I was astounded at the 180 degree turn in my life. I was truly a new creation in Christ and the past was behind me. Suddenly I had a voracious appetite for reading the Bible and all things Spiritual. I found a Christian Radio station that aired music and programs that filled me with inspiration.
The Lord filled my life with all new friends since I had nothing in common with my former friends. I joined several Bible studies: one during work lunch break once a week: one on Tuesday evenings, and another on Saturday nights.
After six months in the school of Christ, He began to speak to me about Forgiving my ex-husband. I really had trouble with that until someone explained to me that I didn't have to 'feel' the forgiveness since it's an act of the will. I only had to will to forgive in obedience to Jesus' teachings.
Next thing I knew, the Lord was prompting me to move toward reconciliation! At first I resisted the idea. I said "Thanks, Lord, but no thanks." Then one weekend, while attending a "Basic Youth Conflicts" Seminar with 3 of my children, the leader, Bill Gothard taught that marriage vows should never be broken as these vows are made to God as well as to each other. He advised that if a person has divorced but not re-married, they should seek to reconcile and honor their vows. Of course, as a former Catholic, that's exactly what I was taught, but I had gone far afield of everything I was taught and it would be several more years before before I picked up the threads of all the dropped stitches in my life and began to hunger for the Sacraments. That came later.
The children were excited about the possibility of the reconciliation. After much prayer, we decided that all four of us would go and propose marriage; and so we did. It wasn't a far-fetched idea since the divorce was not a hostile one. We always celebrated birthdays and Holidays as family in spite of our differences. I fully expected my ex to accept the proposal - but he was reticent. It wasn't a very romantic visit. We were asking him to make a serious decision. But six months later, after many family 'dates' and much discussion, he agreed to re-commit to the marriage.
He was not willing, however to go through a marriage ceremony, since in the eyes of God and the Church we were still married. But legally we weren't, so he relented. We took our vows in a private ceremony with only the Minister and our two witnesses present. My new life now took a fresh direction. It was an extreme change for the entire family.
