{"id":20957,"date":"2026-03-11T10:15:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T10:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/absence-prayer-make-their-hearts-grow-fonder\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:11:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:11:07","slug":"absence-prayer-make-their-hearts-grow-fonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/health-and-wellness\/life-advice\/managing-life-changes\/absence-prayer-make-their-hearts-grow-fonder\/","title":{"rendered":"Absence, Prayer Make Their Hearts Grow Fonder"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANGIE: <\/strong>\u201cGoodnight,\u201d I said to my new husband, Don. But there was no goodnight kiss. I could hardly remember when our last kiss had been. \u201cLove you…oh, and tell Mom I said hi,\u201d I added before we hung up.<\/p>\n

I plugged my phone into the charger on my nightstand and lay down. But it was no use. Sleep wouldn\u2019t come. Just worry and loneliness.<\/p>\n

The catfish processing plant where Don had been a manager here in Alabama had sold and the only companies hiring in his field were in the Dallas, Texas, area. I had a full-time job and we have five kids between us, four in college. There was no way we could all uproot from Tuscaloosa.<\/p>\n

Besides, my youngest was only 12\u2014I couldn\u2019t move him out of state, away from his dad, my ex-husband. Fortunately, my mom lived in Denton, Texas, and offered to let Don move in with her while he was job hunting. A good solution to a bad problem.<\/p>\n

Yet with each passing day the distance between us felt greater. And it wasn\u2019t just the miles. Don and I had been high school sweethearts. We\u2019d reconnected five years ago after we\u2019d both gone through devastating divorces.<\/p>\n

We felt so blessed to have a second chance at love. It felt like a gift from God. But now I wondered, Lord, why did you bring us together again only to keep us apart?<\/em><\/p>\n

DON: <\/strong>I knew losing my job wasn\u2019t my fault. The economy was in bad shape and the plant I worked for just couldn\u2019t make it. Still, I felt like a failure. I\u2019d always prided myself on being a hard worker, a good provider for my family.<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019d let them down. Especially Angie. I was so thankful God brought her back into my life. I\u2019d wanted to take care of her completely, make it so she never had to worry again, yet all I\u2019d done was bring more stress into her life.<\/p>\n

She was supporting our family\u2014that was supposed to be my role.<\/p>\n

Angie\u2019s mom was very generous. \u201cDon\u2019t worry about staying here,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m glad to help.\u201d But I felt like a burden using her utilities and groceries.<\/p>\n

I found a church I liked but what I really needed to find was work. Fast. Problem was, every interview I went on, there were scores of guys just like me: middleaged men with business backgrounds and proven track records. Hundreds of us vying for the same few positions.<\/p>\n

It was discouraging. Demoralizing. But I couldn\u2019t tell Angie. No way. I couldn\u2019t drag her down like that. So every night when we talked on the phone, I put on a good front. \u201cHow\u2019d it go today?\u201d she\u2019d ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the interview went well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s great! When will you know if you got the job?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure. But don\u2019t worry. If this doesn\u2019t work out, another will.\u201d Maybe if I kept saying it, I\u2019d believe it too.<\/p>\n

ANGIE: <\/strong>Weeks passed, then months. Nothing opened up for Don. The worst part was, I felt like I was carrying the burden of all our worries. When Don and I talked, he sounded so upbeat, as if he didn\u2019t have a care in the world.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just that we weren\u2019t living in the same house\u2014sometimes it seemed like we weren\u2019t in the same marriage.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot a little glitch, Ang,\u201d Don told me one night. \u201cYour mom\u2019s neighborhood covenant won\u2019t allow her to have company much longer. She can\u2019t have overnight guests for more than thirteen weeks, and we\u2019re running out of time. Don\u2019t worry, though, I\u2019m sure something will work out by then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, hon,\u201d I said, trying not to sound anxious. Deep down, though, I was terrified. Why would everything suddenly work out? It hadn\u2019t so far. How could Don seem relaxed at a time like this? We hung up the phone.<\/p>\n

With each call that followed, I pressed Don for answers and he grew tired of my questioning. We were short with each other. For the first time, tension mounted between us.<\/p>\n

DON: <\/strong>I was pretty shaken up. We\u2019d never really argued before. I didn\u2019t blame Angie for being upset. She was the one working every day, paying the bills and taking care of our family. She had a lot on her. Too much.<\/p>\n

I just wanted to take her in my arms and hold her tight. If only she weren\u2019t 600 miles away!<\/p>\n

One night I hit my knees. \u201cGod,\u201d I prayed, \u201cI\u2019ve always been a can-do guy, but I can\u2019t do this alone. Please, help me. Show me how to provide for my family and be the husband Angie needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

