The Shepherd is getting ready to officiate a wedding for a couple. They are both divorced with children from the first marriage. In getting ready for the wedding, the couple is faced with obstacles from their children.
People often assume if they wait until their children are grown, they can divorce and move on to the next phase of life. However, I have observed that is not the case. As the children grow up, they cannot adapt to their parents’ divorce. Why is it so hard? As an adult, it is assumed they have the skills to move on.
I think it is more difficult for adult children because divorce causes a crumbling of all the foundations for the marriage of the adult children. The adult children model their marriage by what they saw growing up. To have their parents then divorce is to crumble all the understandings of how to interact. Young children get to adjust their understanding of how to make marriage work — adult children have already started putting their marriage together based on their parent’s example.
Oh parents, your children need you to make your marriage work… ’til death do us part.