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The news broke that her husband had come down with a rare blood disorder that threatened his life. Apparently he had contracted some sort of virus and the prognosis was not good. The church rallied around the family. I marveled at the compassion of the members and also at the courage of the grief-stricken wife. I watched this woman openly, and with great emotion, express the great love she had for her husband.

Hospitalized and near death, her husband hung on for dear life as the family and ward prayed for his recovery. When all seemed lost, a miracle occurred. Her husband made a remarkable about-face as he somehow fought off the virus that had invaded his body. He went from, “one foot in the grave,” to a full recovery. The ward shared in the joy with the family as this man, through the grace of God, was able to continue living with no apparent residual health problems. All seemed well.

The following week the wife asked to meet with me. After a short prayer, she said with some bitterness: “I thought my husband was going to die but the Lord was just teasing me!” I must say, that was the last thing I was expecting her to say after her husband had been saved. She was disappointed in the Lord! He had let her down by not allowing her husband to die!

I have learned many things while serving in the church, one of which is that things are not always as they appear. Somehow, in our minds, we think others lives are like a Norman Rockwell painting. So pretty, so serene, so, well, so normal. How come ours are the only lives filled with trials and problems? I learned that all are experiencing problems similar to mine; many much worse. On the surface this sister presented a solid marriage and a great love for her husband, but behind the Norman Rockwell painting was a real person, with real problems and challenges, one of which apparently being her marriage. Paintings are nice to look at, but let us not forget that they are flat. The dimensions of this life are far more complex.