Sometime before they celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary, a very dear friend signified her strong desire to separate from her husband. That shocked me and for a brief moment, my brain cells just froze. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe!
In between sobs, she narrated that her husband was having an affair and this wasn’t the first time. Then she asked me: “How many times should I forgive him?”
Let’s call my friend G and her husband B.
When my breathing went back to normal, that’s when I began to express my temporarily suspended thoughts. I told her: “I know how much you loved each other deeply before you got married. You were best buddies and sweethearts since God knows when. Did B tell you that he doesn’t love you anymore and that he chooses his mistress over you and your family? OR did he ask for forgiveness and promised not to go astray again?”
As I have predicted, B did beg for forgiveness and swore not to do it ever again. But my friend G refused to believe him. She desperately wanted him out of her life. For good.
When I firmly told her that she should not give up on him, she couldn’t understand why I would advise her to do that when I, myself, left my husband. Duh? She somewhat implied that I could be suffering from selective amnesia.
I pointed out to her that my marriage was entirely different from hers.
For starters, G and B truly loved each other when they got married. I married my EX because I loved him and he married me for various reasons except true love. For the record, his womanizing was the least of my worries. My personal 101-page Judicial Affidavit submitted to Family Court can fully attest to that. In meticulous detail. My Petition for Marriage Annulment was granted not because of his recurring multiple extramarital affairs.
After careful discernment, God gave my friend the grace to forgive her husband. Their unselfish love for each other was put to the ultimate test and they emerged triumphant. True love after all, conquers all!
I just love happy endings!
