It All Started With A Kiss | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: It All Started With A Kiss | Previous Challenge Entry
By Alexis Cissell
08/28/08
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It All Started With A Kiss…

It was the moment she’d always dreamed of. She took a deep breath, prayed that she would not break down into an ‘ugly cry’ at her own wedding, and took her first step down the aisle. Looking up at the altar, the beautiful young bride was touched as she could now see the tears streaming down her freckle-faced, handsome groom.

Standing hand in hand before all of their family and friends, they prayed, made sacred promises and worshipped God in awe of the gift he’d entrusted to each of them that day. Only minutes later, as they giggled in anticipation and gazed into each others' eyes, they kissed and their new life as one began.

That amazing day, God was given glory…

Six years passed. Two kids to provide for and the burden of owning a business weighed heavily on his shoulders. When he confessed his nights out drinking had led to a more serious substance, they cried.

The next day was filled with anger and confusion. The lies, now realized, made her mind swim and her stomach turn. But, somehow, that very night, she put on some music, turned down the lights, grabbed his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck. As they slow danced around the kitchen floor, the tears flowed down.

Another year passed and they had moved away-a new beginning far away from where the drama and heartache had taken place. Maybe she chose not to see it, but the old habits were alive and well- following them even still.

She woke one morning to a collect phone call from the county jail. As she turned over to notice the other side of their bed empty, her heart sank. He told her he’d been arrested for driving under the influence. Though she had every reason, she was not giving up now. She got on her knees and thanked God that her husband did not injure himself or anyone else. She prayed that this would be his rock bottom-but it wasn’t…

In those hard days too, God was glorified.

It was the fear she never thought would be a reality. She knew that alcohol had caused destruction in their marriage in a number of ways, but she never expected this-nor did he.

Late one moonlit, beer-filled night, he did the unthinkable and kissed another girl. Once back home, he tossed and turned. He was unable to sleep that entire night-wrestling with God about what he’d done and how he would possibly find the words to tell his wife. It was that day he prayed:

“Lord, this is it.
I have done all that I could possibly do to her and to you.
Both of you have stuck with me through it all. Let this be a new start.

I pray that years from now people
will see how you turned me around
and gave me another chance in my life and my marriage.

Please let her forgive me again and give her the patience to see you at work in me!”

She sat in shock as she tried to understand what she had just been told. Familiar with the pain of betrayal, this hurt cut deeper than anything had before.

After taking some time to think and pray, her response was crystal clear. If this is what God was going to use to redeem her marriage and bring her husband back to Himself, then she was certainly not wasting this hurt by throwing in the towel now. She was going to see this new life God was going to breathe into her husband, into their family, and into their lives.

Years later, they looked back at their journey together and they both had a good laugh. It was clear the holy moments they had shared had always started with a kiss.

That day, they were certain their testimony would be used for His glory for generations to come.

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