On a scale of one to ten, how important is honesty to you in a love relationship? Would you be okay if your significant other keeps secrets from you, e.g. secrets from his past or even his present?
If you are married, let me ask you this. How strong and enduring is your marriage? Is it able to weather the proverbial storms of life? Or does your marriage snap like a twig at the first sign of strong winds?
If we ask the above questions to Logan and Marie, both of them would have great difficulty coming clean and speaking honestly with each other. Both would admit that storms have indeed battered their marriage to death.
For all practical purposes, they shrunk their marriage into a piece of paper, and then replaced that piece of paper with yet another: a divorce certificate.
I start my story at that point, when Logan and Marie are completely divorced, with no hope of reconciliation. The only thing that causes Logan and Marie to communicate with each other at all is the shared bond with their only son, raised by a nanny.
Of all the things that Jonah could ask his daddy for his fifth birthday, he chooses the one thing that brings Logan angst. Jonas wants to be with his mother. Not just for one day, but for seven days on a cruise ship from which there would be no escape for either Logan or his ex-wife.
At first, Logan tries to brush it off. What could possibly happen in seven days? After the family cruise, they would all go their separate ways and back to their own lives. Marie can return to Europe. And workaholic Logan can go back to his family business in Atlanta, where he’s busy keeping his multi-billion-dollar empire chugging along.
Driven by work, Logan can hardly take a day off, let alone seven days away from his office. In the modern world of technology, he can take his office with him, and that’s what he intends to do, family notwithstanding. After all, Jonas has a nanny who can keep an eye on him on the summer cruise. Mrs. Ping takes care of the boy very well, to the point that Logan doesn’t have to worry about being at home if he has too much work to do at the office.
Somewhere at the back of his mind, he wonders if his workaholism is a problem, and whether it contributed to the demise of his marriage. Then again, it isn’t like Marie is perfect herself.
What does Marie really do in Europe, anyway? That is the big secret that she has never revealed to Logan, not before, during, or even after their marriage. It’s the big thing that has split them apart. Logan can’t get over the trust issue.
Secrets are Marie’s bread and butter. Lives depend on her ability to keep secrets. Perhaps at some point in the future, she might be able to answer Logan’s questions, but not right now. Not even a few years after their divorce. That’s the way it goes for her.
Still, she longs for a normal family, in which she could tell Logan anything he wants to know, share her concerns and worries with him, and raise their son together.
Perhaps the seven days on the cruise ship can be a trial run on what is possible if she and Logan were still together.
Or not.
That ship has sailed.
Or has it?
To answer that, we return to the first question I asked today. How important is honesty in a relationship?
I believe the Bible is filled with examples of how God is exceptionally honest with us. God declares His love for us many times, including the famous verse in John.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
In the same verse, we see the danger we are in: we could perish if we’re not saved in Christ! God didn’t hide that truth from us. That reminds me of another verse where Paul contrasted eternal life with eternal death. He said it plainly, and we see no duplicity in the honest statement in Romans.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
As they say, “honesty is the best policy.” This is true in real life, and IMHO it’s also true in fiction. I don’t want to spoil my story, but in Wait for Me, when Logan and Marie are honest with their God, their own selves, and with each other, then their individual healing can begin. Then they would be able to view their marriage not as just a piece of paper they signed, but as something beautiful that God created, wouldn’t they?
Will Logan and Marie be able to start over again and transform their “shrunken” concept of marriage into a worthwhile relationship that is God-honoring and sets a good example for their son? They are going to need all the help they can get.
Giveaway: Have you read Wait for Me? If you are new to my Vacation Sweethearts series and have never read this travel romance novel, comment and let me know. I will put your name in a random drawing to get an ebook copy of Wait for Me. This giveaway ends on Monday. You can also borrow this novel at any time via Kindle Unlimited.
Free eBook: For everyone else, I don’t want you to go away empty-handed. If you haven’t downloaded my beach romance, Ask You Later, you can still grab a copy of the ebook via BookFunnel. This novel is a prequel to both Savannah Sweethearts and Vacation Sweethearts. It is also a prelude to Seaside Chapel.
Happy reading and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Joyfully in Jesus,
Jan Thompson
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
Without honesty, how can there be trust, this is the cornerstone for me. Once broken it takes incredible strength and courage to let go of past breaches and rebuild the relationship.
This series is new to me and this book sounds really good!
Honesty is a priority to me as my ex was very deceiving and dishonest.
I agree. A trust problem can take years to rectify, if at all. Perhaps trust is one of the biggest issue in many broken marriages, and can come in many forms.
Thank you so much for your comment, and have a wonderful weekend! Happy first day of spring today!
Thank you very much! Each novel in the Vacation Sweethearts series is a standalone, so you can jump in at any point.
The novel before Wait for Me is set in the Great Smoky Mountains (Reach for Me), and the novel after is set in Key Largo, Florida (Look for Me). I am writing Book 5 and it’s set in the city of Atlanta (Pray for Me). The last novel in this collection is coming soon before the year is out and it’s set on a tropical island (Cheer for Me). It’s possible I might add more books later, since the series is open ended, but it depends on where I travel to next. In this series, I write about the vacation places I have personally been to.
Thank you for your comment! Will enter your name into the drawing!
That’s very sad, and yes, you are so right that dishonesty and deception go hand in hand. I have seen these two elements play out in so many lives and it’s not pretty. I hope you’re in a better situation now where you can have honesty and transparency in your relationship.
Thank you for your comment and have a wonderful first day of spring today!
I Love this story!!
Thank you! It was fun to write. It’s my one and only Alaska novel. And I barely talked about the entire state — only a few places. That state is huge!
Thanks for commenting. Happy first day of spring!
Honesty is the most important part of a relationship, in my opinion. I haven’t read the book, but I want to read it!!!
