Freely Speaking with Barbara

Have you ever heard to be careful what you wish for because you may get it?


When I decided to marry again five years after a volatile first marriage, I was surprised I met a man to marry. My relationship with God was healing, and I was learning to trust Him.


In 1994, I was conflicted in my faith journey. My life was turned upside down as I struggled in my second marriage. My husband made poor choices that led us down a dark road. By the grace of God, he accepted Christ and began to renew his mind.


A few years later, I asked our pastor if my husband and I could visit his office. There, we prayed together, and I asked Jesus to come into my heart, break me into pieces, and put me back together again. I didn’t fully realize how my life would change. All I knew was that I wanted a relationship with Christ. I needed His love and forgiveness. I was ready to allow Jesus to mold and use me for His glory.


I’d like to say our life together followed a perfect path after we both experienced salvation, but it didn’t at all. This is where the “be careful what you wish for” started to come into play.


Our marriage fell apart years later, we divorced, and I moved out with my son. It was the most terrible and heartbreaking (remember my prayer) event in my life. God used this time to begin to heal me and show me what grace, forgiveness, and redemption were all about. We were eventually reunited and celebrated 34 years of marriage this year! What a testimony to what God has done in our lives through His power and might. Pray and ask Jesus to break you and restore you to His image again.


“He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel’” (Jeremiah 18:6 NIV).