Sign up for our free newsletter:

 1 of 3

I've always wanted to be a surgeon. The day I got accepted into medical school was one of the happiest of my life. After medical school, I began a grueling seven-day-a-week surgical residence at a large medical center in Chicago, where the demands of the six-year residency were high.

I'd met Jennifer just before beginning my residency. She was practicing law in Pennsylvania. We fell in love, and two years later we got married. Jennifer joined me in Illinois and landed a good job. Unfortunately, my work schedule didn't afford us much time together. This was frustrating, but still we worked hard at our new marriage. Three years later, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Jessica. Despite the increased demands on our time and energy levels, Jennifer and I continued to balance our careers, parenting, and social life fairly well.

As my residency neared completion, I realized that to become a trauma surgeon I'd have to extend my training to include a one-year trauma fellowship. I knew Jennifer wouldn't be thrilled, particularly because it meant moving to another state. But, after investing so many years into my training, what was one more year?

The news hit Jennifer like a brick. She balked at the idea of leaving Illinois and all she had worked toward. Frankly, I didn't fully understand her resistance toward moving. After all, God had been faithful to provide for her needs when she moved to Illinois, and he would do so once again. Whenever we discussed the topic, the conversation was strained and tear-filled.

After graduating from law school, I landed a dream job working as a civil litigator in a large firm in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Shortly after that, I met Keith and came to believe that he was the man God intended for me to marry. Because of my love for him, I offered to quit my job and join him in Illinois. Leaving family, friends, and church behind was difficult, as was moving to a state where I was not licensed to practice law.

Keith's work schedule was also tough on me. He was gone a lot of the time, and when he was home, he was usually tired. I worked hard to make new friends and get involved at our church. And within our first year of marriage, I became licensed and secured a job as an attorney with the State of Illinois. We needed my income to meet expenses. I enjoyed the work, and after our daughter was born, I was able to work out of our home.

When Keith told me that he had to do additional training out-of-state, I was devastated. Moving has always been tough for me, and Illinois was already the sixth state I had lived in. I proposed that he move alone and fly home on the weekends. After all, why should I have to sacrifice what I had worked so hard for again? Why was his career goal more important than mine? And how would we meet our expenses without my income? I loved Keith and was committed to our marriage, but this was too much.

next page... |  1 of 3

				Try an Issue of Today's Christian Woman Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Today's Christian Woman coming, honor your invoice for just $17.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Today's Christian Woman as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

RSS Feed   RSS Help