It Is Written

Happily Ever After?

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW019208S


00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:21 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me.
00:23 Everybody has dreams, and we like to think
00:26 that our dreams come true, but they don't always.
00:29 What happens when you have dreams, big dreams, life goals,
00:33 and those dreams come crashing down around you?
00:37 And when they do, what then?
00:39 Is God able to give back to you what was taken away?
00:43 My special guest today is Juliet Van Heerden.
00:46 She is an author, public speaker.
00:48 She is a teacher and the wife of a pastor.
00:51 Juliet's story is a story experienced by many people
00:56 all around the world.
00:57 Juliet, thanks for joining me today and sharing your story.
00:59 I appreciate you being here.
01:01 >>Juliet Van Heerden: Thank you for the invitation.
01:02 >>John: Hey, let's go back to about where you think
01:06 the beginning is.
01:07 Where does your story-- it's a fascinating story;
01:09 it's a moving story, a very powerful story,
01:12 and a story that's going to impact a lot of lives
01:15 as you share it.
01:16 So where does this story begin?
01:18 >>Juliet: I grew up in a Christian, um, family,
01:21 Christian home.
01:22 My mom is a very, um, devout Christian woman.
01:26 But I am the product of divorce,
01:29 and my parents divorced when I was four.
01:32 And then when I was 14, um, there was another divorce.
01:36 And so I was a child who experienced the feelings
01:40 of abandonment and the idea that happily ever after
01:47 doesn't always turn out that way.
01:49 And I made a vow to myself as a child
01:52 that I would never get divorced.
01:56 And I didn't want that legacy,
01:58 and that was a promise that I made to myself
02:02 and really ended up trying very hard to keep.
02:05 >>John: So, as you were journeying through life
02:09 towards the fulfillment of all your plans and dreams,
02:12 where did that journey take you?
02:13 >>Juliet: I graduated from college,
02:17 and I thought that I was being left behind
02:20 as I was the bridesmaid in several weddings
02:23 and not the bride.
02:25 And so I feel like probably I rushed God a little bit
02:30 and pushed ahead and chose a mate for myself
02:36 that might not have been the mate
02:37 He would have chosen for me.
02:40 >>John: Walk, walk through that dynamic with me.
02:42 You got married along the way.
02:44 Tell me how that, how that came to be.
02:45 Tell me about the circumstances around your marriage.
02:48 >>Juliet: I ended up making a decision to marry a person
02:52 that I probably would not have consciously chosen,
02:58 but sometimes, as a young person, we'll make a compromise.
03:03 And I tell young people when I speak to them,
03:05 "Be careful who you date.
03:06 Be careful who you go on one date with
03:08 because that person might end up being the person
03:10 you spend the rest of your life with."
03:12 And I tell my students, "Do your homework,"
03:14 but I didn't do mine,
03:15 and I did not even know what questions to ask
03:19 a potential spouse.
03:21 I didn't, um, I just didn't research.
03:25 I took everything at face value. I was a very trusting person.
03:28 >>John: I remember saying to my fiancée,
03:32 "Check me out; do your homework.
03:35 Go and talk to the people who make up the fabric of my life."
03:38 >>Juliet: That's right.
03:39 >>John: I was scared to death when she actually did.
03:41 >>Juliet: [Laughs] Ah, but it's good.
03:44 >>John: When she did that and then said "I do"
03:46 was one of the biggest surprises of my life, but...
03:48 So that's the sort of thing you're talking about, right?
03:49 >>Juliet: Mm-hm. Accountability.
03:51 >>John: Yeah.
03:52 So how do you marry someone without really knowing them?
03:54 You did.
03:55 >>Juliet: Right. Well, I mean, you get caught up in the moment.
03:58 You, you believe a person.
04:00 You take, you take what you see at this moment,
04:03 and you don't realize that there's something
04:06 behind what you see.
