Part 34: The Perfect Crisis

Nothing tries a marriage like a crisis. How ever more trying is that which is unintentionally self inflicted, one so intricately woven into the woman's and her husband's very selves. It was both of their fault, but it was no one's fault. Her egg, his sperm. One without the other nullifies the possibility of molar pregnancy. It took them both to make this happen. However, in absolutely no way could they have made it happen. Neither had any control over the final outcome. She could no more prevent her eggs from being void of DNA as he could prevent his sperm from fertilizing it.

It was the perfect crisis, if there were ever such a thing. At least, the woman thought so. While she was good at the blame game and could defend her rightness till she was blue in the face, in this case, there was no one to blame but probability. It was a blessing in disguise. Had things been a little different, she surely would have fallen more deeply into her bad habits. Yet, Temptation, knowing it had lost this angle but fully understanding the woman's shortcomings, came to her in other forms.

He's relieved you're not having a baby. He didn't want it now, anyway.

If he would have been ready sooner, this never would have happened.

The lies crept into her mind during weak moments when tears and heartache filled her soul. Succumbing to the need to satisfy an explanation for this misfortune in her life, she allowed herself to believe it, instigating a gradual, subtle distancing from the man she loved.

Her mood swings should have been enough to drive him mad, yet he continually proved himself selfless. He loved her as Christ loved the Church, giving himself up for her. He washed the dishes and ran loads of laundry. He listened to her laments and comforted her in his arms. He kept a roof over their heads and made progress on their basement project. He was steady, constant, patient, and kind. He was a man of honor and, in her mind, she did not deserve such a man. He, at least, deserved a better woman.

Nevertheless, they were bound to each other. The woman reflected on her past promises:

I take you to be my lawfully wedded husband, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, our family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

She had become lazy, yet he never faltered in keeping up his same end of the bargain. For a time she was able to maintain her emotionally detached position, but it became more difficult the longer she tried. Each kind word or loving gesture chipped away at her bitter heart. But his eyes were her biggest weakness. From the beginning, they had the power to evoke within her the deep longing to have his child. His dark, handsome eyes captured her heart. Out of them his love for her smiled directly into her soul. She could not escape his unconditional love.

Upon that realization, the woman confessed her wrongs to her husband and sought forgiveness, which he freely gave. From that point on, she made a conscious effort to practice her vows daily, for the sake of her husband and her marriage. Nothing tries a marriage like a crisis, but nothing strengthens a marriage like a devoted couple working together through a crisis.