The evening of Tuesday, March 12th, marked an incredible milestone for 10 couples that graduated from re|engage. The room was filled with joy and nervous energy as the couples celebrated the 18-week journey and prepared themselves for the road ahead – where they will apply the principles they learned and consistently press into God as the center for their marriage.
For some, it was their first time going through re|engage. For others, it was their fourth. Yet the unfailing theme for every couple was that God revealed areas in each of their lives where they needed to grow, trust, and work to love their spouse better. “What an awesome God we have,” boasted one of our veteran couples. “He doesn’t just leave you the same. He works on you constantly.” And even after four rounds of facilitating re|enegage, they joyfully declared “we are still growing.”
The couples sat around a large dining room table and discussed where they were, where they are, and what's next. One thing was certain in every story, God blessed each of them with humility to recognize their mistakes and with the courage to face their mistakes!
Where they were…
“unable to enjoy time together”
“lots of empty promises and unfulfillment”
“marriage was going down the drain”
“no communication”
“no idea what marriage is supposed to look like”
“dishonesty and lack of trust”
“resentment”
“selfishness”
“bitterness”
“I didn’t think I had anything new to learn”
“no matter how hard I try, I’ll never reach her expectations”
“I didn’t want to go, she dragged me here...”
“so many unspoken words”
“I was worried and afraid about sharing intimate details about our marriage and our problems”
Where they are…
“we found a healthy way to communicate”
“we spend less time arguing, which means more time spent enjoying our children”
“we have better understanding and communication”
“we learned how to appreciate the other person’s feelings”
“we think before we react”
“I feel like we’ve been brought back to the purpose God has for us”
“working together has actually been fun”
“It has brought us together – we finally feel oneness”
“I’m still a work in progress, but I now know that I can only change the person inside of my own circle”
“we are fighting for each other’s hearts and we are doing it with God at the center”
What’s next for them?
Some of the couples decided they would take re|engage again and some committed to taking Growth Catalyst as their next step. But ALL the couples felt an incredible desire to continue to grow in their marriage and in loving their spouse. One thing is perfectly clear – God lit a fire in their hearts for the marriage that He wants them to have - a marriage filled with love, joy, connection, and incredible growth.
So, what’s next for you?
When you read the section ‘where they were,' did you notice things you could relate to? Or perhaps on a scale of 1 to 10, you'd rate your marriage a 6? Did you know it could be a 10?
Don't walk alone. "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit" (Psalm 34:18 NIV). We invite you to attend the next re|engage group on April 2nd at 6:30pm in the church house.
Want to learn more about re|engage? Check out the re|engage series messages here: https://www.skylinechurchnj.org/messages. You can also reach out to sara@skylinenj.org with any questions.