ANGIE: <\/strong>One afternoon my mom called me at work. \u201cAngie,\u201d she said, \u201cI don\u2019t want to interfere in your marriage, but Don\u2019s pretty depressed about not finding a job. He seems real worried. Why don\u2019t you talk to him about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked, surprised. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t sound worried at all when I talk to him.\u201d But maybe Mom was right. I knew Don was doing the best he could. Things were probably taking more of a toll on him than he was letting on. I called him as soon as I got home.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, honey,\u201d I said. \u201cMom told me that you\u2019re real stressed about finding work…but whenever I talk to you, you seem so optimistic. What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, Ang,\u201d Don said, \u201cI just didn\u2019t want to bother you with my worries. I know you have a lot on your plate too. Maybe we need to be more honest with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

I heard Don take a deep breath. \u201cAll this time I\u2019ve been trying to hide how scared I am,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I get it,\u201d I said. \u201cI thought you just weren\u2019t worried and I couldn\u2019t understand why. I thought I had to do all of the worrying for both of us!\u201d<\/p>\n

DON: <\/strong>The strongest urge came over me. \u201cWould you do something for me?\u201d I asked Angie.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you get down on your knees and pray with me right now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019d prayed together before meals and at church, that sort of thing. We\u2019d never prayed together on our knees\u2014 let alone over the phone!<\/p>\n

At first, I felt so strange, so vulnerable, putting my fears out there, saying everything out loud. But with each prayer I spoke, I felt a weight lift from me.<\/p>\n

ANGIE: <\/strong>To hear Don, my Superman, pour out his heart to God and ask for help made me see him in a different light. Here was a man strong enough to admit his fears, his helplessness. My respect for him deepened.<\/p>\n

Especially when Don added one last prayer: \u201cLord, help me to rely not on myself, but on you. Take this experience and use it for your glory and for our good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmen,\u201d we said.<\/p>\n

I slept soundly for the first night in a long time.<\/p>\n

DON: <\/strong>I\u2019d been going to the Singing Oaks Church of Christ since I\u2019d moved to Texas, only now I noticed a section in the bulletin about praying for other members\u2019 needs. People going through tough times were listed with their specific requests so that the congregation could lift them up in prayer.<\/p>\n

One woman, a retired schoolteacher, had moved to Texas to be near her children. Then the stock market tanked and she was afraid of losing what she\u2019d put away for her retirement. Now, she had to move back to Maryland, where her teaching certificate was valid, and return to work.<\/p>\n

My heart ached for her. I prayed for her and everyone else on that list.<\/p>\n

I still pounded the pavement every day. But in between, I helped people from our prayer list with their r\u00e9sum\u00e9s and connected them with the business contacts I\u2019d made over the years. They did the same for me. It made me feel useful again, took the focus off my problems.<\/p>\n

All the while, I kept praying every night with Angie on the phone. Having the woman I love go before God with me was an intimacy I\u2019d never experienced before. I\u2019d never bared my soul like that, trusted so completely.<\/p>\n

ANGIE: <\/strong>\u201cYou\u2019re not going to believe this,\u201d Don said one night.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got a job?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot yet. But I\u2019ve got a place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon, we just can\u2019t afford an apartment right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The woman from his church had been offered a teaching position in Maryland, but she didn\u2019t plan on selling her house since she wanted to return to be with her family in a few years. So she\u2019d asked Don to housesit.<\/p>\n

It was a beautiful five-bedroom home, and she invited Don to live there rent-free to keep up the yard and the housekeeping. She told Don he\u2019d <\/em>be doing her <\/em>a big favor!<\/p>\n

I broke down and sobbed at her kindness. And at God\u2019s goodness. Only he could have used the miles between us to deepen our love, and our trust in our marriage and in him.<\/p>\n

DON: <\/strong>A few months later, I landed a good job with a solid company.<\/p>\n

Two years have passed. I\u2019m still in Texas and Angie\u2019s in Alabama. We\u2019re so grateful to have the support of friends and family. My coworkers call me \u201cThe Virtual Dad\u201d because the kids and I video chat, e-mail and text so much.<\/p>\n

Angie and I watch our spending and see each other only every few weeks but we talk every night and we are joined heart and soul. That\u2019s what praying together has done for us, drawing us closer than ever to God and to each other. And with his providence, we see the future brightening before us.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Download your FREE ebook, True Inspirational Stories: 9 Real Life Stories of Hope & Faith<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANGIE: \u201cGoodnight,\u201d I said to my new husband, Don. But there was no goodnight kiss. I could hardly remember when our last kiss had been. \u201cLove you…oh, and tell Mom I said hi,\u201d I added before we hung up. I plugged my phone into the charger on my nightstand and lay down. 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