Free Will Several years ago I met and dated a divorced man from my church. Eventually, with the church's blessing, we married. I was 30 at the time, raising a daughter on my own. Immediately during our honeymoon, Dr. Jekyll became Mr. Hyde. My husband was a violent man with a drinking problem and insecurities the size of Texas. As a good wife I felt it my duty to stand by my husband and believed with nurturing and patience his behavior would change. It did. It got worse.
Four years later I gathered the strength to leave him, scared and scarred. I was in therapy for two years, but therapy has not been the answer. I ended up angry when it was suggested I had "gone through a lot." I have never overcome the guilt I feel at not having helped my husband change. Christine
Christine, nurses cannot save every patient. They don't have that power. One key to being a good nurse is accepting the limits of your power.
Each of us has a free will, but it is our own will. It is not a will we get to exercise on another. If we could, then not only could you have changed your husband, but your husband could have changed you. Wayne & Tamara
Authors and columnists Wayne and Tamara Mitchell can be reached at www.WayneAndTamara.com. Send letters to: Direct Answers, PO Box 964, Springfield, MO 65801 or email: DirectAnswers@WayneAndTamara.com.
| 
