I Need To Tell You About This Book...

A key to my healing process

If you haven’t had a second to read up on my writings about marriage, you can catch up below:

Part 1 HERE
Part 2 HERE
Part 3 HERE
Part 4 HERE
Part 5 HERE

One of the ways I dealt with all the turmoil that was happening around me during the breakdown of my marriage was reading.

I would dive in to as many books on suffering, marriage, divorce, faith, and anything else that seemed useful as much I could. Even inspirational fiction would bring me peace. Books have been a great comfort to me during this hard time.

I had mentioned in my writings that I would email Brandon apologies. I felt convicted by so many of the things I had done over the years that put us in this terrible place we found ourselves. While my heart had been mulling over my marriage for many months, true conviction for how I had treated my marriage didn’t happen until I read this book. This book is what gave me the courage to start apologizing in the first place.

The book is Sacred Marriage by

Gary Thomas

. I cannot recommend it enough. It gave meaning and purpose to all the suffering I was going through. It encouraged me to look in the mirror. It upended all the ideals I had about marriage for 20 years, and shinned a light on all the spots where my false perceptions of marriage contributed to its demise. Marriage is supposed to bring you joy for sure, but it isn’t always going to make you happy. Everyone struggles. So what do you do in those times? Gary answers that question in a way that made me scrutinize my own selfishness, and for the first time I’m my 20 year relationship made me see myself.

If it wasn’t for this book, I’m not sure I would have had the deep spiritual revival that I had over this last year, because it pushed me to be better in all areas of my life. I truly cannot recommend it enough. Gary also has a substack where publishes wonderful devotions and portions of his writings. If this seems interesting to you, you can head over and subscribe to his page HERE. He is also one of my recommended authors.

Gary also made this book into a six part study. It is primarily for couples, but I used it for my small group this past semester at The Promise Center. We all loved it very much, and felt it really helped us make sense of our marriages. I highly recommend this study if you are looking for one to use with a group.

My small group, minus one, on our last Sacred Marriage study night.

I hope this helps someone. I cannot recommend this book enough!

“Even in moments of anger, betrayal, exasperation, and hurt, we are called to pursue this person, to embrace them, and to grow towards them- to let our love redefine our feelings of disinterest, frustration, and even hatred.”
-Gary Thomas