Jeremiah 29:13, New Living Translation

“If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

He is with me every step of the way (Part Four)

Then, there was a possibility of dad getting another job transfer. I was not yet able to support myself, and I had no intention of being uprooted again to who knew where under these circumstances. I was also absolutely not moving in with anybody without a ring on my finger.

We were married as soon as I graduated from high school. He was nineteen and I had just turned eighteen two months earlier. I graduated on June 9th and got married on June 30th. I was desperate to get out of my parents’ house. Steve had taken such an interest in me that I had not ever experienced before, and we were already committed to each other. So, we tied the knot earlier than anticipated due to my dad’s pending transfer… That never happened.

Before we were married, my then-boyfriend had promised me that he would attend a church with me and we would raise our kids in whatever church I attended. I didn’t want them to be raised catholic, and he had had enough of Catholicism. He didn’t want to raise our kids that way.

When we approached the Church of God pastor who previously baptized me, we were turned down. He stated that “he would not marry a couple into being unequally yoked.” Well, this was a shock, and an insult. We knew that the catholic church would have kicked Steve out if he married me, but I had no idea the church I attended would refuse to marry us. The pastor tried to explain the unequal yoking to us, and I think Steve kind of understood it, but I totally did not.

This was a huge disappointment. We already had a date, and it was getting very close. We had no idea how to find a preacher who would be willing to marry us, and I did not want a justice of the peace. I wanted a real wedding, in a real church.

Well, my mom got busy while I was in school and Steve was at work and found a preacher of a Methodist church who was willing to marry us.

We went to this church once or twice, but neither of us were impressed with it. So, church was once again a background kind of thing. I wanted to go, but it wasn’t all that important. After all, I hadn't gotten to go to church very much from the time I was twelve anyway. I was still a Christian. I carried on as before, still not partying, smoking, or drinking. I was still loving Jesus but still missing Him.

I had my first child at age twenty-one. My husband was working long hours, and I needed something more. So, I finally started going to a church by myself with my child while Steve slept in or went to work again. Thankfully, I finally found a church that I really loved; I joined the choir and started feeling like I was fitting in. Unfortunately, this started a whole new cycle of issues I never saw coming. My husband started resenting me being gone when he was home. He was working a lot; he didn’t want to spend what little time he had in church and didn’t like me not being there when he was. Somehow, we both came to terms, on somewhat rocky ground. I received the baptism in tongues when I was twenty-two years old, with a couple ladies from my church praying with me in my kitchen.

Please come back next week to read, “He is with me every step of the way” (Part Five)