04:08 So, I mean, I just felt, I felt excited that someone
04:12 was interested in me, that they, um, enjoyed
04:15 some of the same things that I enjoyed.
04:17 Yes, we had a little bit different, um, background,
04:20 but I was an optimist.
04:22 I thought that whatever wasn't just right
04:26 I could make right.
04:28 And, um, I recently heard a sermon where, uh, someone said
04:34 women need, need to not think of men as projects,
04:38 and men need to not think of women as possessions.
04:42 And, um, I think I, I like a project,
04:46 and so that might have been part of it, um,
04:50 a challenge that, you know, you can, you can change a person.
04:53 >>John: So in your experience you discovered
04:56 you can't change a person?
04:57 >>Juliet: No.
04:57 >>John: Did you try?
04:59 >>Juliet: Oh, yes.
04:59 >>John: How did you try?
05:00 >>Juliet: Mm. [Laughs ruefully] I manipulated.
05:02 I, I tried to control the person.
05:05 I tried to, um, force them into my mold.
05:08 And you can't take a person who is who they are
05:12 and try to make them someone that you want them to be.
05:15 But when I realized things weren't exactly,
05:18 um, happily ever after for me,
05:21 I, I was really trying very hard to make this person fit into,
05:25 into what I thought was the mold for a good Christian husband.
05:30 >>John: So you've got to accept some imperfections,
05:34 some limitations--right?--
05:36 >>Juliet: Of course.
05:37 >>John: ...in a person.
05:38 But there are some things you should never accept
05:41 and think that you're going to be able to change.
05:43 How do we know where that line is?
05:45 >>Juliet: Well, knowing ourselves is important,
05:48 you know, knowing, knowing what I can live with and what I,
05:52 what I can't, because no one's perfect.
05:55 I mean, I wasn't a perfect, um, spouse or a perfect person,
05:59 either, and I didn't, um, I really just,
06:03 I wasn't sure what to do with the things that I saw
06:07 that weren't right,
06:09 but I think honesty is like a core foundational, uh, piece.
06:14 If, if we have a question about a person's integrity
06:18 or about their honesty, or if we catch them in a lie
06:21 or something like that, then we really need to not brush--
06:24 I would say that to any woman-- don't brush that under the rug.
06:28 Really have your radar up.
06:29 If you get that feeling like something's fishy,
06:32 something's not right, follow through with that.
06:35 Don't ignore that.
06:36 Because if we are, if we are dealing with a person
06:39 who's not honest, then we're going to have serious problems.
06:43 >>John: Now, if you detect dishonesty
06:46 before you walk down the aisle?
06:48 >>Juliet: Run.
06:50 >>John: If you detect it after you walk down the aisle,
06:54 what do we do then?
06:56 >>Juliet: Pray.
06:58 [Laughs ruefully] It's--I experienced it.
07:01 I experienced it, shortly after I walked down the aisle.
07:06 Um, I was, I was able to catch the person in the lie.
07:11 And it was devastating.
07:13 And I really didn't know what to do.
07:15 I wanted to undo what I had done,
07:18 but remember the vow that I made to myself:
07:21 I'm never going to get divorced.
07:23 So what do I do?
07:24 Well, then you kick into this "I can change this person.
07:29 I can fix this person."
07:30 Uh, and your prayers become all about "God change this person,"
07:36 and you forget that you're also a broken person
07:41 in need of a Savior.
07:43 >>John: You say the thing to do is to pray.
07:45 >>Juliet: Yes.
07:45 >>John: But I'm certain you would advocate
07:47 some other concrete steps.
07:49 Who do you talk to?
07:50 I know it will, I know it will depend on what your spouse
07:54 is involved in.
07:55 >>Juliet: What's going on, of course.
07:56 >>John: But who are the type of people you can turn to
07:59 when you're in a marriage and you think to yourself,
08:02 "Oh, my goodness, this is not what I signed up for"?
