Article July 7, 2003 Issue

Enlightened shades of grace

By Gloria Harrison

When I look back at my married years, I can now see different shades of grace in my life. At the time, most of those shades seemed dark to me.

In my study of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, I often read the chapter on "Marriage," especially this part: "Hoping and working, one should stick to the wreck, until an irresistible propulsion precipitates his doom or sunshine gladdens the troubled sea" (p. 67). Shortly after the wedding bells stopped ringing, those storms and waves were rocking my marriage boat—should I forgive my husband for the attraction he'd had toward someone else, as well as his general coldness and lack of compassion, and stay the course, or call it quits and leave him? Yes, it appeared we were incompatible. But it was too late to complain about that, wasn't it?—we were married.

When I prayed about this, I would feel what I now call "the grace of deferment"—giving strength to stay the course, rather than leave and later be sorry, even though the marriage certainly looked like a wreck to me.