Waiting for Isaac
by Heather Stratton
My husband left me for another woman when I was eight weeks
pregnant with our second child in July 2004. God challenged me to
stand for my marriage just as he had asked Hosea to wait for his
unfaithful wife to return to him. I had no idea what this would
mean, but stood all the same. During this time a friend suggested
I attend Blessing Generations, a seminar now held at Newman
Conference Center (www.newmancc.org; 509-226-5390). This seminar
made such an impact on me that I wouldn’t consider signing the
divorce papers my husband gave me until after he had also
attended. He finally went with me in October 2006, but still
wanted a divorce. In December 2006 the divorce was finalized.
Heartbroken, angry and confused, I began what is best described as
an ungodly rebound relationship with a former boyfriend.
Mercifully, God placed it on his heart to join the army.
However, the night before he left, I discovered he had been
cheating on me with the sister of a friend. Sometime later I
found out that prior to his departure he had gotten her pregnant
and after completing boot camp had married her.
Feeling the sting of yet another rejection I threw myself into
church and began volunteering at Newman Conference Center. Slowly
my heart began to heal and I developed close relationships with
incredible people including Star, a woman I met at the conference
I had attended with my ex-husband. However, I still longed for a
husband and partner to help raise my children.
At times I had a hard time believing God heard my prayers and this
brought the worst sting of rejection. But He proved Himself
faithful and showed me that not only does He hear my prayers, He
answers them! The answer to my prayer for a husband came from an
unexpected source after the 2007 Christmas Eve service. My
pastor’s wife, Karen, approached me and asked if she could pray
for a Godly husband and father for my family. Karen is a woman of
few words and when she does have something to say, it is going to
be good. The following Sunday she stopped me with even more God
had given her. She described me as Sarah waiting for Isaac and
encouraged me to be patient, because I did not want Ishmael.
The next nine months God walked me through deep heart work and
cultivated deeper relationships with Star and her sister, Stormy,
who have become like sisters to me. They provide feedback and
desperately needed insight into areas only God knew needed
healing.
With the development of my church family I found some security.
My children did not feel like such a burden even with my son’s
outbursts of anger at school and my daughter’s asthma causing her
to be hospitalized several times a year. I finally was able to
rest. My heart cry changed as I began trusting God. I told Him I
wanted Him and if it meant Isaac took a hundred years, a
relationship with Jesus was my greatest reward. No sooner was
this said than my ex-boyfriend, who was back from the Army, began
texting me. It turned out his marriage was on the rocks and he
wanted to bail. I didn’t want to be the other woman. In fact I
had vowed never to be the other woman, because I knew the pain
this creates. I believe this is part of the reason God allowed me
to be tested. He wanted to know if I would honor the vow that I
would never be the other woman. God also challenged me to ask Him
for forgiveness for judging my ex-husband’s wife for being the
other woman in our relationship. The principle behind this came
from Mathew 7:1-2, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard
of measure, it will be measured to you. ”
Off and on I struggled with the decision I needed to make, but God
wanted me to succeed and He made a way of escape. One Sunday
during church I sat with Star. She noticed my ring finger was
bare and decided I needed a reminder of Christ’s love. She placed
her own ring on my finger and stated it was my purity ring until
Isaac would give me a ring; then I could return hers. Star went
on to explain the stone was garnet, the red representing Christ’s
blood and the gold band serving as a reminder that we are the
bride of Christ. This was what I needed in order to make my
decision to run away from temptation. Sending Ishmael away meant
I was still alone, but God faithfully spoke to my heart, “This
ring is temporary and so is this situation.” I was overjoyed.
This won’t last forever!
After making my stand and sending my ex-boyfriend away he decided
to remain married to his wife. God revealed to me that if I had
acted out of my selfish desires, I would have been the cause of
his divorce and would have paid a cost, possibly even missing
Isaac.
With Christmas around the corner I was invited to a party and met
a gentleman, Matt, who was incredibly sweet. We hit it off and
began to hang out with mutual friends. Although I thought Matt
was wonderful, I took the stand that anyone, who wanted to court
me needed to meet my pastor and get his approval. Several co-
workers asked if I were intentionally trying to run him off. With
all honesty I said, “Yes, if he is not an honorable man with Godly
intentions, he can run as fast as his legs can carry him.” I am
pleased to tell you, Matt did not run away. We were married
September 5, 2009.
With Christmas around the corner I know how hard it is to be
alone. But take heart. You are not alone when you have Jesus.
The question remains, will you take a stand and wait for God to
bring your Isaac? He is well worth the wait!
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