THE BIBLE-TEACHING MINISTRY OF CHARLES R. SWINDOLL
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Surviving Crisis In Marriage My husband Gene and I were married only three years when crisis struck. We were living in Nepal at the time, working for a Christian mission. Gene was overseeing a hospital construction project and I was a pregnant stay-at-home mum caring for our 20-month-old son. Life was good. And then the unexpected hit. “Your baby has hydrocephalus,” said the surgeon, minutes after delivering our second child. “She has too much water on her brain. She needs neurosurgery, but we can't perform it here. You must return to North America on the first flight available.” The first international flight was scheduled to depart in three days. That left us with one day to deal with our earthly possessions. We'd spend the second day driving 12 hours to Kathmandu. We'd fly on the third day, or so we thought. The travel agency told us otherwise. Because I'd had a Caesarean section, they labelled me a medical high risk and refused to issue me a ticket. That left Gene to fly alone with our critically ill infant. I remained in Nepal with our son for another week, praying non-stop that our daughter would live. God heard that prayer and countless others that followed. We faced an unknown future with no job, no house, no car, no health insurance (we lived in Washington state), and a child in a neo-natal intensive care unit. Besides that, our sudden return from rural Nepal to metropolitan USA thrust us into reverse culture shock. Our daughter's medical needs meant frequent surgeries and hospitalizations for the next two years. Stress finally took a toll. I still remember the night I stood in our kitchen utterly exhausted, yelling untrue accusations at my husband. When I finished my tirade, his eyes filled with tears. He said quietly, “I didn't deserve that.” He was right. Our situation resembled a perfect storm capable of wreaking havoc on our marriage. Thankfully we weathered it and are still happily married 29 years later. Not all couples fare as well. Many marriages shipwreck when crisis strikes, but devastation can be avoided. Here are a few insights I've learned through personal experience and by watching other couples.
About the Author: Grace Fox Grace Fox