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Moments Together for Couples 1/26
by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
The day Gary Rosberg became "Doctor Rosberg" was, in his words, "the most hollow day of my entire life." For years he had studied for his degree in counseling, but he had nearly lost his wife and two children in the process. Lying in bed one night, he asked his wife Barbara what, to him, was the "most frightening question" of his life: "Can I come home?"
Her response was, "Gary, we love you, we want you, we need you, but we don't know you."
From that point on, Gary resolved to become the husband and father God wanted him to be. As he and Barbara sat in our "FamilyLife Today" radio studio 12 years later and told me this story, I asked Barbara how she felt lying there at night listening to, essentially, the voice of a stranger.
"He was always home in my heart, even though he wasn't home physically," she said. "The door of my heart never closed throughout the hard times, throughout his absence."
Knowing many women in our audience face similar circumstances, I asked, "But with money being tight, with the pressures of two children, and running a household by yourself, did you ever want to quit?"
She didn't hesitate with her answer. "No, I loved him. He is everything to me. Yes, I needed him to change those patterns of lifestyle. But when I took those vows on our wedding day I meant it. I stand before God in my commitment to Gary."
Gary used Proverbs 4:23 (above) as the basis for his book for men titled Guard Your Heart. But listening to Barbara talk, I realized the key role she had played as a fortress of commitment during those difficult years. God had used her and her prayers to help guard Gary's heart when he wasn't protecting it himself.
That God would give you the strength to give up those things which keep you from your priorities.
Discuss: Against what forces do you need to guard your heart? What tends to pull you away from your commitment to God and your family?
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