A Broken Marriage Transformed

The True-Life Story of Philip and Lee Vos

From the outside, everything appeared wonderful. My husband had a secure job in the Air Force. We had been married for nearly six years and had two beautiful little girls. We attended a nearby Methodist church, where my husband taught a Sunday school class. Yet something was terribly wrong.

A fracture had begun in our relationship that only deepened over time. It had been caused by a faulty foundation, a break-down in communication, and some of my own selfish choices. Though we were involved in church attendance and had gone to marriage counseling, nothing seemed to help.

I had been raised in a good home with parents who loved the Lord. They both knew Christ as their Savior, and they were daily in prayer that their children would come to Jesus and live for Him. In a revival meeting in 1956, I placed my faith in Jesus Chrit and accepted His gift of eternal life. I heard a lot about the gospel while I was younger, but I don’t remember hearing much about Christian growth. Combining this with my own waywardness, I slowly drifted from God into a dangerous place.

Phil and I met on a blind date about three years before we were married. He was a new recruit in the Air Force with a shaved head, big ears, and military issued, black-rim glasses. He and his friend came to church to meet my sister and me, then we all drove to Biloxi, Mississippi. On the way, Phil said nothing except “yes” and “no,” and he didn’t leave a great first impression. Even still, we had a good time, and the friendship continued. It wasn’t long before he was writing me every day and filling the letters with his home-spun wit and crazy ideas.

After two years and right before he received papers sending him to Thule, Greenland, Phil popped the question. I knew, from the Bible, that an unequal yoke was wrong. I was born-again, and Phil was not, but I was seventeen, and there was just a small chance for us to get married before he was stationed overseas with the USAF. Though it was against my upbringing and against the Bible, the wedding went ahead as planned. Thus, our relationship began on a faulty foundation.

He served his tour in Greenland and became a HAM radio operator. When Phil returned home in May of ’65, we moved to Patrick AFB in Satellite Beach, Florida. We had lived there six years and had our two oldest daughters, Cathy and Casie, when trouble on the home front surfaced.

We were young and neither of us knew how to communicate well. The pressures of life, finances, and raising young children all seemed to weight heavy upon us, and we didn’t know the basics of talking these issues through with each other. We certainly didn’t know how to take our burdens to the Lord. I knew the Lord but was backslidden, and Phil was not saved. Our interests, opinions, and solutions seemed constantly to clash, and help seemed nowhere in sight.

To add to it all, I began to drift away from Phil. My selfishness and neglect continued despite the warnings of my conscience and the Holy Spirit. The daily turmoil I was facing was more than I could bear. Finally, I asked Phil for a divorce. He couldn’t believe it! I left with a hard heart, determined I didn’t want him in my life any longer. I moved in with a friend and thought my problems would vanish. They only worsened. Selfishness took its toll on me physically and even mentally, but these were only symptoms. The root of my problem was spiritual. 

I needed God, plain and simple! I was out of fellowship with my Lord. As I read the Bible, I saw one verse after another about divorce. Malachi 2:16 declares that God hates it. Matthew 19:8 teaches that divorce is a result of hard hearts. God was trying to get my attention and reunite me with my family!

In the spring of 1970, I called Phil and asked if he would still have me. He said, “Yes,” and after a year of separation, we were back together. It wasn’t easy at first, but seven months later, we started attending First Baptist Church of Merritt Island, Florida. 

When Pastor Adrian Rogers opened the Bible and began to preach, we knew we were hearing the truth. He made it plain that all have sinned against God. “…They are all under sin; As it is written, there is none righteous, no , not one” (Romans 3:9-10). His message was clear that because of the sin of unbelief we are going to face a judgment in Hell. “The wicked shall be turned into hell…” (Psalm 9:17). Then he pointed to Jesus as the only solution for our sin. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among me, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). In simple terms, he proclaimed that Jesus Christ died and rose again to save each of us from sin and its consequence.

Finally, in April of 1971, I chose to get right with God. I told the Lord I was tired of trying to live the Christian life by myself, and I wanted Him to live it through me. At that moment, a great relief came into my heart.

Two weeks later, on May 9, 1971, Phil was saved. He went forward at the invitation, and Pastor Rogers led him to Christ. When I realized what had happened, I began to cry. After the service, I sat close to him in the car. The seats weren’t divided back then. I put my hand on his knee and said, “Everything is going to be ok.” I came to see Philip as really wonderful and truly fell in love with Him. We became very close and expressed our love every day to each other. 

Later, God called my husband to preach the gospel. He attended Bible college and became a pastor for many years. God gave him fruitful ministries in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. After being married for 44 years, the Lord Jesus called Philip home to Heaven on February 1, 2008. How good God has been to us! He has given us three children and ten grandchildren. Friend, none of this would be possible if I hadn’t come back home to my husband and gotten right with God. And none of it would be possible if Phil hadn’t been saved! Every blessing we have has grown from these simple choices!

Is your life broken as ours once was? Have your dreams been shattered? Are your attempts to flee from or “fix” your situation actually making it worse? Friend, you need God! The life He wants to give you is found in His Son Jesus Christ! “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). On the cross, the Lord bled, died, and, three days later, rose again! He has been patiently waiting for you to come to Him and trust in Him. Just now, wherever you are, bow your heart and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior! “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12). If you just trusted Jesus Christ, please write and let us know of your decision to be saved!

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