H7 Story: Walking Faithfully Together
Re|engage isn’t about fixing everything in a marriage overnight. Rather, the biblically based program provides an opportunity to learn to be intentional, have meaningful conversations, and grow in faithfully walking with God and each other. In the process, God is glorified, and couples find joy.
Lance and Rachel Waddell attended the fall session and found great encouragement from just knowing they cared enough about each other to invest in their marriage. “I didn’t have a bad marriage, but my heart knew that God meant for it to be more,” Rachel says. “I had ruts and patterns that led to cycles of ups and downs. I wanted everything God has to offer. I wanted my marriage to be filled with His spirit and the strength to walk through all the ups and downs of life.”
Married for 47 years, Gary and Becky Randles also came to re-engage, enjoying a good marriage. Yet, Gary honestly shares, “there have been some tough times when Becky has tried to get me to get some help, but I have resisted. But this time, I was the one who suggested we enroll in re|engage.” He believes one of the reasons God brought them to FCC in 2025 was for this opportunity to address significant areas in their relationship that had been ignored.
A key concept that Gary found helpful is “stay in your own circle” based off of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:3-5 (ESV), Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
“Rather than trying to fix Becky, I focused on my own sin and communication issues and brought these before God and worked on ‘Gary’. I acknowledged to Becky some of the things I have done in the past that have hurt her and affected our relationship.” Becky agrees that “we both saw the value in identifying our individual sins.” This acknowledgement has led to greater emotional intimacy. They are also enjoying the fruit of spiritual intimacy and the sweet bond that has developed between them as they are learning to consistently pray together.
Rachel Wadell found the benefit of the “stay in your circle” principle in that the curriculum “was thoughtfully laid out to draw my heart to Christ and in doing so to bring me closer to my husband. It opened opportunities for meaningful discussions, exploring where and how I can grow and helping me to understand him. I especially loved the chapters on communication and forgiveness. They each gave me tools to express my heart and resolve conflicts while understanding my responsibility in reconciliation.” As he also practiced this same principle, Lance quickly learned what he was responsible for to improve their marriage and appreciated the tools they learned that would help them consistently address future issues. “I am very grateful for the program!” Lance states.
If you’ve been married 3 years or 47, and no matter how good or bad you would define your marriage, we invite you to join like-minded couples wanting to glorify God with their marriage. Sign up here for the next session of re|engage that begins on Monday, Jan 19.
A key concept that Gary found helpful is “stay in your own circle” based off of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:3-5 (ESV), Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
“Rather than trying to fix Becky, I focused on my own sin and communication issues and brought these before God and worked on ‘Gary’. I acknowledged to Becky some of the things I have done in the past that have hurt her and affected our relationship.” Becky agrees that “we both saw the value in identifying our individual sins.” This acknowledgement has led to greater emotional intimacy. They are also enjoying the fruit of spiritual intimacy and the sweet bond that has developed between them as they are learning to consistently pray together.
Rachel Wadell found the benefit of the “stay in your circle” principle in that the curriculum “was thoughtfully laid out to draw my heart to Christ and in doing so to bring me closer to my husband. It opened opportunities for meaningful discussions, exploring where and how I can grow and helping me to understand him. I especially loved the chapters on communication and forgiveness. They each gave me tools to express my heart and resolve conflicts while understanding my responsibility in reconciliation.” As he also practiced this same principle, Lance quickly learned what he was responsible for to improve their marriage and appreciated the tools they learned that would help them consistently address future issues. “I am very grateful for the program!” Lance states.
If you’ve been married 3 years or 47, and no matter how good or bad you would define your marriage, we invite you to join like-minded couples wanting to glorify God with their marriage. Sign up here for the next session of re|engage that begins on Monday, Jan 19.