How it Began

So Mike and I went out on a couple of dates, but I was pretty resistant to jump right back into a serious relationship.

Then a funny thing happened.

I fell in love.

I didn't realize it until I went out with a different guy, and all I could think about was how I only really wanted to be with Mike.

So as of January 1, 1993 Mike was the only guy for me.

And two years later we would be celebrating our first day of marriage.

Ahhh, new marriage. The sweet time of love and romance.

Nope.

Being newly married at 21, still in college and working full time, AND learning how to be a Christ follower, was not as easy as it sounds :)

Those first few months were no picnic. We had no counseling before we got married, no friends who had been married any significant amount of time, we literally had no idea of what we were doing!

So we struggled.

That's probably an understatement.

I don't remember how many screaming, slamming doors or tears there were, but I do remember the turning point.

We had just had another terrible argument and I was screaming at him. He was opening the door to leave again, and I saw that look in his eye.

It was the same look my dad would get when my mom lost her temper.

It cut me to the bone.

I made a decision, at that moment, that we were NOT going to repeat this cycle. We were going to break the curse and be different.

I was going to love my husband well. I wasn't going to always "win" the argument. I was going to chose to live in peace with this man I swore to love, honor and obey, even if it meant not always being right. I would make a change in my behavior and pray that God would bless it.

He did.

KJ