Marriage Trouble? You Are Not Alone

This past weekend we spent an amazing couple of days in Norfolk, VA leading a "Marriage Enrichment Seminar" for the wonderful people of Chesapeake Fellowship. We are so grateful for the invitation from our dear friends Jay and Julie Albritton.

After our final session on Sunday, Julie asked us if we enjoyed leading the seminar and if we would like to do them more often. Our response was that if it helps other couples to hear our story and the things that we have learned, we would love to share in a seminar/conference setting more often. The thing that resonated with us over the weekend was that there are a lot of messed up marriages. We told Julie that based on the conversations that we had with both individuals and couples, as well as the questions that were turned into us during the weekend, it is likely that the majority of the couples in attendance were struggling in their marriage in one way or another. In fact, it would not surprise us if many of them were beyond surface level struggles.

One thing we are certain of is that these marriage struggles are not unique to Norfolk, VA. One thing that we established over the weekend, and something that we have talked about over and over in our Marriage Accountability Group, is that marriage is supposed to be a picture of Christ's relationship to the church. Do you not believe that the enemy (Satan) wants to destroy marriages above anything else? So, don't be so surprised when trouble comes your way in your marriage. In fact, be sure that you are not alone. Satan isn't just after YOUR marriage, he is after ALL of our marriages.

Let us move past being "Debbie Downer" for a minute and offer some encouragement. Over 130 people attended our first session during worship time on Sunday morning, and at least 20 couples (40+ people) attended our 2 "break-out" small group sessions later that morning. This means that a lot of people care enough about their marriages to invest some time into working on it. That makes us excited! If they didn't care, they wouldn't have come!

What we want to share with you is that you are not alone if you are having marriage trouble. Unfortunately, most people won't admit it, or they don't know who to admit it to. Can we suggest that you first admit it to your spouse? After that, find some help through a counselor, your pastor, your small group at church, another trusted couple, or even us! Send us an email (3strandsmarriage@gmail.com) and let us help to point you in the right direction. We aren't counselors, but we have walked through the fire, and are now experiencing the restoration and redemption on the other side of it.

Is your marriage in trouble? Get some help! Your marriage is worth it!

Rusty and Heather