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Focus on the Family Broadcast

Examining Your Part in a Difficult Marriage (Part 2 of 2)

Examining Your Part in a Difficult Marriage (Part 2 of 2)

Former Major League Baseball player Darryl Strawberry and his wife, Tracy, talk candidly about the past troubles they experienced in their personal lives and in their marriage, and offer hope to struggling couples as they describe how God brought them restoration and redemption. (Part 2 of 2)

Original Air Date: September 29, 2015

Opening:

Excerpt: 

Darryl Strawberry: “Inside I had nothin’. I was empty inside. I was bankrupt inside, you know, and I needed to fulfill what was goin’ on inside of me, so I used … I used drugs. I was a liar. I was a cheater. I was a womanizer. I was an alcoholic and I was a drug addict. And I was a sinner.”

End of Excerpt

John Fuller: From our last Focus on the Family broadcast, Darryl and Tracy Strawberry and they talked about the brokenness they experienced in their lives. You’ll hear how God restored and redeemed them on today’s Focus broadcast with Jim Daly, and I’m John Fuller.

Jim Daly: John, last time we learned how a former Major League star and his wife got caught up in drugs and alcohol addictions, all the things that many people are struggling with. These are not unique struggles. We talked about how they were tryin’ to fill a hole in their heart, a void that was there. And today, we’re gonna talk about how they discovered the Way to fill that void, and that’s with a relationship with Jesus Christ.

And if you didn’t hear last time, I would encourage you to get the download, get the CD, get it, because I’m sure if it’s not you, someone in your life is going through something very similar. Of course, we’re talking about Darryl Strawberry, his wife, Tracy. Darryl played many years–17 years in the Major Leagues–He played for all the teams you want to play for—the Yankees, the Dodgers–those are the two I’d play for, if I had any talent. But it was so good to hear from them, not so much about that and the exploits of being talented, but being right before the Lord. That’s what I appreciate about Darryl and Tracy and we’re gonna continue that discussion today.

Body:

Jim: Let me say, welcome to both of you. Welcome back.

Darryl: Well, thanks—

Tracy Strawberry: Thank you.

Darryl: –for havin’ us

Jim: Last time we did talk about right where you were at, the brokenness for both of you. Darryl, you expressed how you’d made a commitment to the Lord, but kinda fell back into the traps of this world, those things that were keeping you snared, but you had an encounter with God. And Tracy, you mentioned so eloquently what God was doing in your life and the way that you came from a good home. Your parents did the right things. They were workin’ the right parenting formula, but you were just on a wayward track, and how they continued to love you and how that made a difference for you coming closer to God. I want to pick up the conversation right there, because I want to know how God got ahold of you. What did He do to reach into your life and shake you up and get your attention?

Tracy: Sure, He brought a person into my life that was just like me, and there was a woman who came from my lifestyle, so I could relate to her, but then I saw this other side of her that was attractive to me. And she didn’t promote Jesus. It was attraction, not promotion.

Jim: Huh.

Tracy: And she loved me right where I was at, but kept inviting me, and kept inviting me to come to spend time with her. And I wanted what she had, so she had somethin’ to say that I really wanted to hear, because I couldn’t wrap my mind around “Jesus loves you.” Well, if you want a new life, you just have to stop using drugs. Well, I know that. If you can tell me how to do that, then I’ll listen to you, because I already know that.

I’m beating myself up enough with my lifestyle, and I’ve lost my children. I’ve been divorced twice. I already know I’m a horrible person. I already be … I believed that Jesus doesn’t even want anything to do with a woman like me, so it was difficult for me to connect to a Christian who would just come up to me and say, “Jesus loves you,” because I didn’t believe that, and my life certainly didn’t reflect that, and I didn’t feel like that.

Jim: Tracy, could I ask you a question about that?

Tracy: Sure.

Jim: Darryl, jump in. It seems to me as Christians, we tend … it’s a weird thing; we know you’re in pain in that moment.

Tracy: Uh-hm.

Jim: And it’s almost, I don’t know if it’s to make us feel more comfortable, that look at you.

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: Look at that poor girl.

Tracy: Right.

Jim: I mean, don’t you know God loves you, if you just chose a different way?

Tracy: Right.

Jim: The way you’re describing this friend that you encountered—

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: –something was attractive to her and we … there’s a lesson in this for all of us, how to get down in the messiness of life.

Tracy: Yes.

Darryl: You have a … that’s a good point, ’cause we have to, you know, we have to really be able to show people that we are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb, through the way we live and the way we act. I think a lot of times we could talk about it, but if people see the way you walk, that was just the way my mother, I saw the way my mother walked the walk.

Jim: Yeah.

Darryl: She didn’t have to talk it for us, you know. That’s why I came to the point in my life of being able to repent to God and ask God to forgive me for my sins, because I saw the way my mom walked. 

