What Lysa TerKeurst’s Divorce Tells Us About Our Own Marriages

Lysa TerKeurst’s divorce came as a surprise to her fans. The Christian section of the Internet was rocked yesterday by a blog post from Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries announcing she is seeking a divorce from her husband, Art TerKeurst. I’ll let her tell it:

My husband, life partner and father of my children, Art TerKeurst, has been repeatedly unfaithful to me with a woman he met online, bringing an end to our marriage of almost 25 years.

It’s subtle, but it’s the word “almost” there that is the most heartbreaking part of that statement. They almost made it 25 years. And Lysa sure did do her best to get them there.

Lysa TerKeurst’s Divorce Explained

I have the utmost respect for Lysa TerKeurst and her ministry, and I have the utmost compassion and grief for her as she goes through this. In her blog post, she details that she has been fighting to save her marriage for about 2 years—living with the knowledge of her husband’s adultery and substance abuse for ALL that time, loving him through it, holding her head HIGH, keeping his secrets, STRIVING to save her marriage. It honestly makes me a little sad that she had to go into as much detail as she did, but in the Christian world, especially when you are a leader of a huge ministry like Lysa is, you have to have ALL your boxes checked off before you pursue divorce, even if you have Biblical grounds. That’s just the way it is, right or wrong. She says:

When I first found out about Art’s infidelity 18 months ago, I made the decision not to divorce him. I had just finished fasting and praying for 28 days and really felt led by the Lord that I was to love Art in my reaction to this shocking news and trust God for every step moving forward. I was still committed to doing everything I could think of to make our story one of restoration, even in the face of the worst kind of betrayal imaginable. I prayed continually. I sought counsel from family and other wise friends. And Art and I even made repeated trips across the country together for intensive counseling especially designed for marriages in crisis. But sadly, though I have repeatedly forgiven and accepted him back, he has continued to abuse substances, be unfaithful, and refused to be truthful to me and our family.

Art and Lisa TerKeurst are a fairly “famous” Christian family. They are a couple who has made Christian ministry their life’s work. They have raised 5 children together.


Jenny Rapson
Jenny Rapson
Jenny is a follower of Christ, a wife and mom of three from Ohio and a freelance writer and editor.

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