Stranger Things, Part 4: Drift Mode

So when word got out that he was finally getting married, the church buzzed. The women who’d prayed for a chance to “help the ministry grow” were curious. The men? Relieved. Finally, he was settling down.

And then came the announcement.

Her name was Simone. A recent convert. Baptized just three months earlier. But everyone knew who she used to be. You didn’t have to say it. Her name had floated around Back Road for years. You could say "escort,” "companion,” or just whisper—but the truth was the same. And now she was engaged. To him.

The wedding was small. Some members refused to attend. Others showed up with smiles and judgment hiding in the folds of their Sabbath-best. Pastor J wore a simple gray suit. She wore white. People whispered about that too.

He had moved her into a beautiful townhouse, gated community, brand-new appliances, even a little garden out back with roses she never asked for. He gave her his car. Traded in his for something smaller. And he loved her. Out loud. Unashamed. Kept calling her "My crown.”

At first, she seemed to respond. Sat front row. Took notes. Sometimes with her eyes welling up, during altar calls. But slowly… she began to disappear. Wednesday Night meeting? Missed. Women’s ministry sessions? Unreachable. Friday nights? He didn’t ask anymore. Until finally, the rumors stopped being rumors. Someone had seen her on her old stomping ground, again. Then another. Then a photo. Even a grainy Tik-Tok video emerged. Then silence.

He waited. She came home. Eventually. But she didn’t stay. And the most devastating part? None of the three children were his. Not one.

And yet… he remained.

Still paid the mortgage. Still checked in. Still prayed over her toothbrush and empty side of the bed. Still told people, “That’s my wife.”

God told Hosea to do that. Not because He delights in pain. But because sometimes a prophet’s life must become the message. He told him to marry a woman who would forget the vows. Who would wander. Who would break his heart repeatedly. And He told him to love her anyway.

Why?

Because that's what God does with us.

We forget.

We take the blessings—the home, the breath, the doors He opens, the prayers He answers—and we drift.

We pursue other loves. Approval. Image. Control. Lust. Comfort. We flirt with idols, thinking we’re just being “realistic.” And slowly, quietly… we leave Him.

And yet… He still calls us “Mine.”

The heartbreak of Hosea isn’t just about one man and one marriage. It’s about God’s pain when His people forget. It’s about the divine ache of being faithful to someone who won’t stay. And still… staying.

So before we judge “Simone”, before we shake our heads at how someone could leave that kind of love… let’s ask ourselves: What have we abandoned? What idols have we crawled back to? And what will it take for us to remember our First Love?