Love each other deeply

"Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins" I Peter 4:8
When Joey and I married, we had this is the scripture printed on bookmarks to give out at our wedding. I guess it was somewhat prophetic because I never dreamed how true the scripture would be in our lives. At the beginning of our marriage, I didn't have a very close relationship with God. We went to church and I was certainly a believer, but I had not come to rely on Him as my personal savior. Therefore, when things didn't go my way in our marriage I didn't have the kind of love that could "cover over a multitude of sins". When I later learned that the love I needed most was the love that comes from God, and that if I would love God first with all my heart, mind and spirit - He would place in me a heart that could love whomever and in whatever circumstances.
I have often told people that I know that God was filling my heart with the kind of love I needed to continue to love Joey because it is only through Him that I could have loved him through some of the things that he did. My friends didn't. My family didn't. I have also realized that as hard as it was to endure the things I did, that it was harder for those who loved me to watch me go through them. Some months after Joey and I remarried, I received a call one day from a dear friend. Her husband was also a close friend and was a respected physician in our town. My phone rang while I was at the baseball fields with my son. When I saw that it was my friend, I almost didn't answer it - thinking I would just call her back when the game was over. For some reason, something told me that I needed to answer this call. I know now that the Holy Spirit knew and guided me in this way. As soon as I answered it, I knew that something was wrong. She confided in me that she had just dropped her husband off at drug rehab. I could have fallen over with the push of a feather because I had no idea. He was dealing with an addiction to prescription pain killers and was seeking treatment in a facility that specialized in physicians out of town. I was heartbroken for her. I could hear the pain in her voice. I could hear all the different emotions that I had experienced - hurt, confusion, anger, embarrassment - just to name a few. She also was very concerned for her children, and I knew all too well what that meant. The insecurity of now knowing how the future is going to play out - if you will have to do it alone, etc. I knew then that one of the reasons I had to go through what I did that day was because one day I would be called upon to take this call. I was the only person she knew and trusted that she could share this with and would know how she felt. Over the months that he was away, we talked often. I pray that I was able to offer her some source of comfort and strength during this time.
As I said earlier, I have often commented that I couldn't understand how I continued to love Joey. Don't get me wrong - I hated the things that he did - but I somehow was able to maintain a love for him through it all. It never occurred to me until this morning that the verse I chose when we married was the promise God made to me. "Above all love each other deeply, for love covers over a multitude of sins." He says it right there. If we love with God at the center, He will fill our hearts with a love that truly covers over a multitude of sins.