I, Pat, was raised in the Southern Tier of western New York, in the middle of dairy country. My parents were good people, but we didn’t go to church. We just did our thing. When I joined the Army, I found my way to Georgia, where I met my future Beloved. She asked me if I was a Christian and invited me to church. I remember the preacher preaching about a place called Hell. I didn’t even realize that I was crying at first. She helped me go to an old fashioned altar, where I gave my life to Christ.
It wasn’t long after that, that we were married. Now, over 24 years later, I have been a church planter and I’m a preacher, but the most important thing that I do is to love my Beloved and teach our sons how to love their future Beloveds. Today, the Lord let’s me preach a little and lets my relationship with my Beloved be a help to other men in their relationships.
I, Christie, was raised in several places, such as Fl, Ga, Va, and a short time in Co. I grew up in a Christian home where I was taught about Jesus and raised to follow him. Even though I was the one who asked my husband if he was saved, he was actually the first to get saved. Let me explain: as a child and a teenager I asked Jesus to save me, however I always doubted whether I got saved. One night the last year of my husband’s time in Bible college I finally realized it wasn’t about what I did in my prayer. It was all about Jesus and what He did. He was the only way, the truth, and the life. His action saved me, not my actions.
My marriage is my second gift that God blessed me with. Have I always realized how precious a gift it is? No. If I did, I would have started cherishing it a long time ago. I am learning daily to cherish each moment and grow stronger in the Lord so that not only can I be a better Christian, but a better wife.
Do we have some magic formula to having a happy marriage and growing stronger each day? No. We have a powerful God that has shown us what to do and He has strengthened our marriage.
©Copyright 2017, Mutually Beloved, Patrick and Christie Wraight