I hate to tell you this, but there is something you need, whether you are the addict or the spouse. You can’t really move forward without it.
Patience.
The Bible promises hope, “if we wait for it with patience” (Romans 8:25).
Dr. Judith Orloff wrote, “With patience, you’re able to step back and regroup instead of aggressively reacting or hastily giving up on someone who is frustrating you.”
Here’s how this works. You must do all you can to find recovery: (a) therapy, (b) meetings, and (c) daily recovery work. If you are the wounded spouse, you must do the following: (a) therapy, (b) meetings, and (c) daily recovery work. And then you wait. You wait for God to do his work in you. You wait for your spouse to find his or her own way into recovery. You wait for new habits to slowly develop.
And then, one day, you will look back and be amazed at how far you have come.
Recovery Step: Julius Caesar said, “It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” And William Shakespeare offered this: “How poor are they that have no patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” Your wounds can heal – by degrees. If you have patience.
