Jessica,

This is certainly a tough spot for you. I would try to find out more about what his underlying concerns are—perhaps he hadn't fully expressed them or made them clear. Then you could have a dialogue about addressing those issues and see if there are other alternatives to solving them rather than pulling out of teaching.

For him to call what you do selfish is ironic because his attitude sounds a bit selfish. If my wife wants to do something, I don't try to limit her but rather encourage it—he needs to do the same.

If I were his friend I would counsel him this way. Don't get stuck at an impasse but work to seek a resolution, knowing that you have done your part to truly understand why he is telling you to hold off. Say something like,

Honey I'm truly trying to understand your concerns about a conflict with the demands of teaching CCD , can you tell me more . . . ?

Then let him have his say without arguing his points. When he is through and you have no more questions to discover more about his thoughts and concerns, ask another question.

Is there another possible way we can solve this without having to sacrifice CCD ?

If you can't figure it out together, let it go for two years. Your marriage is first and keeping conflict out of it must prevail. Don't harbor any resentment if you don't have the outcome you want; God wants you to learn something from this too.

Peace,

Bob Kirby

Jessica,

Ditto to what Bob said. This might boil down to being simply a difference in the order of values, which is a common challenge in many marriages. When one partner's faith is stronger than the other's there is bound to be a little conflict.

Patience, understanding, and prudence are called for here. Pray that the Holy Spirit may guide your husband in making the right decisions for his family, always keeping God as top priority. It may be good to remind your husband that the religiosity of children almost always follows the way of the father. In the culture we live in, which militates against our good in so many ways, only faith in God can be their defense.

Peace,

Paul