My Husband’s Marriage Is Fine, but Mine Isn’t: Patience and Trust in God: the Key to a Fulfilling Life

By Aretha S. Larsen

When Sarah married Robert, he promised he would never leave her. There was a time when they were happy and thoroughly enjoyed each others company. But Robert lied. He left swiftly, like a thief in the night, with no trace or clues, to live with another woman. Sarah had thought she and Robert would spend the rest of their lives together.

A Christian novel of rebuilding trust and fidelity, My Husbands Marriage is Fine, but Mine Isnt, tells Sarahs story, a story of a woman who loved her husband more than her own life. She expected him to make her happy and when the promises were shattered she became dejected, depressed, and despondent in the relationship. In fact, she was broken.

But with faith and Gods intervention, she became strong and resilient in the midst of her crumbling marriage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Oct 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532030857

Aretha S. Larsen

Aretha S. Larsen, an inspirational speaker, is the president and founder of the Larsen Consulting Group and developer of the Women’s H.U.B.B. (Helping Us Build Balance) program. Her no-nonsense straight forward approach has earned her a reputation as a results-getter. Aretha’s purpose and passion lies in helping women of all ages launch themselves through long-lasting life changing situations by teaching them to recognize their quality and appreciate their value. She’s a wife and a mother who regularly attends church at Redeeming Life Ministries International.

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Copyright © 2017 Aretha S. Larsen.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-3084-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3085-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017915100

iUniverse rev. date: 09/30/2017

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Introduction

THEY SAY GOD is love. I’d say that’s true. The love of God is what keeps us going. He loves us so much that he created us in pairs. The man is to cater to the woman, while the woman is to be a helpmate to the man. He perfected his creations, such that we carry out different activities on our own. This beautiful world is a gift to us all, which we seem to have forgotten. We fail to understand the meaning God has given to this life—to love, bear children, and worship Him. God tests us all in our relationships, work, health, and so forth. But only the strong believers will see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This is the story of a woman who loved her husband more than her own life. She became dejected, depressed, and despondent in this relationship. In fact, she was broken. But with God’s intervention, she became strong and resilient in the midst of her crumbling marriage.

1

IT WAS WINTER and very early in the morning; everything was covered with snow. Sarah was sitting all alone in the corridor, looking very sad and depressed. Her life had become miserable, and she always felt it would be over in the blink of an eye, but every breath seemed not to be her last. All she was thinking about was her husband, who she’d thought would never leave her. But she was wrong.

Robert left swiftly, like a thief in the night, with no trace or clues. Sarah had always thought they would spend the rest of their lives together. She remembered all the promises Robert had made. I love you, and I will never leave you, Robert would say every now and then. Every time she thought about the empty promises, she cried even more. Every time she closed her eyes, the only thing she saw were flashbacks. The more she thought about this, the weaker she became, especially in her battle with insomnia.

Where did it go wrong? she pondered as the tears again started trickling down her face.

It had been about eight years ago when Sarah met Robert. She had traveled back home during the winter holiday to celebrate the popular festival in her town. Her friends had come to visit and ask her to go out to have a nice time. She got dressed and asked her mom for some money, and they all went out. Sarah was the shy type, always trying to avoid people as much as possible. As they moved along, one of her friends suddenly said she would like to pick up someone nearby, yet Sarah felt reluctant about this. She told the girls that it wasn’t part of what they had planned. The girls patted Sarah’s back to calm her and said, You will love to meet the boys.

Sarah became furious, as she had just wanted to be with the girls and avoid the boys as much as possible. But she didn’t have much of a choice, and so they kept going.

When they got to the boys’ house, they were nicely asked to sit. Sarah sat hesitantly on the sofa and looked all around. Each was offered a drink by one of the boys. Sarah was visibly shy and started drinking; it was the first time she had taken something in an unknown house. While she was still fuming at her friends for ruining their plans, a tall, dark, and muscular guy entered the room—and they soon connected. Sarah looked at him once and couldn’t help looking again. As the young man walked into the room, he told them it was time to start rolling.

They all stood up and went out to get a cab. They started gossiping in the cab. Sarah was listening and watching, and suddenly her cell phone rang. It was her mother on the phone. She nervously picked up.

Don’t come home late, her mother said.

Don’t worry, Mother. I will be back early, she replied.

They finally arrived at the park where the festival was being held and started talking a little. The festival was interesting, and Sarah could not hide the joy on her face. They were all talking, gossiping, and laughing. It was a night to remember for every one of them.

By then, the young man, whose name was Robert, was already into Sarah. He had asked one of the other girls to introduce him to her. The girl did, and they started talking. At the end of the night, Sarah and Robert exchanged contact information, and they all went back home.

A few weeks later, Sarah and Robert started talking on the phone; sometimes it went through the night. Their friendship was getting deeper, and they were becoming very serious. She’d never had a male friend she liked that well. Robert was her first male friend. There was a time Robert came to visit her and they played and joked together all day. They always looked forward to seeing each other the next day. It became so natural and lovely. She’d always thought she wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation because of her seemingly introverted nature, but this relationship was different.

Some days later, they met for dinner at Forks and Finger. During the course of the conversation, Robert dropped the bombshell.

You know … Ever since I met you, I knew you were the one. You ripped my heart open and touched my veins. I love you, beautiful.

Sarah was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say.

Gently, Robert asked her, Will you be the love of my life?

Sarah was held spellbound and didn’t know what the answer to the question would be.

Don’t worry. I will give you time to think about it, Robert said.

A few weeks later, he asked her the same question again. Sarah, do you love me? Robert asked.

Yes, I love you, she whispered.

The excitement was heavenly. They hugged and kissed each other and began what looked like a match made in heaven.

Throughout summer, Sarah’s mom noticed the change in her movements but kept quiet. Sarah would come home during the holidays to spend quality time with Robert. They loved each other so much that they lost cognizance of time whenever they were together.

One fateful day, Sarah’s mom called her to warn her about Robert. Are you thinking of marrying him? she asked.

Yes, I am, she replied.

Her mom became angry and warned