Braving Broken Relationships: How God Brings Beauty from the Ashes of Hurt

By Mary Rooney Armand

God's Brave Women - Mary's Story

Leaning on his car, my boyfriend looked across the calm water and casually delivered three devastating sentences.

“I want to break up. I don’t know what I want right now. I don’t want to cheat on you.”

What! How is he breaking up with me just like that? Why does he seem so distant and indifferent? My thoughts went crazy. Why did he choose this beautiful spot beside the lake to break my heart?

No eye contact. No warm embrace. No I am sorry. Nothing but awkward silence.

But wait a minute. We had discussed marriage; our wedding song and beautiful Caribbean honeymoon location were already chosen.

Looking at the still water, it was hard to reconcile its peacefulness with the desperation churning inside of my heart. The thought of breaking up was crushing, but the words 'cheating on me' meant there may be someone better than me.

A break up by definition is a separation and there is no easy way to pull two people apart who are connected. It just feels unnatural, even if breaking into separate pieces is best.