I’ve never read Wait For Me but it sounds wonderful! And yes honesty is extremely important in any relationship.
The best policy, as they say!
Thank you for your comments. Will add your name to the drawing!
Thank you for your comments! will add your name to the random drawing.
This novel starts on a cruise ship in Alaska…
I’ve never read this series, thank you for the chance to win! I think honesty is really important in a relationship, otherwise what’s the point?
I have never read this series ,but it sounds like a very good read. Thank you so much for sharing about it. To me honesty is the Best policy on anything , especially in a marriage. (not entering this ebook giveaway as I don’t read ebooks, I am not tech savvy at all Thank you so very much anyways.) I will look for your book in print copy. Have a Great weekend and stay safe.
This one is new to me as well. Honesty is so vital, especially where temptation is concerned. Temptation and conflict. My wife and I are committed to help each other through the tough stuff. I have found that honesty with myself is the much harder thing. If I don’t understand my own heart and mind then how can I share them with my beloved? “The heart is deceitful…”. Layers upon layers where God’s love brings light and healing. Thanks for this challenging and enjoyable post!
Honesty is very important in a marriage.
I haven’t read either one of those books yet – Wait for Me or Ask You Later.
Blessings
Love the cover <3
Marriage cannot survive without trust and honesty (secrets will ruin it).
I haven't read Wait for Me yet.
Honesty is important in all relationships. The truth tends to come out so if you start with a lie or deliberately withholding things it can be difficult. Especially if its something big as you then have to remember exactly what you withheld and hope others don’t mention it.
I know, right!
I will put your name in the random drawing. Thank you for your comments!
Thank you for your comments. Book 1 (Smile for Me) in the Vacation Sweethearts series first published in 2016, and that novel made USA Today bestselling list in the Whispers of Love anthology. However, it took me a while to get more books out in the series, so in 2021, we will see Book 5 (Pray for Me). At some point in time, I will finish writing the series.
All of my novels are in paperback as well. Let me put you in the giveaway. If you win in the random drawing, I will send you a gift card instead of the ebook (that is, if you’re in the USA, because Amazon gift cards don’t work outside the USA) and that can go toward your paperback shopping. How does that sound?
Thank you for your comment. Will add your name to the giveaway. I hope to do the random drawing by Tuesday.
Good points, indeed. I am glad that you and your wife are on the same page! Yes, it’s true about “honesty with myself” for many people. I wrote about that character arc in Wait for Me. This novel has a bit of suspense in it, and that angle is where Marie has to be honest with herself about her job and family.
Good verse there quoted from Jeremiah 17:9. “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
Thanks again and have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
I am amazed at the number of readers who haven’t read Wait for Me. Well, I’m glad that I can add you to the giveaway.
Ask You Later is available for free download via BookFunnel. Here is the link again:
JanThompson.com/ask-free
Thank you for your comments. Have a wonderful first day of spring!
Thank you! When my cover designer worked on the Wait for Me book cover, I sent her the photo of the father and child, and some photos of Alaska. They were able to put them all together nicely for me.
I agree about secrets. Trust is such a critical aspect of any lasting marriage.
Added you to the giveaway. Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
So true! It’s hard to keep a lie, especially when it’s compounded. It’s so much harder for people whose professions require them to keep secrets, even from their family members. I’m happy to say that since I write Christian romance, there is a happy ending to Wait for Me. :-)
Have you read this novel? LMK if you’d like to be entered for the giveaway.
Thank you for your comments. Have a great weekend in the Lord!
Honesty is imperative in any relationship.
Honesty is so important!
I haven’t read Wait for Me, but it looks really good.
I haven’t read Wait for Me or your Vacation Sweethearts series but I would love to try it out! Thank you for the giveaway
For sure!
Thank you for your comment! Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Thank you! Will enter your name for the random drawing!
Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
Thank you for your comment! Yes, will add your name to the random drawing.
Have a wonderful weekend in the Lord!
I think honesty is the biggest thing in a relationship. It’s very hard to live without it & to get trust back. The only time there should be secrets is a surprise like a birthday party or anniversary getaway but otherwise you should share everything. I would love to read that book. Thank you for the contest.
I think honesty is a very important thing in a marriage, or any love relationship that is. If you can’t be honest, there wouldn’t be trust and if there’s not trust, then I’d say the relationship has no firm foundation to stand on.
I think too some people are afraid to open themselves up like that and be vulnerable to another person. Fear can hold us back from so much can’t it? There have been things I’ve not wanted to share with my husband early on in our marriage, but he’s never been one to hold anything against me. He’s always made me feel like I can come to him with anything :-) Confession was good and definitely freed me from a lot of stuff!
When I read your post and your question with it, I immediately thought of the first boy I dated. After all, something had happened and I asked if he had. He claimed not to, but later I learned that he had. This happened more often, so I decided to end it because I couldn’t trust him. I think honesty is one of the most important things in a marriage. Thank you for this post!
Thank you for your comments! Yes, there are exceptions such as the surprises you mentioned. Of course, when the surprise is reveled, everyone would come clean about their role in the project!
I hope you get to read the Vacation Sweethearts novels soon. I’ve added your name to the random giveaway.
True! IMHO over time, trust can be built up in the relationship such that the husband and wife can be transparent with each other about their thoughts and fears. That’s so important in the longevity of the relationship. Nice to hear that you and your husband has a strong and healthy marriage!
Thank you for your comments! Have a great week in the Lord!
Thank you for your comments! I hope that boy eventually grew up and learned about trust in a relationship. Good thing you found out before the date turned into a husband. Some couples never quite iron out their trust issues, and they end up damaging their marriage and their entire family down to several generations.
Thanks again for your comments! Have a wonderful week in the Lord!