Not even sure how to start this or even what to write. What do you say when a friend of yours for 12+ years tells you that he and his wife have been separated for 4 months and he just (that day) found “the papers”? He has put his entire life into providing for his family. Or, at least that what we call it. He is a workaholic. The absolute best at what he does. He’s a self-employed sole-proprietor with few checks and balances in his own life. The wife is a great stay at home mom. She excels at that, by my own observation and by his saying so. Unfortunately, along the way to the path of success, they neglected the one thing that is supposed ot hold it all together, their marriage. She now resents him for being at work all the time and for not paying attention to her. She’s needs someone a bit more “sensitive” to her needs.
As I understand it, that’s basically it. He chose not to tell me all the dirt and I don’t really care. So, what do I say to him? How do I help him? My nature, of course, is to try to fix things that are broken. To create some beauty from chaos. And his life, in particular, is quite a mess. Totally. He can’t even figure our how to smoke correctly. So, do I step in and call a meeting between them. An intervention? Do we watch his/their lives go up in smoke? Did I mention the 5 kids involved?
My heart is extremely heavy. Help them God. Help me help them. Help.