08:04 >>Juliet: No, I would definitely find a trusted, um, friend,
08:09 counselor.
08:10 Um, I advocate for recovery groups and a support system
08:15 where, where we can be transparent
08:18 about what's really going on.
08:20 I, I wish that I had been.
08:21 If I had been honest and transparent and listened
08:24 to godly counsel, I might have made some different decisions,
08:28 but I just walled up and kept everything close to me.
08:33 >>John: How do you advise a young woman or a young man
08:36 who is staring the rest of his or her life in the face
08:39 and now realizing, uh-oh.
08:42 How do they go about extricating themselves from that?
08:46 >>Juliet: Taking a break from the intensity,
08:49 the emotional intensity of what's going on,
08:52 and sometimes if things are wrong, um, it's more intense.
08:55 There will be pressure from a person to make a quick decision:
08:59 "Let's just do this."
09:00 You know, that's when you need to raise your eyebrow and go,
09:02 "Wait a second. We don't need to rush this thing."
09:05 If it's really a solid thing and a good thing,
09:07 it will still be there.
09:09 But give yourself a moment to breathe,
09:12 to pray, to listen to people you trust,
09:16 and, um, and come back and say,
09:18 "Is this, is this true? Or is this emotion I'm riding?"
09:22 >>John: In just a moment, when we come back,
09:24 I wanna, I want to walk with you through your experience,
09:27 your experience that led to divorce,
09:29 what went wrong, what might you have done better,
09:32 and, uh, in doing so, your story's going to be a help
09:35 and a blessing to many other people.
09:37 We'll be right back with my conversation
09:39 with Juliet Van Heerden in just a moment.
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10:21 ♪[Soft piano music]♪
10:26 >>Man 1: What does the Bible say about astrology?
10:33 >>Man 2: Why do bad things happen to good people?
10:41 >>Girl: What color is Jesus?
10:44 >>John Bradshaw: If you have a question,
10:45 we'd love to find an answer
10:46 for you from the Bible.
10:48 Line Upon Line
10:48 from It Is Written TV.
10:51 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me today
10:53 on It Is Written.
10:54 I'm John Bradshaw, and my guest is public speaker, author,
10:58 and teacher Juliet Van Heerden.
11:01 Juliet, let's go back to-- we, we spoke to the issues
11:05 surrounding about, surrounding marriages and mistakes
11:08 and who to speak to and when and so on,
11:10 but let's talk about your experience.
11:12 You walk down the aisle. You said "I do."
11:14 You were the happiest girl in the world.
11:15 >>Juliet Van Heerden: I was.
11:17 And I, I thought that I was doing right because I did marry
11:20 someone who was a Christian, and, um, who had promised
11:25 to come to church, and we did pray together.
11:29 So there were, there were a lot of things that were positive
11:32 and right and good,
11:33 and we had a relationship that I felt was real.
11:38 And, um, then I started noticing that things were not always
11:44 what they seemed to be.
11:46 >>John: What did you notice that really bothered you?
11:49 >>Juliet: I call him "John."
11:50 It's not his real name, but we'll call him "John"
11:52 because I want him to be like a real person,
11:54 and, um, I'm definitely not wanting to vilify him
11:58 as a person.
11:58 >>John: Sure.
11:59 >>Juliet: He was, you know, a human being.
12:01 But when, when money wasn't accounted for,
12:06 when, uh, things didn't add up, stories didn't add up.
12:13 Uh, we started getting into debt.
12:15 He would have unexplained illness a lot of times.
12:19 A lot of accidents would happen to him.
12:22 He worked in construction.
12:24 And sometimes weird things would happen that, you know,
12:28 the staple gun went through the hand, or--
12:31 [Laughs] you know, just, just too many accidents.
12:35 >>John: And what was it?
12:36 >>Juliet: It was cocaine.
12:39 >>John: Let me ask this first,
12:40 and then I'll ask for your response.
