Staying Together When You Feel Like Leaving

Vicki Rose was sitting on the beach when she realized her life was crashing down around her. Up and down the coastline families played together, built sandcastles, splashed in the waves, and created memories.

Vicki sat there alone, sobbing. Her kids were hundreds of miles away with a babysitter. Her husband, Bill, was back in their hotel room, sick, trying to survive withdrawals from his drug addiction.

Vicki had once believed that marriage would offer her the love and care she’d always wanted, heal her childhood hurts, and fill up her emptiness.

It hadn’t.

Her husband was a former baseball player turned owner of a swanky New York City restaurant whose clientele was a who’s who of celebrities. He often spent 18 hours a day there caught up in the glamor of celebrity, women, and drugs. He thought his achievements would fill up the empty places inside of him and make him happier.

It didn’t.

Sometime after Vicki’s breakdown on the beach, she received an invitation from a friend to attend a speaking engagement about Christianity by then Secretary of the Interior Don Hodel and his wife, Barbara.

It seemed an odd topic, and Vicki had never heard of the Hodels, but she attended anyway. (I’m proud to say Don served on the board here at Focus on the Family and later served as the interim president before I was appointed to that role.)

That night at the dinner party, surrounded by 900 people in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City, Vicki asked Jesus Christ into her life.

A few months later, Bill also came to Christ. He was rescued miraculously from his drug addiction and began reprioritizing his marriage and his kids back into his life.

Bill and Vicki Rose’s story is a remarkable journey of restoration between a couple headed for certain divorce. We’ve invited them to join us in our studios on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Staying Together When You Feel Like Leaving” to share their experiences. I am positive that what you’ll hear will capture your attention and your heart. Their marriage seemed impossibly broken and suffered a long separation. But God brought them back together to thrive.

Join us on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or on our free phone app.

Their story reveals how wrong a relationship can go when a husband and wife don’t root their marriage in the Lord. It also demonstrates that Jesus can reach into the darkest of circumstances and bring restoration.

Our desire is to offer hope and to inspire people who are living in a place similar to where Bill and Vicki were. That’s what we live and breathe to do here at Focus on the Family, so if you need help, call us. We want to be there for you. The number to our counselors is 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

If you’re on the brink of divorce, our Hope Restored marriage intensives can go a long way toward facilitating healing between you and your spouse and bringing restoration to your relationship. The intensives take place in three locations: Branson, MO; Greenville, MI; and the WinShape Retreat Center in Rome, GA. The number for Hope Restored is 1-866-875-2915, or visit online.

Finally, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to become a special partner with us through our monthly “Friends of Focus on the Family” program. When you do, I’ll send you a copy of Viki Rose’s book Every Reason to Leave: And Why We Chose to Stay Together as a way of saying thank you for touching others with the love of Christ. You’ll also receive member-exclusive benefits. To make your pledge, or for more information, visit our website or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).