JanAl's Testimony

We are so thankful to see our friends and family here this evening. We are also thankful for ALL the wonderful people that helped to make this happen, We could not have done this on our own. 

           On December 30, 1995,Cleyo and I made a covenant before God, and two became One (Gen.2:21-24). It is God who in each marriage ordains and performs a uniting called One flesh, it is not in man's power to destroy. John Piper states that staying married is about keeping covenant, "Till death do us part", or "As long as we both shall live" it is a sacred covenant promise  The same kind Jesus made with His bride when He died for her. As we read in Ephesians 5:21-33, Marriage is a model of Christ and the church.
           When we got married 14 years ago, we had NO IDEA what the purpose of marriage was, and we had no knowledge of how sacred God holds marriage. Cleyo and I had dated since we were 16, had Sheldon when we were 19 years old, and when he was 3 months old, we got married. Our views on marriage were very worldly, probably not much different than many others.
           I went into our marriage with divorce on my mind, that if it didn't work out, that was always an option. Honestly, I am not even sure how the wedding happened. I had a very strong view against marriage growing up. I never wanted to be married. I saw a lot of marriages fail, a lot of men abuse my mother, so WHY ? in the world would I want to get married, if it was just going to fail, and how could I ever trust a man to truly love me, to be faithful, or that it would even last?
I remember refusing to get married just because we were having a child. Still to this day, I am not sure how it happened, and my only answer is that God is Sovereign! It has only been in the past 2-3 years that God has given me a different view of divorce.
           Because we have wasted many years doing it our way, and not God's way, our marriage has failed to be what God had intended it to be, with many mistakes and hardships.

           The purpose of this is an outward confession, with friends and family as witnesses, that we are surrendering our ways, and our marriage to the Lord. I view this as very similar to a baptism, just as a baptism does not give you Salvation, it is an outward confession of your desire to follow Christ. The re-committing of our marriage does not unite us, we entered into this covenant on December 30, 1995.
           Two weeks before I turned 18, I prayed and received Christ as my Savior, within a few weeks, I was baptized, because the church that I was attending told me that was what I needed to do, but looking back, I really did not understand what it was that I was doing. About three years later, I got baptized again, because I finally understood that it was about me confessing openly to others my desire to follow Christ, and ask for their accountability. As with the re-committing of our vows, we are wanting to openly confess that we understand God's purpose for our marriage, and we are committing to live out our marriage, in service to one another, forgiveness to one another, and Christ-like love to one another.

Cleyo is not the same man that I married, and I hope that he can say the same about me. God has changed both of us in many ways. God has blessed us in many ways. God has given us wisdom through His word. We will never be the same. Even though there have been hard and painful times, I would choose to marry Cleyo all over again. The deepness of my love for him, is beyond words. There is no doubt, we are One.