The Time-Thief
May 31st, 2010
If you are out and about in your neighbourhood a bit, you might find there are a few people who begin to be familiar, and with whom you might even start to pas the time of day. One of these people I have come to recognise is a gracious and attractive 60-something year old lady, who always smiles and says hello to the girls. The other day, we were playing in the gravel at the front of our house and she stopped at the gate for a chat. We began with predictable small talk, and then she told me that five years ago, her husband of forty years had left her for a woman twenty years younger. She still seemed to find it an unbelievable and shocking fact, but she said she had a lot to be grateful for- grandchildren, good friends, health, and her strong survival instincts.
This is a scenario that is common enough to be a little cliched, but I have found that since we had that conversation my mind keeps circling her situation, trying to grasp what this faithless man has done to her life. What is she to make of all those family holidays, anniversaries, milestones, collected and treasured together? All her photographs, bits of clothing, perfume, pieces of music that must bring back hauntingly strong memories, that this man has rubbished by his rejection of her. How is she to hold together a sense of worth? As she walked away, she said, "To me marriage is for life. I never saw it coming."
In preaching about the woman caught in adultery last Sunday, our Rector gave a strong and impassioned plea that we guard the sanctity of our marriages, running as fast as we can away from the temptation of adultery. The damage to individuals, the wider family. the community and to our relationship with God is incalculable. I don't know if anyone reading this is at the particular crossroads. If you are, please, PLEASE stay true to your vows, forsake all others and be faithful.
