John, a faithful reader, posted a request that I am loathe to refuse. John and his wife are splitting up, an amicable divorce, thankfully, but wrenching nonetheless. John requests:

Would you get the word out for a brother for prayer that God’s will will be done- and no one would get terribly hurt?

I have my misgivings about using my blog for so public a request. This place is my creative outlet, my venting place. It’s my confessional.

But it’s also a place where people come to share a little of my experiences and perhaps find the odd chuckle here and there. Your blog too, in other words.

You see, I’ve been where John is.

I know from hard, first-hand experience that relationships die without nurturing. I came home from a trip almost three years ago and found my wife gone, with nothing but a note for explanation. I was hurt, and confused, angry and bitter. The experience nearly wrecked me, and the lives of a couple of others.

At the time, I was too wrapped up in work and commitments to see my wife’s pain. I was blissfully unaware that the love I thought would last a lifetime was flickering out for lack of fuel. We let life blind us each of us to the person that made it worth living.

Thankfully, my wife and I were grownups, and for the sake of our friendship and our daughter, we kept things civil. We’re still friends. Heck, she’s even my direct supervisor at work.

But it could so easily have gone the other way. That’s where John and his wife are right now.

So if you are the praying sort, think about saying one tonight to the deity of your choice, that John and his wife find peace apart from each other, and remain friends along whatever path they choose. If you’re not of a particularly religious bent, just send a few good wishes his way. A little support from your fellow man (or woman) goes a long way.