Restoring my family and renewing my husband's mind and heart for Christ

by Rebecca
(Houston TX USA)

Restoring my family and renewing my husband's mind and heart for Christ: My husband and I have been married for less than a year-he had children from a previous relationship (never married) that live out of state. I am due to deliver our first child tomorrow and he left me 2 months ago to "make things right with his children." He is still out of state with the other kids and his family (parents, siblings) and what was to be a visit has been revealed as a huge spiritual battle. He told me he doesn't feel like he can leave the children again, seeing alternatives, i.e., us moving there to be close to them, visitation orders through the court to ensure we can be a part of their lives, etc. I don't know if he's coming home. It seems as if he is battling on trading in our marriage, newborn daughter, and life, with the lives of the children in Arizona. The ex does not know Christ as her savior, none of the children are saved. I pray for their souls but I also pray for the evil influence they have on my husband. She is manipulative and withholds the children unless she gets what she wants-she wants to control him and ruin our marriage. He has not gone through the courts to establish visitation and while the paperwork is ready to submit, he does not want to give me her new address so she can be served the papers because he worries she'll withhold the kids from him and he is "just now repairing" those relationships. He is weak in standing for Christ's view of marriage and our unity as a couple. He promised me he would never leave me, he would be there for the birth of our daughter, that he knew I was his home, that he wanted to be a changed man in Christ. However, over the past 2 months, his communication with me started off good, like it always had been with me, praying together, reading devotionals over the phone and over time, it has dwindled to nothing. He does not return calls, emails, texts...he is sending small amounts of money sporadically while I am struggling financially, emotionally, and physically. I know that my strength comes from God and I know God gives me only what I can handle-but I'm not sure my shoulders are big enough to handle all of this. I love my husband and I want my family restored. I'm praying for a miracle that he will understand what a marriage means in God's eyes and that when our marriage is restored, the children will be taken care of through our witness and testimony of faithfulness. I hear God speaking to me telling me to hold on and I know my Savior is the God of miracles-for every day he avoids contact with me and moves closer to evil influences, I feel him drifting further from Christ and further from our marriage-it hurts me so badly. Pray for him to hear God so clearly that there is no confusion to his role as a husband, father, and follower of Christ. Pray for the restoration of our family and marriage and that Christ will always be in the center. Pray that evil will be removed from this situation and God's light will infuse my husband's mind and heart and that he will have the strength to move towards Christ. Pray he will come home renewed, to me and to Christ.