Faith & Family
by Melanie Hemry
Things shouldn’t be this hard. That thought kept circling in Kevin Hostetler’s mind like a buzzard hovering over roadkill. Straightening his desk, Kevin prepared to leave for the day. Then, sinking back into his chair, he closed his eyes. All his struggles and questions felt heavy and oppressive.
It shouldn’t be that way. Not for a strong believer who’d been raised in a Christian home. Life’s struggles shouldn’t leave him questioning everything. They shouldn’t make him so apathetic that he didn’t even care much about going to church.
Family had always been important to Kevin. His own family. God’s family. That’s why the sudden and devastating church split had left him reeling. The enemy had driven a wedge between segments of the church, splitting them apart like the parting of the Red Sea. If that hadn’t been enough, he and his wife, Joan, had ended up on one side of the split, and his family on the other.
The pain from having his own family and his church family at odds had been excruciating. But that had been exacerbated by another loss.
Kevin and Joan had been married for 13 years without having any children. Fertility specialists scratched their heads with no answers. If that weren’t bad enough, now they were faced with a financial crisis that threatened to rip apart the seams of their lives. Kevin had called debt consolidators for help.
“You’re too far gone,” they said. “You need to declare bankruptcy.”
Though determined to not do that, Kevin saw no way out.
BVOV : 17
