Jesus and Some Thoughts on Divorce // Mark 10:2-16 

Alicia, thank you for your kind words. I am sure you could pick up on how cautiously I was trying to tread here!

@@mtseawright That's certainly understandable! It's a hard topic to speak to. I do believe the voice and experience of children is a vital one to be on the table in the conversation, and since they can't usually speak for themselves, adults need to do that where possible. A friend of mine gave one of the books I recommended above (Between Two Worlds) to a couple considering divorce and it was instrumental in helping the couple decide against it. We do need to love people who have been divorced, but at the same time (and as part of this task of loving), we need to help kids and families in preventing it, and that includes dispelling myths and misconceptions about how it affects children. The more I learn about abuse dynamics, from reading and from my own experience at church, the more I am seeing how those who are most vulnerable and most affected are also the least likely to be able to speak up and be heard, and this is a huge factor in why it continues to perpetuate so effectively in communities. When we do not know the severity of the experience of the vulnerable, we are much more likely to misunderstand, minimize or even outright dismiss that experience. The Father loves ALL his children, whatever age we are. Jesus IS able to help people live faithfully in challenging situations, he is able to lead us to safety out of harmful ones without having to break his or our word. He is even able to heal families and, quite often, he does heal marriages that look beyond repair! There are many testimonies out there if we are looking for them. My prayer is that loving people includes prevention of divorce and facilitating the work that Jesus can and wants to do in this area of our lives. Alicia