Powerful Couple’s Testimony

We are excited to attend the conference this year. It has been a number of years, since we were able to go.

In the fall of 2009 my husband and I were separated. In fact, we were only a couple of weeks away from going to court to turn it into a full divorce. There were multiple issues, as we were a blended family, of sorts. My husband was also an alcoholic at the time which made life very hard for all of us, him included. We even had a restraining order in place. It was a sad, complicated mess.

One morning, while I was working I received a text message from him telling me he forgave me. I was furious. I couldn’t understand what he was talking about. How could he be so bold, he should be apologizing to me instead, I thought. However, I decided to hear him out, as we had not communicated in nearly 9 months directly, during the separation.

He asked if he could meet with me later that night, he had something important to ask me. His parents, Celine and Celest had attended the NAME marriage conferences for quite a few years and this year they offered their seats to my husband instead. He accepted their generous offer and asked me to attend with him. I was quite reluctant at first, but God softened my heart and I accepted.

Needless to say, God softened both of our hearts that weekend and we realigned ourselves with His purpose and realized we needed to put God first, then our marriage, then the children. What a blessing from his parents. We are forever thankful for their sacrifice. We waited around at the end to speak with Pastor Leo just to let him know what a beautiful gift this ministry had been to our now restored marriage.

We did try to attend a few counseling sessions afterward, but it was a long drive and it was still a difficult beginning to the beautiful journey that we are now on. So, we were unfortunately unable to finish, but it was so helpful.

It took a lot of prayer, perseverance and enhanced communication, but we have now come to a place where we can help others through our testimony and we know in our hearts that the NAME conference that year was our impetus for change. It sparked a renewed sense of desire to seek the Lord in all things regarding our relationship.

In fact, we even have our own Christian Counseling Ministry now and encourage couples to attend the NAME conferences and find a NAME Certified Counseling Center when Marriage Counseling is needed.

We treasure the legacy Pastor Leo has left behind and so value the commitment Pastor Molly has upheld to the NAME Ministry.

Blessings,

Eric and Kathi

Scottsdale, AZ