During these last few weeks God's awesome power has shown me that He is in charge of my situation. I believe God is delaying the divorce as we have had 3 delays already. The next scheduled date is August 25. I have seen Thomas about 4 times during June/July. He had stopped by to feed the dog and I walked out to talk with him. He<BR>sat in his truck and told me he was reading the "Left Behind" books and was starting on the 2nd one in the series. I was just overjoyed as he would read only occasionally. But I relayed that if someone reading the books did not know the Lord it could be terribly frightening. He agreed.<BR>I had burned my neck with my curling iron and there was a mark on my neck. He REACHED OUT to touch my neck and asked what had happened. This was something I have waited almost two years for ... an opportunity for Thomas to reach out to me FIRST! I just praised God for this small miracle as I would always open my arms and ask for a hug and kiss before he would leave.<P>Praise God! A little over a week ago he stopped by again to feed the dog and said he was not feeling well. Over the fourth of July he was trying to move his boat and somehow pulled a muscle in his shoulder. I offered a Tylenol and a glass of ice water. We sat on the front porch and talked for about 45 minutes. I rubbed his shoulder (as I would do when he was at home) and teasingly told him how I could take care of all of his aches and pains (SMILE)!! He<BR>laughed. I told him before the divorce is final we should have a "date" and he said we do need to talk about some other things. PRAISE GOD!! I had gotten my hair cut earlier in the day and he complimented how nice it look. He reached out for me again to touch my hair. This may seem small to others but for me it was another miracle from God. Thomas attended a family<BR>reunion with his family (mom, dad, 3 brothers and their families). He said that his youngest brother sang a gospel song at the dinner and it really touched him because he had never heard his brother sing before. He was very proud of his brother because he was showing a lot of attention to my sister-in-law (holding hands, staying close to her to entire time, joking with her). They had<BR>been through a lot due to his dependency on drugs and the Lord had brought him through all of that. I told Thomas isn't it great that we serve a God who gives us more than a one chance to redeem ourselves. It would be so sad that if we make a mistake and God would turn His back on us because we have used up all of our chances. But the God we serve gives us chance after chance to redeem ourselves...no matter how "bad" we are or how far we stray from Him. I could tell this touched Thomas deeply. I believe he missed me not being there with the rest of the family. I know God was working on him with the conflict he has with me and the OW.<BR> <BR>It was time for him to leave so I walked him to his truck and we talked again for another <BR>15 minutes. He was telling me about his race car that he is restoring and is hoping to have it finished before the summer was over. I told him the work so far was just outstanding and thanked him again for painting the car metallic blue (my favorite color). He may not have chosen the color<BR>because it was my favorite, but I still let him know it was. He promised he would take me for a ride when it was finished. Another PRAISE THE LORD!! I am so happy at the glimpse of God's power and might. He has been working on Thomas for a while. Whatever happens will be because it was God's will for our lives. God has the ending already planned for our journey.<P>Continue to keep us in prayer and even if the divorce goes through in August, I know God's love will surround us, and His peace will abide with us. I had a vision in '98 that we would celebrate our 30th anniversary together. I am holding onto that vision as God has confirmed it to me again. <P>God bless you all!<P>Hopeful Heart

Praise the Lord Praise the Lord!!!<P>Wow what great testimony for God's work! The Lord is working . . . . .. <P>Heavenly Father, we praise You in the highest for the work You are doing in Hopeful Heart's husband. Lord, we know that Your timing is not always the same as what we would like it to be, help us to wait upon You in all things. Thank You Lord for giving Hopeful Heart a glimpse of your work. And thank You for having her share her joy with us, causing us to have Hope for our own situations. Thank You Father for loving us so much, for caring so deeply for each of us. Your love is what carries us through. IJN I pray, AMEN

Wow, this is amazing. I know how each and every gesture can mean so much. We praise the Lord that He has allowed this between you and your husband. Thank you Jesus. Thanks for sharing this with us. Encouragement is always welcome.

Hopeful Heart, <P>A verse just came to mind that always lifts me up:<P>"My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him" Psalms 62:5<P>Blessings to you,<P>AW