She was an example. So, we have to be, as Christians, we have to be an example, not to boast about us.

Jim: Right.

John: Not an example of perfection.

Tracy: Right.

Darryl: Right. It’s not an example of that; it’s … it’s an example of, we need to walk with meekness and … and humbleness and humility to show that I’m not that important. You know, I’m able to lead people to Christ today. They look at me and they goes, “You don’t even care about baseball.” I go, “No, I care about God.” It’s a process that God has to go through with you, because He has to … He has to do an inner surgery inside of you, to break off things on you. Not anyone else. I think too many people are lookin’ at the other side instead of lookin’ at this side of yourself. You know, and that’s what happened with me and my wife and in our marriage you know, the imperfect marriage. What happened in that was so different from compared to like you said, the confidence, the ego and all that stuff I had as a baseball player, came to walking in a different way, because God had to deal with me first before it’s a “we.”

Jim: Right and we need to get to that. I want to talk about how you guys found each other–

Tracy: Sure.

Jim: –and what the Lord has been doing in teaching you in your marriage. Tracy, how did you meet Darryl Strawberry?

Tracy: Sure, I met him in a recovery convention. We were both broken, not living for the Lord, far, far, far from the Lord. We were just broken and we came together and you can read The Imperfect Marriage for the details of the story, but we came together broken, incapable of loving, because there’s a difference. God teaches us in the Bible, those who don’t know Him cannot truly love, because they do not know God. He’s very clear in His Word, which I love the Word. It’s so simple. It keeps it clear for us.

Jim: It is.

Tracy: So, when we came together, we came together full of dysfunction, full of all of these things that two were gonna become one, and what Darryl brings, he’s an individual; I’m an individual, and what is inside of you is what you bring together to make one.

Jim: When you …

Tracy: We didn’t have much to bring together.

Jim: I was gonna say, when you met, how far along in your faith journey were you? Just …

Tracy: Not far at all.

Jim: Not far at all.

Tracy: I was one week, literally, saved. I think—

Jim: One week saved.

Tracy: –one week, and I was still trying to figure out what that word “saved” meant. (Laughter) So, I was very rough around the edges–

Jim: Right.

Tracy: –not livin’ for the Lord yet. Darryl knew the Lord, but was so far off from Him in his lifestyle, faith didn’t play a part in it until we started growin’ in faith. We came together. He was $3 million in debt. We had divorces. We had all of these children. We have nine children between the two of us. I had lost my children. He was estranged from his children. We were hurting people. This was a nightmare situation that if you look at it through the natural eyes, say it is impossible. How could two people ever come out of this and make this work? Now notice I said, through the earthly eye—

Jim: Right.

Tracy: –and from an earthly mind-set and an earthly perspective. What we’re gonna jump into in this program and I’m excited about it is an eternal perspective, the power, the divine power of our Lord Jesus Christ that can come in and will breathe life into a situation for two willing people, two willing people who are willing to say yes and make that choice to say yes, because it all begins at the foot of the cross. At the foot of the cross is the new beginning, from wherever you came from, wherever your marriage is, however you met, if you didn’t meet in the right way, if one spouse is on board with Christ, if one is not, if you have estranged children, whatever nightmare or great thing that you think you come from or you think you have it together, a new beginning, eternal life, eternal perspective and the way we should really live according to God’s Word begins at the foot of the cross for everyone.

Jim: Boy, I mean, you are the preacher, girl. (Laughter) I mean, it’s amazing and what you’re saying is so true, but I’ve gotta ask you, Tracy and Darryl, what were the steps that the Lord took you through right there? There are couples that are hearing you—

Tracy: Absolutely.

Jim: –and maybe a wife who is just at the end of her rope—

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: –’cause she doesn’t know what to do with her husband–

Darryl: Right.

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: –because it’s not working.

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: And you’re speaking to her right now.

Tracy: And there’s a whole chapter in the book just for a spouse in waiting, whether you’re a man … a man or a woman, a spouse in waiting in … when Darryl and I first came together, God was working on my heart and I responded. Darryl did not. So, when we came together, we got married full of dysfunction—

Jim: Right.

Tracy: –and full of pain and how can this marriage work? It would … it would’ve never worked that way.

Jim: What did it look like, just to—

Tracy: Fighting.

Jim: –get … yeah.

Tracy: We fought dirty. We called each other names. We threw things at each other. We fought over money, because there was no money to have. We had a blended family that we were tryin’ to make work and our hearts weren’t right with the Lord, so we didn’t treat the other spouses correctly. We didn’t treat the mother of the children and the fathers of the children with respect like it should be done to make right a wrong situation.

We had all of these dynamics that were happening. We were broken inside and blaming each other and tryin’ to find our way and tryin’ to lift each other up through brokenness. We had nothin’ to give. It was horrible.