12:41 When did you realize you were married to a drug addict?
12:44 >>Juliet: Yeah, it was basically kind of
12:47 all around the same time.
12:48 >>John: Yeah.
12:49 >>Juliet: But he was so addicted by that time that he was,
12:51 like it was kind of life or death at that point in time.
12:54 And I had reached out to someone,
12:57 to a substance-abuse counselor, and they said,
12:59 "Look, it's going to be the cemetery or the rehab.
13:03 Your choice."
13:04 That's what they said to him.
13:05 >>John: What did he choose?
13:06 >>Juliet: He chose the rehab.
13:07 >>John: How did it go?
13:09 >>Juliet: I thought it went great.
13:10 [Laughs] I thought it went great.
13:13 He checked in for, for 28 days, and he did stay clean.
13:17 >>John: So things turned around?
13:19 >>Juliet: Mm-hm.
13:20 >>John: For how long?
13:21 >>Juliet: For a while.
13:22 >>John: Yeah?
13:22 >>Juliet: For a while. Um...
13:24 >>John: And how did you notice?
13:25 >>Juliet: I...
13:26 >>John: How did you notice that things were
13:27 no longer going well?
13:28 >>Juliet: Oh, man, I never knew.
13:29 Like, it was, I never knew.
13:30 Even those first six years of marriage,
13:32 like, sometimes he was using, sometimes he wasn't;
13:33 sometimes he was clean; sometimes he wasn't.
13:35 I, I never knew where he was
13:38 because I think he didn't want to be the slave to this, either.
13:41 >>John: What would he be like when he relapsed?
13:43 How would that affect him emotionally and physically?
13:46 >>Juliet: Well, once he got clean and sober,
13:50 he was back to normal, and we would just try to go on
13:53 with life, you know, back to church, back to work,
13:56 back to, you know, tried to have some semblance of normalcy
13:59 in our marriage.
14:00 And, um, and then when he would relapse,
14:04 he would just disappear.
14:05 He would disappear, sometimes for days,
14:07 usually on a Friday because that's payday,
14:09 and, um, you know, come home when the money was gone.
14:13 >>John: You've said you like a project,
14:14 and you like to fix things.
14:15 >>Juliet: Yes.
14:16 >>John: So did you get about fixing him?
14:17 >>Juliet: Yes.
14:18 >>John: Did you think, "Okay, we're gonna fix this"?
14:20 How did you endeavor to fix it?
14:21 >>Juliet: So, I was afraid that he was gonna die.
14:23 I was afraid that he was gonna OD.
14:25 I was afraid that someone would find out
14:27 about our dirty family secret.
14:29 And so I tried to control everything.
14:31 I, I tried to control every penny.
14:33 You, you have your boss write the paycheck to me.
14:36 I'm going to control the finances,
14:38 and I'll give you an allowance, just what you need.
14:41 But that was the way that I coped.
14:43 Um, crack down and control.
14:45 Well, then you're not a spouse;
14:47 you're, you're a mother, a bad one,
14:49 [Laughs] you know.
14:51 >>John: And, and evidently that's not what you planned.
14:54 >>Juliet: No.
14:55 >>John: What was that doing to you?
14:56 >>Juliet: No. It was tearing me up.
14:57 I was, I was sick. I had ulcers.
15:00 I was, um, constantly stressed out.
15:03 I was... The controlling thing just didn't work.
15:08 But I couldn't stop being controlling.
15:11 >>John: How many people--I'm getting ahead of myself here--
15:14 how common is this in church?
15:18 Not just in society--in church, for families to be dealing
15:21 with someone who's battling addiction issues--
15:24 how common?
15:25 >>Juliet: I would venture to say every family has someone
15:31 that they love or care about who's addicted to something,
15:35 either chemical dependency, um, pornography.
