Another safe friend

I only have one childhood friend that I keep in touch with.  We live several states away from each other and talk sporadically.  She called me out of the blue this past week.  And she wanted to talk about her marriage.  So, of course I ended up telling her all about mine and what has transpired in the past few months.  I knew she would be safe.  We've known each other since 4th grade.  We've walked a lot of life together.  I had no idea how encouraging it would be to tell her though.

My favorite quotes from her:
"Of course you guys are going to make it.  You have always been best friends."
"Your marriage is built on way more than this."
"Poor thing!  He's been torturing himself his whole life!"
"Marriage is so hard!" (talking about herself)
"This is a spiritual battle."

I'm sure her tone does not come across in a blog post but she was so loving and encouraging.  With each person I tell it gets easier and easier.

And for my husband, too.  Today he met with one of his mentors, an older gentleman that we both highly respect.  He shared with him about his lifelong struggle with SSA.  His mentor was so gracious and loving.  He said that my husband is not the first person he has known with this struggle and that in the end you battle for your soul in the same way regardless of what your personal struggle is.

I still can't quite imagine our secret being completely "out" but who knows?  Maybe that's where we are heading one safe person at a time.