OUR MARRIAGE STORY
We got married on September 25, 1995. Like most couples we started our marriage in bliss (oblivious of everything else) with a fairytale idea of life. That lasted for about six months and then reality hit. Our struggles started and would go on for the next 6.5 years. We were having problems we thought were unique to us and we did not tell people about our personal battles. We went to church but were not really trying to learn about or get close to God. It was traditionally just what we did.
In the 5th year of marriage, we finally decided to give our lives to Christ in full. After a long night of partying, the Holy Spirit spoke to both of us at the same time and enough was enough. We stopped drinking and hanging out all night from that day and our lives were changed. We went to church and participated by serving and getting to know other church members. Almost exactly 1 year later the military sent us to Hawaii for 3 years. Hawaii was like a Bible boot camp for us. At every turn someone was inviting us to a Bible study. We could not say no. So, we ended up in Bible studies several nights a week for the first few months we were there. We began to serve and love our community from that day forward.
In the second year in Hawaii, our church offered a marriage conference. What was this? Is there such a thing? We had no idea marriage studies, conferences, classes, seminars existed. WOW!!! We were blown away with the information that God had a plan for our marriage. We met other couples that were going through the same struggles we were. We got to know and become friends with some of those couples. We were there to help each other in times of need. We learned that the Bible had much to say about marriage and every aspect of life. We also learned that prayer over our marriage gives us hope that God can help. We were sold!
We were advised to get into some sort of marriage enrichment at least once a year. As the years went on, we could not get enough, so we started leading, facilitating, mentoring and pre-marital counseling. We attended many enrichment events, seminars, classes and retreats with our churches. We want to tell people all that we have learned along the way, because there are people just like we were. They have no idea there is help for their marriages. Marriage is like a classic car, with a little love, care and regular maintenance you will have it around to enjoy for a long time. We have served in some capacity of marriage ministry since 2007. We are now doing marriage events full time with Armed for the Battle Ministries.
