The Beginning of Our Story
I have so many thoughts and issues, swirling in my head, that I've been prayerfully, pondering, what my first blog post should be about. I mean, there will be many more posts and podcasts and newsletters, to come, to share it all... eventually!
Greg and I, first and foremost, want to honor God, with Sandpaper Marriage!
We, also, see this as an opportunity to stick it to the devil, so-to-speak! he had plans to take down our marriage... but, we turned to God and a wise, Spirit-led, Christian counselor... and we committed to put in the hard work - it took us a year - 52 sessions, before we were healthy enough to go back to a marriage of only three (God, Greg & me! Not God, Greg, me and Jerome - our counselor!
You will notice, in my writing, that if I ever refer to one of the moniker's of the evil one; I will never, ever dignify that snake by capitalizing any of his proper names... even if it begins a sentence! That's my personal jab.
Lastly, God has led us through so many forms of adversity, that, one day, many years ago, during a Weekend to Remember get-away, Greg and I, both, were spoken to separately, by the Holy Spirit.
We shared with one another, in tandem, the conclusion HE led us to: Our marriage was going to make it. But... as Believers, just "making it" wasn't good enough. Nope! Our marriage needed to THRIVE, bringing the most glory to HIM! (We never told a soul. But, we prayed with anticipation of what HE would do, in a marriage that wanted to be intentional, to thrive for HIM!)
Immediately following that weekend and our newfound commitment to thrive, we were approached to train to become marriage preparation mentors, for engaged couples! (This sure wasn't on our radar!) We said yes! This ministry was so awesome and very valuable - its purpose was "to stop a bad marriage before it starts!" I won't go into all the details, now. But, before we knew it, we were asked to be the leaders of the Marriage Preparation ministry. We said yes, and were amazed at how HE put HIS footsteps before us!
There's much more to add about our story... but, this is how it all began... with real adversity... working through the issues... so many deep, raw, emotions... real hurts... prayer... seeking HIM through HIS Word... and "choosing" to love one another, every day! Serving the Lord, together! And, choosing forgiveness! Over and over and over... on repeat...
We will be real!
Our goal is that "when" real trouble comes up in your marriage... we want to point you to God's truths and we want to extend hope... and, for you to know: You are not alone in this! We're sittin' right beside ya!