15:40 >>John: As your husband was descending
15:43 into self-destruction,
15:45 and your marriage was starting to unravel,
15:48 what was this doing to you spiritually?
15:51 >>Juliet: I was really having a spiritual awakening.
15:54 I was, I was learning to trust God and to love Him
16:00 and to know that He loved me.
16:01 I, it makes me just emotional just thinking about how God
16:06 opened my eyes to His love for me.
16:08 And I grew up knowing about God's love,
16:11 singing "Jesus loves me, this I know."
16:14 I knew what God's Word said,
16:16 but through that experience I learned to trust Him.
16:20 >>John: See, I can imagine a person saying,
16:22 "Spiritually I was devastated,
16:24 and I felt like I was a million miles from God,"
16:26 and I know that happens to people.
16:27 It didn't happen to you.
16:28 What was going on that this experience
16:30 drew you closer to God?
16:33 This, I think is a, is a very key point
16:36 because a lot of people end up adrift and without hope.
16:39 >>Juliet: Right.
16:40 >>John: What was it about you or your experience
16:42 or your upbringing or your faith community
16:44 that saw this experience draw you closer to God?
16:48 What made the difference?
16:50 >>Juliet: You know, I should have spoken with others,
16:52 but I didn't.
16:53 And so God was who I talked to,
16:55 and I talked to Him, like when I was driving to school,
16:58 I would have to put myself together because to be able
17:01 to smile and be sweet to first grade children,
17:04 you know, you have to,
17:05 you have to get it together before you get to school.
17:07 And so that was my time
17:08 where I would just pour my heart out to God as I'm driving.
17:11 Like, "Lord, I, I've got work to do today. I need You to help me.
17:14 [Voice quavers] Help me focus on loving these kids."
17:17 And He would do it.
17:19 Like, I could just feel the peace of God come over me,
17:22 and I could do my work; I could do my job.
17:24 I could, I could love on the kids at school.
17:27 And, and when I poured my heart out to the Lord,
17:30 He came, and He was very real to me.
17:35 >>John: So where would you be now, do you think,
17:37 if you didn't have God to lean on?
17:39 >>Juliet: I would have driven my car off a bridge
17:41 or slit my wrists or done something awful.
17:44 >>John: And something kept you from that?
17:46 >>Juliet: Yes.
17:47 I didn't, I didn't want to hurt Him.
17:49 I didn't want to hurt my friend God.
17:52 And I believe that you're not ever alone.
17:56 We are never alone.
17:57 >>John: We're going to talk about that in just a moment.
17:59 He's always there, and He's always for you.
18:03 More of my conversation with Juliet Van Heerden
18:06 in just a moment.
18:07 ♪[Music]♪
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18:47 >>John: When a 2,000-ton span on a bridge
18:50 in Melbourne, Australia, collapsed during construction,
18:53 the damage and loss of life were devastating.
18:57 When a bridge collapsed in Tasmania five years later,
19:00 it was another catastrophe that caused disruption and death.
19:03 So what happens when you fall?
19:06 When sin takes you down?
19:08 When failure shakes your experience with God?
19:11 Don't miss "Free Fall," brought to you by It Is Written TV.
19:15 Find out what you can do when you've fallen again.
19:19 And find out how God treats those who have strayed,
19:22 wandered, failed, fallen.
19:25 There is hope when you've messed up.
19:28 There's a future when life isn't going like it should.
19:31 There's a way forward when you feel like you've failed God
19:34 or failed others.
19:36 "Free Fall," filmed on location in Australia.
19:40 Don't miss "Free Fall" on It Is Written TV.
19:47 >>John Bradshaw: Thanks for joining me today
19:49 on It Is Written.
19:51 My guest, Juliet Van Heerden, is sharing her story of addiction,
19:55 codependency, recovery,
19:57 and the miracle of God's restoration in her life.
20:01 Okay. Your husband is drug-addicted.
20:04 He's lying; he's sick; he's in and out of rehab;
20:08 your home has been robbed.
