Page 105 of Wait for Me

“Ephesians 5:25 says, ‘Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.’ When Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, He gave himself for us. God sacrificed His only Son to save us.”

Byron walked to the edge of the platform. “Jesus is my example of how I am to love Tina. That is, I am to love her more than I love myself. Am I doing that on a daily basis? Or is it just at my own convenience? It wasn’t convenient for Jesus to sacrifice for us, was it? Yet, He did it out of love. Husbands, what does your love for your wife look like?”

Do I love Marie more than I love myself?

Logan wondered if he would be able to put up with Marie disappearing for months at a time, leaving their son with an absentee mother and a husband to sleep alone in their master bedroom? It would be almost like a long-distance relationship, and he wasn’t sure he wanted one.

Byron went on to his next point. “God’s love is unconditional.”

Whoa. What Mrs. Ping said before she left for her vacation.

Logan looked to his left and right, and then back at his Bible. What was God trying to tell him?

“Let’s read Colossians 3:19. ‘Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.’ What does that mean to you?” Byron asked. “Are you angry with your wife? Bitter about something she’s done to you? Unforgiving about the past?”

Again, Byron seemed to be staring right at Logan.

Am I bitter toward Marie?

Once upon a time, he had been. Now, not so much. After their Alaskan trip, Logan began to realize that he had to accept Marie for who she is. If she worked for INTERPOL—as that Buchanan guy said she did, which she hadn’t denied—then Logan had to live with it.

Why couldn’t he live with it? They’d have to adjust to their special relationship, like military spouses had to. It would mean many months of loneliness, but if Logan truly loved Marie, he would deal with it.

If he truly loved her…

After church, one of Jonas’s friends wanted him to go over to their house for a hamburger cookout. Logan went with him, accompanied by two men from Mendenhall Security.

By the time Logan reached home, Jonas was ready for his afternoon nap.

So was Logan, but he drank some coffee and padded to his office.

He knew it was still there in his safe, but he had to see it firsthand to make sure.

He punched in the combination to his safe, and reached in to get the box.

Yes, Marie’s diamond ring and their wedding bands were still there. The rings they had bought together in Paris some six years before. The rings they had worn for three years into their marriage.

The rings he could not part with.

Logan closed the jewelry box and placed it on his oak desk. He leaned back against his office chair and closed his eyes.

Lord, please forgive me, and restore our marriage.

When he finished praying, he knew what to do.

Nervously, he texted Esperanza. He didn’t want to send another care package. He wanted to talk to Marie, to hear her voice, and he wouldn’t takenofor an answer.

Of course, Marie wasn’t available.

Chapter Forty-Nine

Before Logan knew it, Monday and Tuesday came around again, and then Wednesday. He was back to his weekday routine. He would drop off Jonas at the kindergarten and then go to the grocery store. Except on Thursday.

On Thursday, he stayed in Jonas’s class during the first period to talk about his job as a father. The teacher had asked if he was a stay-at-home dad. Finding out he wasn’t, she asked him to speak to the kids anyway about what it took to raise a five-year-old. The entire time, Jonas was lying down on the rug, playing with his fingers and toes, not paying any attention to his dad’s carefully prepared speech.

Then Logan went home only to realize that he had worn mismatched socks to kindergarten, and that there was a dollop of organic mixed berry jam on his Balenciaga polo shirt.

He threw his clothes into the washing machine, and wished Mrs. Ping was back working in his house. She had started out as a nanny, but agreed to add on more work around the house for extra pay.

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