The Grace-Filled Divorce

Book excerpt: Divorce is one of those experiences that everyone believes will happen to someone else. So what do you do when it happens to you? As a Christian believer, how can you walk through the valley of divorce and emerge better and not bitter? Christians who check their faith at the courtroom door as they seek to "win" their divorce cases leave their families, communities, churches and, most tragically, their children permanently wounded. In The Grace-Filled Divorce, Dr. Melody Bacon shares a very different perspective on how to approach divorce-one that is an opportunity for personal growth and spiritual formation. Open yourself up to God's grace. Allow it to flow into and through you, so that the confusion and pain you are experiencing can be transformed into a deeper relationship with God, yourself, and others. This book will assist readers in learning How to embrace grief, in order to let go of old ideas, assumptions and perspectives How to recognize and change relationship patterns that contributed to the divorce How to create a workable relationship with an ex-spouse How to use ancient Christian spiritual practices to more fully experience the presence of God How to partner with God to redeem the divorce experience, so that His love may be more fully revealed. Melody Bacon holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, with an emphasis in depth psychology, from Pacifica Graduate Institute and an M.A. in U.S. history from Cal State Northridge. In their private practice, Melody and her husband Ron (a marriage and family therapist), work with couples and individuals facing relationship challenges. They also conduct workshops for pre-engaged couples: Before You Pop the Question, and married couples: Happily Married After. Dr. Bacon is also a teacher and administrator for the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Southern California where she chairs the Marital and Family Therapy program. She is passionate about blending the insights of psychology with spiritual formation practices and has been inspired by writings of Calvin Miller, John Eldridge and Alan Jones, among others. Her training in Jungian analytic psychology has given her tremendous respect for the ways in which God reveals himself, particularly through dreams. She endeavors to stay at least one step ahead of her clients in learning the lessons that God has to teach. Periodically, she and her husband test the limits of their marriage and spiritual commitment on the golf course.