The broken branch

My emotions have been teetering between anger and despair during the last month. I don't know that I've ever considered our family to be one of those "really close" families. Not that we don't have an abundance of love for each other, but we have always resided snugly on our own individual branches of the family tree. I've realized as of late, however, that the roots of our family run deeper than I ever knew. I realized this as the tree was given a mighty shake and one of the branches broke. At first I was devastated. How awful that my loved ones have been suffering so long and so alone without my knowing. What if I had only seen the discord and offered my aid? How can I help repair the damage that has been done? How can I help her see that this is NOT worthy of an end....he is worth the repair. Can you? Will you? I tried to plead with her. She can, but she won't. She won't do so many things I think she should. She won't hear, she won't listen, she won't forgive, she won't try, she won't mend, she won't respond, she won't look past her pain and see that he WILL. He will do anything. He will try, he will fight, he will fix, he will change. Despair. Helplessness. This is what I felt. Then I realized she is not the person that I thought I knew. This sister that I have loved, laughed, cried, and rejoiced with. This is not her. She would have remembered their good times. She would have remembered that the family extends beyond her branch, and that we were here to help her. She would have realized that this is just a hump. A normal, necessary, climbable molehill. She would have trusted in God to help her. She would have acknowledged my attempts to contact her. She would not have turned her back on this family, this life, this love, this man. She would not have so easily forfeited her husband, her mom, her sister, her nephew. We were supposed to raise our kids together!!!! Tears. Anger. Resentment. Hate. This is what I feel. He begs me not to hate her. He begs me to realize she is just lost. He defends her! She tears out his heart, and he defends her.....this is LOVE! She does not deserve it. He deserves it. He will have it. He can move forward, he can find love again....he can do it with a clear conscience. She can't. He did everything he possibly could. She did only enough to cover her guilt. I will pray that God heals his heart. I will pray that his branch grows back stronger and more beautiful, and that it produces strong, beautiful tiny branches. I will pray that God takes away my hate and my anger. I pray that someday I will remember her without the emptiness that I now hold in my heart. I pray that she will look back at this family and realize what she chose to give up. But she won't. She can, but she won't. This is how I felt.