Even if you do not listen to country music, you most certainly remember the song he wrote and sung titled, "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)" shortly after September 11th.
This book was written about their life and marriage. The Jacksons were small town folk. He worked at the K-Mart for a time, and Denise was a 2nd grade teacher before becoming a flight attendant. For the sake of time and space, I won't retell their entire story--you'll have to get the book and read it for yourself!
I will tell you this much. This couple has been through the valley. Separation. Affair. More separation. Loneliness. Despair. Hopelessness.
Denise reminds her readers that it is in the valleys of life you realize just how much you need a Savior. Someone who will never leave you nor forsake you.
If you have never experienced a valley of darkness in your marriage, consider yourself blessed. If you have experienced a valley and your marriage survived, you will understand this. It's not about you. And it's not about your spouse. It's all about Jesus. When the two of you become focused on Him and accomplishing His will, nothing can tear you apart.
This lesson is a hard one to learn. And at times it feels impossible. Once it's learned though, it is a beautiful thing.
I will leave you with a quote from the book:
"It's odd: I would never have chosen to go through the pain of those
awful days, but through it, God got my attention. I had been skimming
along on the surface of my fairy-tale life, ignoring the fact that Jesus was
softly and tenderly calling me to come home to Him. I'd closed my eyes to
any warnings that a storm was coming in my marriage.""Once that storm broke my heart wide open, though, I finally cried out to
God. I heard His voice. I felt His love. And I realized that
Alan was never designed to be the center of my life. No human being could
fill that place. Christ alone could truly be my all-in-all. "( Denise Jackson, "It's All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life")
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