Our story is really God’s story. That’s what my husband Jeff says, and I agree. We both came out of the ashes.
Jeff grew up in England and moved with his family to Las Vegas when he was in high school. Later he worked as a waiter at the famous Caesars Palace hotel and casino. Jeff began dealing drugs and eventually became a drug addict. At age 38, he was arrested on multiple felonies and incarcerated.
In prison, God saved Jeff. Several years after his release, he moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to work without pay for Friend Ships Unlimited, a Christian disaster relief organization.
One of his duties was giving tours of Port Mercy, the Friend Ships home base. One day, three ladies who attended the same church as Jeff came to visit the facility. I was one of those ladies, and I came because I was strongly considering pursuing a position at Friend Ships.
When we met that day, Jeff said he thought I was married. At any rate, he was resigned to live single for the rest of his life.
I had also experienced the ravages of sin in my life through a difficult earlier marriage and an abortion. But as I abandoned myself to God, He displayed His great mercy to me in a dream. In the dream, I saw the man God would give me to marry. The day I came to visit Friend Ships with my two friends, I immediately recognized Jeff as that man and was blown away.
Jeff and I began to see each other at church after that. Our conversations were primarily about the Friend Ships ministry, and, as writers, we occasionally shared articles with each other. Months later, at a church picnic, he realized I wasn’t married. Finally! Soon God’s plan to bring us together became obvious to him as well.
We are now in our 10th year of marriage. Jeff works on the production teams of American Family Radio’s Focal Point and Sandy Rios in the Morning. I write for the AFA Journal and The Stand and counsel post-abortive women.
Since today is Valentine’s Day and as the old lyrics go “love is in the air,” I encourage you to watch the video below to hear the rest of our story. There is no doubt that the Lord was and continues to be at work in our lives. To God be the glory!
