The Tough Stuff

This weekend I ran headlong (at full speed of course) into a brick wall of heartache. But it wasn't mine. I was talking to a friend about casual happenings over the past few weeks since I'd seen her. I jokingly told her how exasperated I was and she said, "I bet I can top that."

I said, "Okay, let the competition begin." We're both sarcastic and dramatic and frequently out-do each other based on the silliest stuff. It's generally nothing. Not this time. If only, but no.

"My husband left me," she said. There was no hint of the jokester in her words. She was dead serious. Yet I still asked the world's dumbest question...."are you serious?" Duh. Of course she was--nobody jokes about that. I was speechless as she continued to talk. She married at 19 so it's been a little more than 20 years. That's right, 20 years. And just like that, it's over.

Did you know you can file online for divorce? I didn't until Saturday. Well, he did and she already got the credit card bill. How despicable is that? Could they make it any easier?

I asked what I could do for her and she said, "just pray for me." Since she doesn't even know Christ, this is huge. Almost as an afterthought she said, "and give me a hug." I hugged her and the tears ran down my cheeks.

My heart is broken for my friend. She's got a long road ahead of her. I intend to be there for every step she takes but at the end of the day, she'll still go home to her empty house and cry alone. I can't stop it. I can't make the pain go away. I wish I could.

This is the tough stuff.