is different.” I contend that every marriage can be made to last if either husband or wife will fight to that end. Mine did not succeed overnight, but every effort proved worth while for, through sacrifice of my own feelings, I brought out qualities in my husband that I had not known existed. God alone knows the joys I now reap for every battle I fought —with my self — instead o f with my hus band. I had to learn to give when I would rather take, to smile when my heart rebelled, and to hold my peace and let God speak for me. But it was worth all its cost when compared with the reward—one o f the most happy marriages in the world. From experience I know di vorce is not the answer; sacrifice is. You who contemplate divorce, I beg o f you, remember me. Hold that child of yours in your arms more closely, and in pity spare him that which I have had to en dure and can never forget. Reprinted from The Pe n t e c o s t a l Evangel, with permission; copyright 1962.
I had returned, but he found to his sorrow that it was not the same little girl who had come back. Shock and grief had caused youth to flee, and with it had gone laughter and joy. He tried, but was not able to save me from the depths o f de spair to which I sank. I wept until tears no longer came. Many pitied but there was no healing for my wounded heart. When we heard that Mother had remarried, great bitterness possessed me. Grief had so eaten away o f my life that I became hard and rebellious. The faith that my mother had de stroyed caused me to lose confi dence in everyone, even my fa ther, and I felt that everyone was against me. Nothing mattered anymore. When Daddy corrected me, I thought that he too had turned against me, and I rebelled under his authority. I left him and stayed with any one who would have me. Later, harsh circumstances compelled me to go back to my mother and her husband. I must have been a shadow of the past to them, and I lived with the stinging reality that I was not wanted. Yet every fiber of my be ing craved to be loved. Violent ar guments—a war o f hate—began between me and the intruder. Strain began to show on Mother’s face and in my misery I found secret consolation in the faet. My strained emotions became a phys ical illness, for the human system can be overtaxed just so long be fore something breaks. Clouds of gloom settled over me; night mares caused me to run scream ing through the house. I suffered cruelly and, being alone most of the time, actually developed a fear of people. I succumbed completely to shattered nerves. I wish I could take the hand o f every parent harboring the thought o f divorce, and lead you back with me into the valley through which I have come. If the hurt of an innocent child’s heart, the bitter shock o f a tender life,
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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