Discouraged

Jesus, help. I can't make it on my own. Remind me of how you restored your prophet Elijah, who in his discouragment you restored his strength.

Unfaithful

The smell of stale cigarettes filled the house when she came home. It was late and the scent turned his stomach, not because of the smell of cigarettes but because it pointed to something else. He wondered if she saw the tears fill his eyes when they embraced; but she didn’t. In fact, she was too drunk to notice much of anything.
“Where have you been?” He tried to disguise his broken voice by clearing his throat immediately after the question. The question didn’t need to be asked, except to make clear that he knew.
“Out…I don’t feel up to talking about this right now. I need to go to bed.” Her syllables were slurred and words flowed into each other seamlessly indicating that she would most likely barely remember coming home at all. She was cold and distant.
“I was worried when you didn’t come home.”
She ignored him and walked passed him into the bedroom and landed in the soft bed, falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning he awoke to soft, but faint crying coming from inside the living room. He walked over to where she was and stood beside her and asked, “Why are you crying?”
The crying became harder. She looked up at him and said, “I have been unfaithful to you.”
He grabbed her and pulled him closer to himself embracing her said, “I know.” And she cried harder still into his chest. “I love you. We will get through this.”
The next few days were tense and awkward for her. Even though they were trying to let go of the past together, she felt guilt and shame. Nothing seemed to help. A few weeks went by and the feeling of guilt was replaced by a longing to be with her lover. She fought it off for awhile, until the day that she got the phone call. The words through the receiver came through and pierced her heart.
“I missed you. When can I see you again?”
“Tonight.” She said.
So he sat there in the living room. The hours passed by with each minute in anticipation for his wife to come home. Until at last the door opened and she came home and fell on her knees cried out for her husband. He came close to her and fell by her side, kissed her cheeks and whipped the tears from her eyes.
“I am sorry…I”
“I know. I still love you, church”