Darryl: What I think happens is … and somehow there’s who people don’t deal with their own insecurities. And … and God challenge[s] you to deal with your own insecurities in your marriage, ’cause you have to deal with yourself first. You have to look at yourself first, because we come together as two people, and yeah, we could be married for a long period of time and we still don’t know each other, and we still don’t know ourself, until we allow God to come in and … and do His surgery on you and allow you to act according to, you know, the biblical principles.

It wasn’t until we started diving into the biblical principles and obeyin’ and comin’ into obedience with God’s Word that we started to line up and realize that it was a different way that we needed to do this to make this work.

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: But practically speaking, you didn’t fall into that. You had to take action. You have to—

Tracy: We did.

Jim: –realize, okay—

Tracy: You need to.

Jim: –this isn’t working and we’ve gotta read together. We’ve gotta pray together. What were … what were some of those things that you started to do together functionally that gave you the tools—

Tracy: Absolutely.

Jim: –to disagree more respectfully—

Tracy: Right.

Jim: –to do it more biblically?

Tracy: Right.

Jim: How did you … I mean, that’s like—

Darryl: Well—

Jim: –going from this, a low level to a high level. (Laughter)

Tracy: Right.

Darryl: –yeah, but you know what I think. I think you learn over time as you start studying the Word of God. I think sometimes a lot of people just go to church, and they go to church for their Sunday and then they hear the Word from the pastor, and then they’ll go home and apply it to their life, and they just put the Bible on the shelf until next Sunday come[s] or next Wednesday come[s] and they just keep doin’ the same thing. Well, nothin’s changed.

You know, and nothin’s changed until you actually start … start getting in the Word for yourself. I think the Word is what really changed me. When Tracy was always studying in the Word and I kinda like really looked at her and I wondered what she had. Well, God says, “You gotta do what she does. You know, she studies the Word.”

So, the Word is what really transforms a person’s life, and I think, you know, most people don’t realize that, you know, the Bible is the … is … is the, really, transformation of who you are. You know, everybody in that Bible, when you learn and go through it, and you learn that all those people and the disciples and everybody that came across Jesus, all of ’em had issues–

Jim: So true.

Darryl: –in some kind of way. Even being in front of Jesus, they … they saw the miracles; they still had issues. So, we’re gonna have the same issues here, too, and we’re gonna have to learn to do exactly what is taught to us in the Word of God. And I think most people don’t realize that their marriage could be strong when Christ is the center. Christ is the center of you—

Jim: Yeah.

Darryl: –first. It has to be the center of you first to make a “we.” You know, we want the “we,” but we won’t put Christ in the center. We want to do it in a natural; we won’t allow the Spirit to dwell in us, ’cause the Spirit that dwells in us, and once we start operating in the Spirit, when we start listening to what the Holy Spirit is telling us, that’s when you start coming together in a marriage that’s been broken.

Jim: I mean, yeah, you are saying it and I … I would say this, too. When you look at that whole design that God created for two people to come together—

Tracy: Uh-hm.

Jim: –and really what … the simplicity of it, as you said earlier, Tracy is, I’m gonna bring the two of you together, and you’re gonna really irritate each other, but I want you to learn My character, which— 

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: –is to lay your life down for the other. And the more I think about it, the more obvious it is, even in the marriage, the most intimate relationship you can have on this earth.

Tracy: Uh-hm.

Jim: What He’s trying’ to say to you is, give your life over to somebody.

Tracy: Uh-hm.

Jim: Lay your selfishness down.

Tracy: Yes.

Darryl: Right.

Jim: It’s so hard for us as human beings.

Tracy: It is.

Jim: It works against the flesh.

Darryl: But it works.

Jim: It does.

Tracy: It does.

Jim: But you gotta do it.

Darryl: Yeah.

Tracy: And you have to do it.

Jim: That’s what you said there. You gotta do it.

Darryl: You gotta do it.

Tracy: You do and when you come … Darryl and I came from adulteries, repairing things with our children, restoration needed to be there, addictions. We lost everything financially. So, we had to be restored in every area of our life. And there was a woman who came into my life, and I keep saying that. There was a mentor who came into my life. Discipleship is key. I think we need to be very careful when we meet someone who’s struggling. The goal is not the sinner’s prayer and conversion in 20 minutes.

Jim: Right.

Tracy: The first step for me was getting me right on the inside.

Jim: Not lookin’ at Darryl–

Tracy: Not lookin’ at Darryl’s issues–

Jim: –even with all his flaws.

Tracy: –even with all his flaws, because I was like, but look at him. He’s committing adultery. He’s with these women. He’s the one and he’s spendin’ the money and he, he, he and he treats me like this and he treats me like that. And when God got ahold of me and I was prayin’ one day. He said, “Darryl is none of your business right now. You can’t change him. You do not have the power to change him. I am the power that will change him, and you’re not looking at you. You are lost. You are far away from Me. You’re not livin’ out your purpose in me, and I need to heal and restore you. You need to get on board with Me. You need to surrender to Me, so what’s your answer gonna be, Tracy?” 