20:11 You were divorced.
20:13 How'd that happen?
20:14 How did you finally get to the point,
20:15 or how did circumstances bring you to the place
20:18 where this is over and it's not getting better?
20:20 >>Juliet Van Heerden: Um, well, "John" just said to me,
20:22 "I am tired of living the double life.
20:25 I don't want to be the Christian husband that you want me to be.
20:30 I want to drink what I want, smoke what I want,
20:35 watch what I want, snort what I want."
20:39 And I was able to walk away feeling relieved.
20:45 >>John: I wanted to ask you about that.
20:48 When he says, "I'm done."
20:49 >>Juliet: Mm-hm.
20:50 >>John: Was there pain by that stage?
20:52 You said "relief."
20:54 So, it wasn't as painful as if he'd said that
20:58 a number of years earlier?
21:00 >>Juliet: I just felt like I had done my absolute best
21:04 and given it everything that I could possibly do,
21:06 but a person is free to make their own choices.
21:10 >>John: Offer a word of encouragement to somebody
21:11 who might be in the situation that you were in then,
21:13 and they feel like, "If I don't hang in here to the grim death,
21:17 then somehow I've let God down."
21:19 How do you know, how do you know when you've done your best,
21:22 and it's time to let go?
21:23 >>Juliet: Well, I think, I think the Lord lets us know.
21:27 And sometimes we hang on...
21:29 beyond the point where God has released us.
21:33 And God--it is not God's desire for anyone to be
21:37 in an abusive situation.
21:40 And I had a very difficult time using the word "abuse"
21:43 to describe, um, my marriage.
21:47 But, as I look back, I can say I was in an abusive marriage.
21:52 I was being financially abused.
21:54 I was being emotionally neglected, verbally abused.
21:59 And, and so, as I look at that, I know that's not God's will,
22:03 and that, and that's not God's plan for us.
22:05 We need to be safe.
22:07 And sometimes God makes provision for, for people.
22:12 Um, He says He hates divorce.
22:14 Yes, He does because it's painful and devastating.
22:18 But there is provision.
22:19 There are, there are times when it's a relief.
22:23 >>John: Back up a few years.
22:24 >>Juliet: Yes.
22:25 >>John: You were worried that someone might learn
22:26 your dirty little secret.
22:27 Now, years later--
22:28 >>Juliet: Yes.
22:30 >>John: ...the secret's out, and yet people embraced you.
22:31 >>Juliet: They embraced me, and they loved me.
22:33 And they loved "John" through it, too.
22:35 I mean, once we started sharing,
22:37 we found that people embraced us and loved us through it.
22:41 And it was beautiful to just be like,
22:44 oh, I don't have to carry this burden of a secret anymore.
22:49 So, I, I would encourage people: Please share.
22:53 Find a safe place and share with somebody.
22:55 Don't hold it.
22:56 >>John: Along the way, you wrote a book.
22:58 >>Juliet: Yes.
22:58 >>John: "Same Dress, Different Day."
23:00 >>Juliet: Yes.
23:01 >>John: Why did you write the book?
23:03 >>Juliet: Believe me, I didn't want to.
23:05 Um, for, for doing public speaking now
23:08 and for being a teacher, I'm actually an introvert,
23:12 and I'm a very private person.
23:14 And that's why I kept my mouth closed for so long about things.
23:17 I did not want to write this book.
23:19 I am a writer. I love to write.
23:21 But I was, you know, journaling and writing for myself,
23:25 never thinking I would tell my story to other people.
23:28 But the Holy Spirit just kept on me about this,
23:30 that, that you need to share this story
23:33 because it will bring hope to others.
23:35 And as a pastor's wife, I started hearing the stories
23:38 of people in church who were suffering,
23:39 families that are suffering with the same kind of problems
23:42 that I experienced.
