What carries a marriage through infidelity, a cancer diagnosis, and 38 years of ordinary days in between? Leann Murphy has lived all three with her husband Mike, and she joins us to talk about what actually held their marriage together when the world told her to walk away. Our conversation is honest about the hardest season of her marriage, generous with the forgiveness she found on the other side of it, and full of the wisdom she later turned into letters for her own sons.

Author of Becoming a Husband: 21 Days of Preparation for a Son of God and Becoming a Wife: 21 Days of Preparation for a Daughter of God, published through Focus on the Family. Married to Mike for almost 38 years, mother of two sons, and grandmother to three grandsons, Leann and Mike live in central Louisiana. Connect with Leann and read more of her writing at karenleannmurphy.com.

In This Episode

  • A covenant, not a contract — Leann explains why believing her marriage was a covenant with God, not just a promise to Mike, is the reason she and Mike are still married at 38 years.
  • The season they almost didn't survive — Around year fifteen, infidelity nearly ended their marriage, and most of the counsel pointed toward separating. Leann gets honest about how they stayed.
  • Forgiveness that doesn't wait for repentance — A clear, biblical case for why forgiveness has to come before reconciliation — and why withholding it puts us above Christ.
  • Practical, biblical guidance for parents and newlyweds on shifting from parental authority to mentorship without losing the relationship.

Resources from This Episode

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