In his younger years, businessman Samuel Liuson lived life on the fast lane. He was at the top of his game, and, thinking he had it all, took for granted the beautiful relationship he had with his wife. In his own words, the 49-year-old tells us how he went from being a womanizer to a one-woman man:
“When I got married in 1993, life was good,” Sam declares. “I had a beautiful wife, a budding career, and I was young, charismatic and proud. I got into the typical cycle of wining and dining customers, living life in the fast lane, and having a chauvinistic lifestyle.”
Eight years went by and while Sam and his wife were financially blessed, they were unable to have children. Sam’s wife became sad and depressed, and sex became few and infrequent. She started talking to Sam about adoption, but Sam did not feel like raising a child who was not his.
“To cut the long and embarrassing story short, I got involved with an old friend who was in dire straits, and I took advantage of the situation and had a child with her,” Sam admits. “We agreed that she would give me the child because she simply couldn’t raise her with her resources.
"I brought the baby home and lied to my wife, my family, and friends, saying that I happened to have stumbled upon a couple who was putting up their beautiful child for adoption and that I was conveniently at the right place, at the right time. The day I brought my baby home was probably the happiest day for my wife. I thought to myself, what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWWhat other parents are reading
The next few years went by peacefully, but Sam’s wife kept following-up on the child’s adoption papers. Finally, because of a guilty conscience and upon the advice of a lawyer-friend, Sam admitted the truth. The marriage went downhill from there. “My wife started talking about separating from me, but because she came from a broken home herself and didn’t want our child to go through what she did, we just continued to live with our situation and pretended to everyone that we were a happy family,” Sam shares.
Twelve years into their marriage, Sam’s wife got pregnant. It was a difficult pregnancy, and the baby was born prematurely. But their daughter survived and thrived.
“I wish I could tell you that I learned my lesson and remained faithful after that, but my foolishness didn’t stop. Because I felt I was not getting enough attention, I repeatedly gave in to temptation. I justified to myself that I do it because I wasn’t getting it at home. I knew I was wrong, but I was reckless and too full of myself,” Sam says.
Sam’s turning point came when his wife convinced him to join her church’s weekly service. “At that time, the theme was family life, and the preacher’s message was so good that I found myself going back week after week for more stories, just like a teleserye,” Sam shares. “When the church announced that it was holding a marriage retreat, we both signed up, and the experience was really life-changing.”
CONTINUE READING BELOWwatch nowFor the past nine years, Sam has been faithful to his wife. “I believe my marriage was saved since I became a true follower of Jesus. In the same way that God has forgiven me, my wife and I learned to forgive each other. Once I started obeying His rules and letting Him take control, my life has been joyful, serene, and peaceful. This is also why I am sharing my story -- out of gratitude to God.”
.jpg)
