When Jonathan arrived at Lighthouse, his goal was to "save his family." It wasn't long, however, before it was obvious he needed to learn about the fruit of the Spirit, as described in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, generosity and self-control. His counselor helped him work through these one at a time. As she did, Jonathan began to take a realistic look at his lack of gentleness, and the anger he vented on his family - especially after drinking. As he began to cut back on drinking and to step up prayer and counseling, he was willing to seek medical care for other health problems, such as medication to help with both depression and anger management.
Over time, Jonathan's "blow-ups" lessened and his counselor started to talk to him about what the Bible says regarding the role of husbands and fathers in Ephesians 5 and Ephesians 6. Soon, Jonathan's wife was willing to come in for counseling, and their marriage began to get better. It wasn't long before their son asked if he could come to counseling, too. Family relationships were softening, people were no longer "walking on egg shells"... the marriage was getting much closer priorities were coming into proper alignment. In short, as God was invited in, HE began to work in this family.
