After my husband’s brother spoke so harshly to me, I had a lot of praying to do.

I wasn’t sure if I should tell my husband or not. I had to give up the hurt and ask God to help me to forgive.

I finally did feel that I should tell my husband. He reacted in anger that his brother would treat me like that.

However, a couple days later, when he called he said, “I was angry at first. But really? I think it’s so sad that he is like that. I need to pray for him.”

That was a wonderful evidence of God’s working in my husband’s life.

My husband began to write a letter to all of his siblings. His family is quite large. He wrote asking them to forgive him for his actions and any hurt he has caused them. He told them that when he comes home, he will repay anyone anything that he owes them. He spoke of the hurt he has caused myself and our son.

He sent me a copy and I thought it was a sweet letter full of love and a desire to reach out and make things right with his family.

He received a letter from one of his sisters. She wrote how much she loved him. How she knows we all sin and can change. She said she accepts his apology and loves him very much.

He was so happy to hear from one of them. Her letter started rubbing salve on his wounded heart.

His Dad sent him a letter too. “You have to stop it. No one thinks badly of you. We love you.”

My husband and his father made a lot of repairs in their relationship through this trial in our lives. Lee said that he had waited his entire life to hear his Dad say, “I love you.” As a result of this incarceration and the subsequent “unfair” happenings, his father told Lee how much he loved him and how proud he is of him.

You can imagine that the part of my husband’s heart that was still a wounded little boy healed tremendously to hear his father’s words of love.

At the end of last week, Lee received a letter from one of his older brothers. He read it to me over the phone and I wept.

It was a beautiful letter full of a big brother’s memories of his little brother. Walks, playing ball, exploring the world. He asked Lee to forgive him for not writing sooner and being more available.

He expressed how much he loves Lee and how he’s not ashamed to have him as a part of his family. He offered to be available for any help  Lee needs when he comes home.

The brother that dumped his hatefulness on me hasn’t been heard from, but that’s ok. My husband has begun to realize that the angry words of one brother do not equal the feelings of the whole family.

Lee said, “All these years, I thought everyone hated me. They don’t. It’s so nice to hear that they love me.”

Lee is finding true love and acceptance from many of his family members, from me, from our pastor, from God.

His being able to finally see how very loved he is has helped many of his hurts to being to heal.

Please pray for him to see God’s love in very real ways. Also please pray for these relationships that need to either be restored or nurtured.

Filed under: Encouragement, Family | 6 Thoughts Shared »