God Can Restore What The Locust Have Eaten
By Russell Gehrlein
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten” Joel 2:25.
This glimpse of hope from the OT came to mind as I thought about the many blessings that my adult children and their children are experiencing that my wife and I and our children did not experience.
As we are approaching the Thanksgiving holiday where we have the amazing opportunity to have all three of our kids come home for the first time in several years due to the pandemic, I was thinking of how good God has been to this first-generation Christian family over the past four decades plus.
Let me contrast the pattern of brokenness that the second and third generations face as a consequence of divorce in the first generation with the God-given blessings that children and grandchildren receive in a family where the parents are happily married. I also want to put the spotlight on God, who in His lovingkindness can restore what was taken. I invite you to join me as I share this redemptive story.
The fractured life with divorced parents
My wife and I both came from divorced families. Her parents divorced when she was 13 years old. Mine got divorced when I was in college. So, when we got married and had kids of our own and we wanted to visit “Grandma and Grandpa”, they were living in separate households married to someone else. During the holidays, we usually had to choose whether to spend time with Grandma and her husband or Grandpa and his wife or split the time in half, visiting each one separately.
After my parents’ divorce, spending a holiday with my entire family of origin (my brother, two sisters, their families, our mother and father) never happened. The times my siblings and I were all gathered together were rare. I can probably count them on one hand. Few three generation pictures were taken.
Because I did not see my siblings very often over the years, we drifted apart. There was no family patriarch or matriarch who were still married who arranged family gatherings to pull us all together. As a result, my children did not get to know their aunts, uncles, and cousins on my side very much.
My wife’s experience was far worse. Her parents divorced at a critical time in her development. As the oldest of three children, she became the de facto mother to her brother and sister on many occasions to compensate for her mother’s absence as she struggled to survive. She had to be the responsible one.
Not only did we suffer as adult children of divorce, but I know that our children suffered as well. They had twice as many grandparents, which was always confusing. They were not role models for our kids to look up to. As my wife and I continued to deal with the aftermath of alcoholism, neglect, and adultery that we saw first-hand in our parents, our children’s perceptions were impacted. Those who have gone through similar circumstances will understand the depth of our pain and disappointment.
I hope that I painted a vivid picture of the swarm of locusts that came into our lives, year after year. This was the hand that we were dealt. Due to Adam’s and Eve’s sin, the sins of our family members and others, plus our own sins, we live in a fallen world. Our experiences are not unique. This is a common tale. Thankfully, this was not the end of the story. God intervened, as He always does.
The secure life with happily married parents
In God’s perfect timing, my wife and I each had a friend who prayed for our salvation. They brought us to a place where we could hear and respond in faith to the good news of Jesus, and we were saved.
In the midst of this mess in our respective families of origin, my wife and I began our faith journey. God, in His mercy and grace took us both through these emotional trials, taught us how to forgive, brought healing, and enabled us to create a marriage and family based on solid biblical principles. We made a choice who to serve: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
Over the years, we have seen God’s power to deliver us from a dry desert into the promised land.
Please don’t misunderstand. My wife and I were far from perfect. We had to figure out how to live as husband and wife. We started out by doing the opposite of what we saw in our parents’ marriages. There was no alcohol or unfaithfulness. We learned to resolve conflicts through honest communication and agape love, not by giving the silent treatment or shouting. God gave us wisdom through His word.
I worked hard to do the one thing that husbands must do – love their wife as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25). Of all the things he could have directed, why did Paul single out this command? It’s obvious. This is the hardest thing for men to do and the most important thing for women to receive. My wife worked hard on the one thing wives must do – submit to/respect their husband (Eph. 5:22). This is clearly the hardest thing for women to do and the most important thing for men to receive.
Once we had children, we had to learn a whole lot of things about parenting that we did not know. We figured it out one day at a time and made it up as we went along. We taught them to obey their parents and they learned to do that. Now they honor their parents and they are teaching their own children.
As my wife and I lived out our Christian marriage over nearly 42 years, we showed our children what right looks like: not perfection, but direction. Two lonely sinners saved by God’s grace became ONE.
My kids stay in touch with each other on their own, but my wife and I facilitate holiday gatherings and family reunions. Now, when the kids and grandkids come to visit Nana and Grandpa, they only have to go to one place. They see a team, united by their faith, resulting in a joyful Christian marriage. They see that we love their mother and father and they know they are loved, which gives them security.
God is the one who can restore what has been stolen
My purpose in sharing these very personal experiences and reflections here is not to put the spotlight and what we have done to bounce back from adversity. Far from it. My purpose is to glorify God.
Here is a sweet text that my brother sent me while he was waiting for his flight home after spending the weekend with our family at my surprise 60th birthday party a few years ago: “So glad I came to see you and everyone. What a blessing. . . Never would have guessed the ‘brokenness’ of our collective parents’ relationships would have resulted in what appears to be two generations of family wholeness.”
God is the only one who can work all things for good (Rom. 8:28). God is the one who specializes in bringing restoration, healing, recovery, hope, and strength to overcome to His children who trust in Him and follow His word. He alone has brought to us light out of darkness, confidence out of fear, and joy out of despair. He has graciously done that for our family, and He can do it for you.
Russell E. Gehrlein (Master Sergeant, U.S. Army, Retired) is a Christian, husband, father, grandfather, and blogger. He received a B.S. in mathematics from Colorado State University and an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. God has given him a unique career journey as a junior/high school math and science teacher, youth pastor, and service in the military. Russ has worked as a Department of the Army civilian at Fort Leonard Wood for the past 13 years. He is an ordinary man whose passion is helping other people experience God’s presence and integrate their Christian faith at work.
His first book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession is A Biblical, Theological, and Practical Approach to the Doctrine of Work. Russ has written for the NCO Journal, Army Chemical Review, Campus Life, and for the Center for Army Lessons Learned. Russ has been published in Christian blogs and websites such as, Center for Faith & Work at LeTourneau University, Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, Coram Deo, Nashville Institute for Faith + Work, Made to Flourish, 4Word Women, and The Gospel Coalition. His blog, Reflections on Theological Topics of Interest, inspires him to write on a continual basis.
Feature Photo from Russell’s website.
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