Book Review—Committed to the Covenant

Committed to the Covenant
by Elizabeth Lapp
ISBN: 978-0878136452
Christian Light Publications, 2007
81 pages, nonfiction

Elizabeth believed she and Emanuel enjoyed a happy, healthy marriage. They had two beautiful children, an adequate income, and a caring church family. But one day her world came crashing down when she learned it was all an illusion. Her “good Christian husband” was seeing another woman.

He apologized and insisted the affair was over. Although wounded to the core, she accepted his apology and eventually learned to trust again. But only four years later while pregnant with their third child, she again made the heartbreaking discovery that she was not the only woman in her husband’s life.

This is the true story of a family torn apart by a husband’s adultery and subsequent abandonment. But more importantly, it’s the testimony of a wife who clung to her marital covenant and learned to rely on an all-powerful Heavenly Bridegroom.

The book had me in tears more than once, and I finished it with mixed feelings—anger at a man who seemed so incredibly callous; sadness over the pain Elizabeth and the children endured; awe and joy at the way God provided for the abandoned family.

I also walked away with deep respect for a wife who, despite years of excruciating emotional pain and financial hardship, continued loving her husband and praying fervently for his repentance.

The book is relatively short (81 pages) but intensely thought provoking. There is a chapter filled with practical advice on how to reach out to people hurt by divorce or the death of a spouse. And toward the end of the book there is a touching letter by Elizabeth’s grown daughter to her father.

I highly recommend this book.