I sat on my back deck in the wee hours of the morning and drank strong coffee. I prayed, as I do every morning. It’s where I spend the most time with God. But as I prayed this morning, God spoke to my heart quite clearly. “You must write it.” I knew exactly what He was talking about. I’ve waited years to tell the story, my story, of how God moved in a miraculous way in my life and in the life of my husband. 

For those of you who have read my articles, you know how tough the previous several years were. You grieved over my husband’s alcoholism and my son’s issues with father abandonment. It isn’t often that a couple can come back from that. But now I will tell you the story of my miracle.

Grieving Loss

My husband and I were divorced in the fall of 2017. His addiction had gotten so bad that I knew I could not live with it, nor could I subject my young son to it, either. I didn’t know where my husband was. I grieved the loss of my marriage and the loss of a father for Caleb. But sometime in January of 2018, my ex-husband called me. “Can I write to you?” he asked. I said yes. I still loved him and, if nothing else, I could keep up with what was going on in his life. 

Then something unexpected happened. I felt God nudging me to forgive him. “After all he’s done?” I asked. “Yes. forgive him.” For a week I prayed to forgive my ex-husband. My heart was softened toward him, even as most friends and family told me to let him go and move on with my life. 

‘Don’t Say Anything’

One day in early March, I picked up Caleb from daycare. It was a routine day, nothing extraordinary. Just after we went into our house, I heard a knock on the door. As I peeked out, I saw my ex-husband standing there. I opened the door and he slipped down on one knee. “Don’t say anything until I read this to you,” he said. The paper in his hand shook slightly and I knew he was nervous. He asked for forgiveness and proclaimed his love for me. He wanted to come home and be part of the family again. He’d been in a Christian rehab center, where he met the Lord. Then he asked me to be his wife again. 

Now, I would not have said yes if I thought he hadn’t changed. But God had worked on my heart and I knew what I was supposed to do. I’d forgiven him. He was changed and I saw it on his face. I said yes and he slipped a diamond ring on my hand.

Getting Baptized

The next month was anything but usual. We once again made plans to be married. We stopped by the county to get a marriage license for the second time — the woman at the desk asked “A do-over?” We smiled. We picked the venue — our new church.

Before the wedding, Kyle made the decision to be water baptized. It was a beautiful spring day when Kyle’s life changed as he was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I couldn’t believe the changes I already saw in him. He had a determination about him that I hadn’t seen before. He became a loving father and a loving husband. We began reading the Bible together and praying together. 

Daddy’s Boy

Save one awful weekend in August of 2018, Kyle has been sober now for almost 4 years. We’ve been so blessed to fall in love all over again. Caleb’s been blessed to have his father back. The miracle? Caleb doesn’t remember anything about his father’s drinking. Daddy is still his best friend. Each day I hear “Daddy will you do this with me?” “Daddy, what do you think about this?” “Daddy will you play my game with me?” He’s a daddy’s boy through and through. 

And for a little boy who never knew his father’s absence, that’s okay. 

Each day we hold hands and say a prayer over our food. “God our Father, we thank you for our many blessings. Amen.” And we have, indeed, been blessed.

Just the other day, I told him I didn’t recognize the man I met many years ago. He’d changed. He smiled. “I’ve learned a lot,” he said. And he has.

Nancy Flory, Ph.D., is an associate editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.