23:44 And I really had so much compassion for them,
23:46 and, and a few people said to me,
23:47 "You need to share your story. You need to write your story.
23:50 You need to write your story."
23:51 And I kept putting it off.
23:52 And I knew it would be difficult because I was happy;
23:56 I was living the happily ever after.
23:57 Who wants to go back and think about that stuff?
23:59 And in order to write well, you need to relive it in your mind.
24:04 But, um, Andre, my husband, he gave me permission to do it.
24:08 He set me--it was very gracious of him as a man--
24:12 he gave me permission to go back and to relive that pain
24:15 and to write about "John" and to, um, to share my story.
24:20 And it took me about three years from start to finish,
24:25 um, because it was hard.
24:26 I would write a bit, and then I'd take a long break.
24:30 But it was published in 2015,
24:33 and the responses from readers has been...
24:36 [Voice quavers] It hurts me so much to hear
24:38 what they have to say.
24:39 They say to me, "You're telling my story."
24:42 >>John: Give some advice to that, that woman especially--
24:46 doesn't have to be a woman--
24:47 >>Juliet: Mm-hm.
24:48 >>John: ...who's in a relationship that's just
24:50 spiraling downwards.
24:52 Nothing he or she can do about it.
24:54 There's addictions, or whatever the case is.
24:57 Where should they go?
24:58 >>Juliet: No, and, and Dr. Larry Crabb says,
25:00 "Healing takes place in community."
25:02 So we need to find a community of people where we feel safe,
25:06 and who--where we're not alone in our suffering;
25:09 our suffering is, sorrow is divided.
25:11 Um, and I would, I would suggest finding a local, um,
25:15 Christ-centered recovery, um, group, recovery community.
25:19 Al-Anon is a wonderful resource.
25:21 Um, find a group that meets regularly for codependents.
25:25 There's Codependents Anonymous where, uh, those--
25:28 that's those of us who, who get caught in the cycle
25:31 of rescuing that loved one.
25:32 Um, not everyone can afford counseling,
25:35 professional counseling.
25:36 It's a wonderful resource, if you can.
25:39 But if you can't, there are people, um, who meet regularly
25:43 and talk and share and, um.
25:45 And be a reader. Um, learn about addiction.
25:48 Learn about boundaries. Learn about codependency.
25:52 Find out, um, about yourself and what you can do,
25:57 and then find a safe place where you can share and grow and heal.
26:02 There is hope.
26:04 ♪[Music]♪
26:12 >>Announcer: Modern life makes forming relationships hard.
26:15 We crave a solid family life,
26:17 but oftentimes don't know how to create it.
26:19 This book can help.
26:21 "Hope for Today's Families"
26:22 walks you through building relationships,
26:24 communicating effectively, and forming bonds for eternity.
26:27 Get "Hope for Today's Families."
26:29 It's free.
26:30 Call 800-253-3000
26:33 or visit us online today at iiwoffer.com.
26:37 Hope is just a call away: 800-253-3000.
26:43 >>John Bradshaw: Juliet, let's pray together.
26:44 Let's pray.
26:46 Our Father in heaven,
26:47 we are grateful that You are the God who gives.
26:49 You don't take away.
26:51 You give.
26:51 You restore. You remake.
26:54 Thank You that You are never done with us,
26:56 that You always love us.
26:58 You don't turn from us, even when we turn from You.
27:02 Our Father, I want to pray right now for that woman,
27:05 that man, that young person,
27:08 who is struggling as life crashes down around them,
27:12 and allow that the challenges of this life would only turn us
27:16 in Your direction,
27:17 to embrace You, and never to turn us away from You.
27:22 Lord, we thank You, and we love You,
27:25 and we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
27:29 Thanks so much for joining me.
27:31 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time.
27:33 Until then, remember:
27:35 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone,
27:40 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
27:44 ♪[Theme music]♪
27:54 ♪[Theme music]♪


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Revised 2021-01-26