Abandoned by not forgotten

                                         Do you ever feel abandoned? How do you deal with that emotion?

Years ago my husband and I were having marriage problems. We had just moved 100 miles from our families and our hometown with his new job and were hoping to get a fresh start on our marriage. 

We moved to a wonderful neighborhood with other families who had young children and things were looking up for us. We had made some new friends, were meeting our new neighbors and had a bright future.

Shortly after the move, however, my husband had a difficult time letting go of the past and some ties he had to our former hometown. He often picked a fight with me on the weekend which gave him an excuse to head back home leaving the children and myself to fend for ourselves. At that point in time, I didn't even have a car and I felt totally helpless.

Being abandoned by my husband, living in a new town and trying to keep things as normal as possible for my children created much fear within me. Although I had faith, I felt like the man who asked Jesus to help him in his unbelief. I cried out to God and to everyone who would listen asking for help. Many of my new neighbors did what they could to help and my family listened to my cries long distance. I know many prayers were offered for my children and myself.

Going through that period of abandonment was a new experience for me. My life had been relatively trouble-free up to that time. I learned through the experience that although God is always with us providing for our needs, He often surrounds us with people who will help us. The key is for us to ask Him for the wisdom to know where to go for help and who we can trust to help us. We often need to rely on the kindness of strangers and God is the one who puts them in our pathway.

God has restored my marriage and the abandonment is just a memory, but when I see other people in need, I am more compassionate with them because of my own experience.