As an unequally yoked wife experiencing a difficult marriage, I needed help. Because few books existed on the topic of marital spiritual unity, I took a deep dive into scripture. A good thing! Soon I was immersed in Bible pages for hours. I excitedly purchased a three-inch commentary to further my understanding. I remember writing tiny w’s in the margin whenever a passage grabbed my attention. The “w”s for “wives” foreshadowed what God already knew. I would be sharing my learning experience, as an unequally yoked wife, with other wives to comfort and encourage them to grow closer to Christ.
Later, I realized God was dipping me into early training for the mission he purposed for me—bringing encouragement and comfort to other wives longing for spiritual closeness with their husbands. As a new follower of Christ, God brought me the gift of friendship with a godly, older woman. She would later tell me she had discerned my “great hunger for the Word” and this led to her mentoring me. As a retired Bible teacher, she had a love for scripture and great depth of understanding. My spiritual questions regularly encountered her sound, biblical input and wise counsel. As an ancient proverb says, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”
With my ever-deepening relationship with Christ, the years brought countless opportunities to minister to other wives. Women I met through Bible studies, conferences, various ministries, and church. The commonality between the women I met seemed always based on the unequally yoked marriage. Not just a niche group, they were everywhere. Many of the wives were blessed with material abundance but desperate to know God—sometimes unwittingly. They needed nurturing in the Word, hope, a deepened understanding of a personal Christ and prayers to uplift them to “keep going.” Over a span of years, my mentor had pointed me to Christ and now God was calling me to extend to others what had been gifted to me. Scripture leaps to life when applied to everyday situations.
Many of the stories I heard were quickly jotted on backs of envelopes or scraps of paper and placed in a portable, blue file box . . . in the hope of “one day, I’ll write a collection of stories to comfort others.” Years were filled with other ministry and passed quickly. One day, my eyes fixed on that blue file box still stifling stories in a closet’s confinement. God whispered, “It’s time.” Yes, Lord, the stories deserve a readable version. “Even So, She Smiles at the Future” is the outcome. Filled with relatable stories and teachings designed for reflection, the book is sure to impact your personal journey. It’s the book I needed when I was unequally yoked all those years ago. I wrote the book I could not find!
One women’s group has adapted the devotions for a spring, Bible Study format. In short, this devotional is a high-way to the heart of God and a path to his thoughts. With Jesus, the focus was taken off my husband’s behavior to settle on my own personal walk with him. This included an overhaul of attitude replaced by Spirit-led responses to create optimal opportunities to win my husband’s attention. In God’s timing, Kip accepted Christ into his life.
