The Breaking Point (47 page)

He always has been. He always will be.

The books listed below are those that Don and I have found to be especially helpful, truthful, and effective both as we dealt with the challenges we faced and for strengthening our bond. Of course, the most vital resource you have is God’s Word: the Bible. If you could read only one book, that is the one we both suggest. These books are offered as a supplement.

Sacred Marriage
by Gary Thomas (Zondervan Publishing). This is the best book either of us has read concerning a godly marriage. When I saw the subtitle—
What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More than to Make Us Happy?
—I knew I had to buy it. Thomas has a wonderful way of sharing truth to encourage, challenge, convict, and refine you. We strongly recommend this book.

The Five Love Languages
by Gary Chapman (Northfield Press). A powerful tool for helping couples understand effective communication. We worked on these kinds of things in counseling, but reading this book helped me understand why it’s so important to learn your spouse’s “love language.” Especially if you’re in a relationship, as Don and I are, with someone who is your polar opposite.

The Joy of Listening to God
and
Marriage on the Mend
, both by Joyce Huggett (InterVarsity Press). I’d recommend that anyone, married or single, read the first book. But married people especially need to be reminded of the importance of being silent before God, listening to Him, and building a strong relationship with Him. The second book is a wonderful testimony to God’s restorative power in broken relationships.

Streams in the Desert
, by L. B. Cowman (updated edition, edited by James Reimann; Zondervan Publishing). Powerful truths from those who have traveled the path before us. This
was an anchor for me during terrible times and a reminder during good times. It points your attention directly where it should be: to the only One who can help and heal—God Almighty.

1. Scripture speaks often of the dangers of idols and idolatry. Consider 1 Samuel 15:22-23; Psalm 78:56-59; Isaiah 44:9-11; Habakkuk 2:18-20. But idolatry is more than just worshiping a false image of God. Read Colossians 3:5 and Ephesians 5:5. For Renee, having a marriage similar to her parents’ was so important it became an idol, something she focused on rather than looking to God. Is there anything in your life that could become an idol, a barrier between you and God? What can you do about it? When is it time to let go of a dream?
   

2. Renee struggled with unanswered prayer, both in relationship to her marriage and to having a baby. These things were not selfish or wrong desires. Why would God keep such blessings from a child of His?
   

3. How do you reconcile such Scriptures as Matthew 11:7, Luke 11:9, and John 14:13 with what seems in your own life to be unanswered prayers?
   

4. What gives you a sense of fulfillment in your life? Where should you look to have your needs met? Why can’t other people fully meet your needs? How can you rely on God rather than other people to meet your needs and give you a sense of being complete? What does it mean to really believe that God is sufficient?
   

5. What is the worst part about making a poor or careless decision? Have you ever made a decision without seeking God’s counsel? What were the consequences? Has God used that situation to teach or refine you or your faith? How?
   

6. How can you be sure you’re making decisions that are wise and godly? Consider 1 Kings 22:5; Psalm 16:7; Proverbs 3:5-26, 13:20, 15:22; John 14:16; Titus 2:4-8. To whom do you go for counsel when you need to make a wise decision? How do you keep yourself accountable for the decisions you make?
   

7. What do you believe is God’s purpose in marriage? What are we, as believers, to learn from marriage? What is your individual call as a wife or husband?
   

8. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Romans 5:3-5; Romans 8:17-32. What is the “fellowship of suffering,” and what does it mean to you? How does going through your own suffering enable you to minister to others who suffer?
   

9. Renee and Gabe’s struggle lasted for years. Many people would have given up on such a relationship, looking instead for happiness elsewhere. What kept Renee and Gabe from walking away? Have you ever faced a long-term struggle in your own life or marriage? How can you stay faithful to God’s call when it seems as though a struggle lasts for a long time, when you’re in what feels like an emotional wasteland?
   

10. So many people today talk about their “rights,” about what they “deserve.” What does Scripture have to say about that? (Consider Galatians 5:13-15; Philippians 2:3-11.) What does it mean to be a servant in your relationships and, specifically, in your marriage?
    

11. In light of Romans 12:1-3, 9-10, and 16-21, what sacrifices is God calling each of us to make, and why?
    

12. Many of us wrestle with the reality that life often doesn’t turn out like we thought it would. Our dreams and plans too often go awry. Why is life so full of struggles and conflicts? Doesn’t God want us to be happy? Hasn’t He promised us a life that is peaceful and joyful? How do our struggles fit in with that promise?
    

13. Though they faced many painful moments, Renee and Gabe did have times of joy and laughter. Read Romans 5:1-5, 12:12; James 1:2-4, 19-27. How can you find joy in the face of trials?
    

14. Gabe’s greatest challenge was letting go of the lies planted deep in his heart during his childhood and embracing God’s love and truth. How can you overcome a difficult past, turn your hurts over to God, and open yourself to His love and plans for you?
    

Three Novella-Sized Escapades in One Hilarious Anthology!

