Hello, my name is Mark and I am a child of divorce.

     My parents got divorced when I was 17 years old and a junior in high school.  Prior to the divorce I had looked to my parents for nearly everything; guidance, support, love and moral teachings.  When they got divorced the trust I had placed in them did take a hit.  You see, one of the major moral teachings during my Christian upbringing was that once you get married you do not get divorced.  It’s not an option.  Marriage is sacred and it is the top priority in your life no matter how bleak or destitute the situation may be.  These were their teachings.

     And then they got divorced.

     My world was rocked.  I rebelled, and I rebelled hard.  I threw two very large parties in my Dad’s one-level home and both parties were visited by the local authorities.

     I fell into a depression and missed about 40 days of school.  Forty days during my junior year no less, which is the time when most students are trying to impress colleges with their grades. Thankfully, by the grace of God, I was able to get into my first choice college, James Madison University.

    Still hurting from the divorce I continued to drift in college.  I got involved in the party scene and it wasn’t until shortly after college that I realized what I was wasting.  I asked myself why I was doing the things that I was doing.  I knew deep down that it just wasn’t me.  I realized the vast majority had to do with the pain from the divorce.  I knew I couldn’t overcome and work through that pain on my own so I turned to Jesus.

     Slowly over time Jesus captivated me once again with his beauty.  He led me to see that although I am to trust my parents and look up to them, that they are not THE ones I should be looking to for strength and guidance.  I cast my eyes upon God and I can honestly say I feel more complete and my life is heading in a direction which will benefit other people in addition to me.  My future wife, my friends, my immediate and extended family will all benefit from my simple decision to turn to Christ instead of what this world has to offer.

     I feel that experiencing the divorce and turning to God through the pain (albeit 5 years after the divorce) has strengthened my ability to help others going through the same thing.  I praise God for his role in my life and through the divorce.  I’m not happy about the divorce, of course, but God turns everything to good for those that believe in him.  He has done it for me.  He’ll do it for you, too, if only you ask him to.

     Divorce can be devastating.  Through the grace of God, in my life it has been defining.