Our Story: From Broken Foundations to Lasting Restoration

Terri and I met while attending the University of Delaware in 1990. After several months of friendship, we officially started dating. While we had rarely talked about marriage, four years passed, graduation was approaching, and getting married felt like the next logical step. In what may have been the most unromantic proposal ever, I popped the question while stopped at a red light. Once Terri recovered from the shock, she said yes, and we married in the fall of 1994.

We both worked hard and were proud to purchase our first home. Being the first in our social circle to tie the knot and buy a house, we quickly became the envy of our peers. To our friends and family, we had the "perfect" marriage. We traveled together, but we also lived separate lives. Terri would take shopping trips with friends and return with bags of antiques; I poured my time into expensive cycling trips around the country. Because we rarely fought, we assumed everything was fine.

A Relationship Strained by Quiet Erosion and Loss

In reality, our issues were like termites quietly eating away at the foundation of a home. Everything looks solid from the outside until the structure suddenly gives way. Over time, we became roommates rather than husband and wife, and our relationship slowly eroded.

We tried our usual fixes—more trips and expensive purchases—but nothing filled the void. Hoping to breathe new life into our relationship, we decided to take what felt like another "logical" step: having a child. Terri soon became pregnant, and we were overjoyed as we prepared for parenthood. Tragically, our excitement turned to heartbreak during the first ultrasound when the monitor showed no heartbeat.

Two Separate Journeys, One Shared Savior

Devastated, we reverted to our old habit of seeking distractions during a crisis. We bought a motorcycle and booked a trip to the Bahamas. Yet, as soon as we returned, it was clear that temporary band-aids could not mend the deep cracks in our marriage. Rather than seeking professional help, we continued chasing quick fixes to numb the pain.

Our relationship soon went into a downward spiral. Years of neglecting our foundation caught up with us. I stopped cycling, began drinking heavily, and sought comfort outside our marriage through an extramarital affair. With the same nonchalance I had displayed when proposing at that stoplight, I told Terri I wanted a divorce. She reluctantly agreed to a separation, still hoping our marriage could be saved. During that time, we sold our home, I moved to Colorado, and Terri relocated to California. In the spring of 2001, our divorce was finalized.

Most people would assume the story ended there, but that was where it took an unexpected turn.

Living apart, both of us were independently confronted with the ultimate question: Is there a God? Though our journeys, timelines, and perspectives differed, our conclusions were identical. We each surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Guided by our shared faith, we reconciled and remarried in September 2003.

 

From a Broken Marriage to Helping Others Heal

We have now been remarried for over two decades, and each passing year is richer than the last. The road was not easy. We navigated blending a family of four children (two girls and two boys), weathered career and financial crises, lost a business and a home during the 2008 recession, and worked through deep emotional wounds. The aftermath of our divorce was painful to unpack, but the healing we found produced a harvest of resilience and peace.

Our foundation used to be fragile; today, even when life's storms weather the house, the structure stands firm.

During those early years of rebuilding, we desperately needed guidance and had to navigate the journey largely on our own. That experience inspired my calling. I returned to school to earn a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and become a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), dedicated to helping couples lay healthy foundations or rebuild after deep neglect. Terri also pursued training to become a Christian Life Coach.

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Together as a team, our mission is to walk alongside couples and individuals walking through their own trials. By combining professional clinical training and practical life coaching with the transformative power of faith, we help couples move past temporary fixes and build marriages rooted in lasting hope, joy, and unconditional grace.

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