FOUNDATION
He told me that Jesus screws up everything.
My husband had been on his own journey during those 24 hours and when I met up with him the next day in the presence of our associate pastor and his wife, Chad said he had to forgive me.
He must.
Because Christ had forgiven him of so much. He wasn’t that different than I was, in his words, and that we all equally were in need of forgiveness. In his opinion, he didn’t want to forgive me but he had to. For the love of Christ, he forgave me. And he did so fully. And he still loved me even though I’d hurt him and ruined everything so desperately. Jesus in the mix screwed up his desire to hate me, to hold a grudge, to be bitter.
Each day that passed I realized my own sinfulness more, understood God’s grace more and embarked on a campaign to clean my own mind of images that used to comfort but now haunted me. I never defended my own actions. From the beginning I understood how my own poor choices and pride had resulted in this affair.
I was done with my old self. I removed phone numbers from my phone, took pages out of my address book and deleted emails and voicemail messages. I began to try to erase all that had gone before. And God softened the hard places of my heart and brought me close.
And together as a couple we made some serious choices. Our marriage had been diseased from the start and we were beginning to realize the gravity of that. We poured out all of our alcohol and threw out all of the questionable movies we owned. We cut off our cable and went without television for the next two years. We existed in an almost monk-like state for as long as it took to heal the relationship that I/we had destroyed.
The foundation that our family-house was built upon wasn’t solid. It never had been. So metaphorically speaking, we had to tear down the walls and start over.
We immediately began attending crisis marriage counseling.
And then I fell in absolute, head-over, crazy love with this man, my husband. Different and deeper than when I was 18. It was a love that had been matured, beaten, broken and mended and it was better than it had ever been before.
I started to let my husband lead and he rose happily to meet that. I backed off and practiced God-designed submission in the marriage relationship. I started letting him make decisions and gave my own opinion when he asked for it. And he asked for it a lot.
And it was so freeing.
I read through the Bible that first year. Cover to cover, Genesis through Revelation. Knowledge and spiritual gifts, that I’d suppressed for years, began to flood back to me. God hadn’t left me, he’d just let me walk away or a long time. But he hadn’t abandoned me.
We created boundaries in our relationship where we’d never had them before. I am never alone with men. Ever. And I tell him everything not because he asks but because I want to.
There were times when he wanted to know details of the actual affair. And I told him all he wanted to know. That eventually subsided because anything he asked and anything I told him tortured the both of us. Him because any more details just hurt him more during a time he was trying to heal, and me because I was trying to forget it all. Trying to remember details just brought up everything I was attempting to forget.
The next months and years were hard, excruciatingly so at times.
But I was still a wife, his wife. And he still wanted me, amazingly. I was still a mother. My daughter still loved me. And I was still willing to do anything with my whole heart to fight for my family.
** ** **
I’m writing my book about this. There’s more. SO MUCH MORE.
Miracles. Healings. Protection. Intimacy. Love. Renewal.
But I can say that it has been more than 5 ½ years since January 4, 2004. It has been 5 ½ years of restoration, God’s provision, hard work, tears.
Chad has never thrown it back in my face during an argument.
He’s never brought it up again. And I have remained absolutely faithful.
We rarely talk about it. But when we do, it’s with forgiveness and grace and amazement about the power of God.
Know that I am the same woman who had an affair, and at the same time I am completely new. I am the living proof of the grace of God.
I am the woman in the dust who was caught in adultery. I was given grace when Jesus spoke directly to me and told me to go and be different. So I did.
He called me
Loved.
Saved.
Restored.
And these are my new names.
Maybe you hate me. I understand if you do.
But maybe you don’t. Maybe you see yourself in me. Maybe you recognize warning signs in your own marriage. Maybe you are here reading this for a reason. Maybe you love knowing that one more person is new in Christ. Maybe this is you and you can’t stop. Maybe you need to stop what you are doing and get help. Maybe you need to confess.
Maybe you understand God’s grace just a little more.
[From the beginning, read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4]
Photo by Misty Matz
Tags: adultery, forgivness, grace, marriage, My New Name, my story
Hi Sarah,
My name is Ursula (HeyUrs on Live Journal and I can’t remember how I got to you. I think it was through my friend Samantha (JoyfullyHis on Live Journal). This has been a most amazing read and I’d like to read and know more. Did you finish your book? How can I get a copy? I am in awe of your incredible honesty and drive. Bless you!
I hope we can become blog friends, if there is time in your life.
Thanks for sharing!
Ursula
hi ursula. thank you so much for leaving a comment. no i have not finished my book yet. i’m sure there will be a big to-do on my blog if/when that one ever gets done. thank you for asking!
sarah
Wow, what a powerful story of God’s ultimate redemption and grace!
Wow. Just wow. Thank you for sharing.
Sarah:
Thank you for sharing this. My husband had an affair in February and we have been working on our marriage. I have read “My New Name” several times and I really hope that you will finish your book.
I turn to your story when I am feeling frustrated and especially when I find myself thinking I want details of what happened. My biggest thing is struggling with feeling like I must not be good enough for him or he wouldn’t have done what he did… Anyway, I am still struggling with so many emotions that this affair has caused and I just want to thank you for sharing your story!
Thank you Sarah! I came across your story through Lisa Leonard’s blog. I watched the video and read your story and just cried. I feel like I’m reading God’s story for my own marriage, but just opposite characters. My husband told me of his prior unfaithfulness in December and God showed up! He showed me of my need to give grace and has given my husband a new name as well. Thank you for being open and sharing what God is doing in your life!
Thank you Sarah. My husband wanted me to come here for a long time. I’m here now and God is good. Very, very good.
Hi Sarah, I guess I am Chad. So many things you shared sound just like my marriage. But my wife is still out there and we have 4 children. The Lord has been very clear with me that she will return. But the wait is HARD! Your story gives me hope and understanding. It helps me understand how my wife could have an affair even though I tried so hard to love her and be the perfect (but of course terribly flawed) husband. Your story also helps me understand how to forgive my wife. Tell Chad I say thank you for that. This has been the hardest time of my life, but I’m so close to God as a result that I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I too am writing a book… “Don’t Give Up” is the working title.
Thank you a million times for your story!
Tony
Hi there Tony, you are an amazing guy by/with/in JESUS’ NAME to Him be all the glory. Do exactly what Jesus would do in thought, word & deed, I know what ur thinking easier said than done, but man i’ve been there too! I would love to share & be ur pal? Pls reply
Wow, fantastic blog format! How lengthy have you ever been running a blog for? you make blogging glance easy. The entire look of your web site is excellent, let alone the content!
Hey Sarah,
Thank you for being so honest and REAL. So many people you can touch lives for sharing your story–and by any means I’m sure it has been a tough journey to be an open book. This really brought me to tears!! Made me realize how I need to be more serious in being more of a submissive wife, and become more like Jesus. Thanks for your honesty. You are such a beautiful woman, inside and out. God IS good!
Kelly
You’re in reality a good webmaster. The web site loading velocity is incredible. It seems that you are doing any unique trick. Also, The contents are masterwork. you’ve done a great task in this subject!
Hawaiian Massage…
[...]My New Name – Part 5 | Sarah Markley[...]…
WOW, your story and Chad’s….amazing testimony of HIS restoration. I have never cheated, but we both (my husband and I )have struggled with dangerous vices online, which can be just as dangerous as a real live affair.
the hope of falling in love, like never before is what i need. my husband is all that I ever asked God for and still there is longing for more. the days when i walk in complete trust and awe of what God has given us are our best days. may i never take HIS love or that of my husband’s for granted.
blessings and thanks for your bravery in writing this part of your story!