A Calgary woman and her ex-husband snapped a photo of themselves smiling outside of divorce court and posted the photo to her Facebook page, where it went viral.
Sharon Neuman told her Facebook followers that she posted the photo of herself and her ex, Chris Neuman, not to celebrate their divorce but to set a positive example for divorced couples who put their children first.
“Are we smiling because the partner we chose for forever turned out not to be the forever partner we needed? Of course not,” Sharon explained.
“We’re smiling because we have done something extraordinary (we think anyway!). We have respectfully, thoughtfully, and honourably ended our marriage in a way that will allow us to go forward as parenting partners for our children, the perfect reason that this always WAS meant to be, so they will never have to choose.”
Sharon and Chris, who were married for 11 years, have two minor children who they’ve made their top priorities:
“They’ll never have to wonder which side of the auditorium to run to after their Christmas concert or spring play, because we’ll be sitting together. They won’t have to struggle with their own wedding planning because we’ll be sitting on the same side of the aisle — THEIR side. And now that you know it’s possible — please consider our way if you find yourself on this road, or share our message if we can help remind them that it’s possible to love your kids more than you hate/distrust/dislike your ex (which we have felt at times on the journey, but for the record we do actually like each other).”
As a blogger who often preaches about staying together for the sake of the children, I agree with Sharon and Chris: your children should always come first.
If you can’t honor your vows that you made before God, at least honor your children.
