My husband and I had a happy union for over 40 years. We supported each other's growth Spiritward by constantly deepening our understanding of God. So it was especially hard for me when, after his passing, someone told me that now I no longer had a husband. It's true he is no longer present here, but all the beauty we had together continues. As friends remind me, love has no bounds, no separation, no end.
I'm glad now for an experience that happened a few months after we married. My husband, as president of a group, was chairing a meeting that I was attending. Before he could even begin, however, a member of the group moved to impeach the president. My husband didn't react. He told me later that he felt detached from the attack, even though the barbs were aimed at him. And sure enough, because he stayed with the spiritual fact that the situation was under divine control, the barbs didn't stick to him. Instead, peace reigned, and productive action proceeded. We witnessed right in that meeting something of this promise from Isaiah: "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree...." Isa. 55:13.
I can't claim to have had quite such a stellar response, however. Feeling protective of my husband, I did react. I didn't speak up, but I felt angry and hurt. In the end, though, I learned a lot that night. Besides providing me a lesson in not reacting, the experience launched me into an ongoing study of another statement from Isaiah: "Thy Maker is thine husband." Isa. 54:5. My growing understanding of that truth is helping me now more than ever, as once again I witness the promise fulfilled that "instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree."