Warning: Laughter ahead! Liz Curtis Higgs delivers again with “Fine Print,” where a businessman and the speech coach he’s hired have no idea there are matchmakers at work on their behalf! Her novella is part of a delightful triple-header in
Three Weddings and a Giggle.
The “giggle” comes from Carolyn Zane, whose “Sweet Chariot” drops readers in on two little old ladies who purchase a motor home sight unseen, then drag their adult grandchildren along for cross-country antics. In Karen Ball’s “Bride on the Run,” an heiress defies her father’s demand that she marry a man she doesn’t love. If only she hadn’t waited until her wedding day to do so! So it’s out the window, down the rose trellis … and headlong into one escapade after another. Thoroughly fun!

ISBN 1-57673-656-3

Love and Faith—Pushed to the Limits

This rerelease of Karen Ball’s first romance novel tells the story of a young widow who learns to love again. Taylor Sorensen has a secret: There are wolves on her ranch. Taylor’s new ranch hand, Connor Alexander, has a secret, too: He’s a wildlife biologist who’s been sent to find out if, after sixty years, wolves have returned to Wyoming. Caught in a fierce battle against angry ranchers and centuries of superstition, Taylor and Connor are drawn together by their desire to protect these wild, majestic animals. What they don’t know is that there’s someone else out there who hates the wolves—someone who’s as determined to get rid of them as Taylor and Connor are to protect them.

ISBN 1-57673-597-4

“Reunion
is a wonderful story of love, forgiveness, and stewardship over the world God has given us.”

—F
RANCINE
R
IVERS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF
R
EDEEMING
L
OVE

T
aylor couldn’t remember a spring this hot in years. She shifted in the saddle, pulled her hat off, and fanned herself. What a rotten day.

You’d better appreciate this, Josh.
She urged Topaz forward. If any horse could make it to Reunion in this blistering heat, it was her buckskin.

Taylor breathed a small sigh when they reached the top. Now there was only the descent left. Tricky, but nothing they hadn’t done hundreds of times.

Never for this reason.
The thought came unbidden, unwelcome…and images flooded her mind. She saw her husband standing at the bottom of the steep path, the picture of rugged masculinity. His electric blue eyes laughed up at her; his gaze was warm and aware as he reached up. She slid from the saddle into his embrace …

A sudden jerk startled her. Topaz whinnied once, and then Taylor was airborne. She landed with a thud on the rocky ground, then lay still. Was anything broken? With slow care, she pushed herself into a sitting position, then eased to her feet, feeling the anger rising again. “If you weren’t already dead, Josh …”

She bit off the rest of the words, then straightened her shoulders and looked around. The beauty of the valley never failed to stir her. No one would ever imagine it was here, nestled as it was in a rocky outcropping. She’d found it when she was a teen, exploring her parents’ Wyoming ranch. She hadn’t told anyone about it.

Until Josh.

They had met in college and married six months later. Josh brought her love and laughter and the certainty that life was good.

Or at least, it used to be.

All that changed on the youth group trip.

Josh loved those trips. He loved the kids, the adventure, sharing his faith. He took every experience by the horns and rode it into the ground. It was what made him a favorite with the kids.

It was what got him killed.

Pushing her thoughts away, Taylor went to reach into her saddlebag. Her hand closed around the cool ceramic container.

Josh’s ashes.

“If anything happens to me, will you bring my ashes here?”
he’d asked her on one of their last visits to the valley.
“I like the idea of being a part of this place, this beauty. Besides, that way we’ll always be together, Taylor.”

At the time it had been a nice sentiment. Now it was reality. Undeniable, dreadful reality.

Summoning every ounce of determination, she moved to the small lake at the center of the valley.

What good does it do to let someone in, Lord? I trusted Josh, and he risked it all …
She hugged the ceramic container.
How do
I
live without him?

Silence answered her, bringing a wretchedness of mind and spirit she’d never known. Icy fingers seeped into every pore, leaving something deep within her—some part that had been vital and living—brittle, ready to shatter.

Taylor turned the container upside down. The ashes spilled out with a slight
whoosh
, and she smiled through her tears. Even in death Josh was in a hurry.

Then she sank to the ground and surrendered to the grief she’d been wrestling for the last six months.

It was dusk when Taylor lifted her head. Wasn’t crying healthy, cathartic, the beginning of healing? So why didn’t she feel better? Maybe some pain went so deep that even tears couldn’t touch it.

She stared across the pool … and froze. She was being watched.

There, at the edge of the rock face, sat a wolf.

There weren’t any wolves in Wyoming! Hadn’t been for sixty years.
So this is what it’s like to go crazy.
She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them.

The wolf sat there, head held high, ears perked, amber gaze fixed on her—clearly unaware his presence was an impossibility.

Taylor shifted, and the wolf crouched, ready to flee. She froze, and after a moment he seemed to relax. His haunting, penetrating eyes glittered with intelligence.

His demeanor was positively aristocratic; he gave the impression of a sovereign surveying his domain—and one of his subjects. His coat—a study of light grays, browns, and flecks of black—was so thick and luxurious that Taylor’s fingers itched to touch him, to bury themselves in what promised to be remarkable softness. For all that it was watchful, the look on his gray face was disarmingly sweet. She had the distinct impression that he found her fascinating.

A quick and disturbing thought coursed though her. Was this majestic beast looking at her with such interest not out of curiosity, but because she was a threat? Or an enemy?