Jim: Wow.

Tracy: And my answer to the Lord was, “Yes.”

Jim: Yeah.

Tracy: And I surrendered everything. I didn’t know what to do with the marriage. I didn’t know what to do with the kids. I didn’t know what to do with the money, but the Lord taught me what to do with Him and I was … this woman. I showed up at her house and she would go through the Word with me. She would pray with me, but it was also practical steps.

I had to get a job. I had to do what was right and work on my relationship with my children. I learned to treat Darryl with respect, even with the way he was living. I became that wife that lived for the Lord and he started to look at my behavior. I didn’t try to change him. I let it go literally.

Jim: How … how do you do that? Because I’m thinking of many wives whose husbands have been unfaithful.

Tracy: Absolutely.

Jim: Or … fill in the blank.

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: They’re just abusive. They’re verb … they’re distant.

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: To find that center of gravity—

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: –called the relationship with God—

Tracy: Right.

Jim: –so that you are whole, even when someone is not treating you appropriately and in many ways from a human … human perspective—

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: –she has every right to go after him.

Tracy: Uh-hm.

Jim: You have every right to divorce him—

Tracy: Sure.

Jim: –even.

Tracy: Absolutely.

Jim: Yet to say, “Okay, Lord, what do You want me to do?”

Tracy: Yes, and that’s—

Jim: That’s—

Tracy: –key–

Jim: –powerful.

Darryl: Let me explain to you how that—

Tracy: –because …

Darryl: –happened. I can explain it, ’cause I had to watch it, you know, because I was that way and I was that person. And … and what I saw … what I saw was the transformation shift of her love for God that was real. I saw her gettin’ up every morning at 5:30 to go study with God, and she’s still doin’ … does that today.

But I was watching how she was doin’ it over and over, regardless of what I was saying or what I was doin’. She wasn’t feedin’ into my madness. She wasn’t feedin’ into my sickness and … and I got kinda jealous, ’cause I saw that she … I would wake up every morning, come down, she’s already been up since 5:30. I come up, come down at 9 o’clock, 10 o’clock, and she’s like, “Hi, Hon.” And I was like, why is she so happy? But I realized that … and I kept seeing it and kept seeing it, and I realized that it was the joy of the Lord that had become her strength, and it wasn’t me anymore. And … and that re. . .I really got jealous of that—

Jim: Interesting.

Darryl: –you know. I really got jealous of that, ’cause I saw a joy that was surpassing every understanding of what was goin’ on in our life and I was like, “Well, why is she so joyful? Why is her life so good?” you know.

Jim: So, what’d you do with that?

Darryl: I took it, I took it as a sign from God that I needed to do somethin’ different in my life, of watching her. I realized that she had said yes, she had said yes to Jesus, and I think a lot of people don’t understand what “yes to Jesus” means. You know, I know what it means today. I didn’t know back then, but “yes to Jesus” is a three-letter word. It’s “You Enjoy Salvation.” You, yourself get to enjoy salvation when you say “Yes” to Him. Not someone else–

Jim: Right.

Darryl: –you know,… and … and that’s what happened to Tracy. She was enjoyin’ salvation in her life and …

Jim: So, her circumstances weren’t dictating her joy or her relationship—

Darryl: You could see it.

Jim: –with God.

Darryl: And I got … and one, you know, and I got curious. You know, it’s like, man, who is she goin’ down there to be with every morning? (Laughter) Who’s in the house? (Laughter) You know, I’m thinkin’ in myself and you know, realizing that she has entered into a serious relationship with Jesus, you know, I was still struggling and … and in all my areas of … of my life as a person and in my hope, and she had … I could see clearly that there was a great relief in her life. There was … there was hope no matter what, no matter what the condition we’re in. There was hope for the marriage and … and there was hope for her, and there was hope for the children, and she was right, and now I got on board and you know what? She was right, because God restored everything and restored our children and multiplied us more than we could ever imagine, because we ended up both coming together and saying yes.

On our own terms, you know, you gotta get to that place yourself. You know … a lot of men are not there,

 and they wives are there, and the men won’t show up and they won’t commit. And that’s why their life don’t get better—

Jim: Right.

Darryl: –in their walk with Christ. And it’s not until they come in for themself and say, “God, deal with me. Deal with my issues. I have these true problems in my life.” I think too many of ’em sit … sit around, and they’re very shameful, but they won’t bring it to the cross.

Jim: Sure.

Darryl: And they … they don’t want to say, “God won’t heal me,” because you know, God will heal you when you stop livin’ in the secret of your life.

Jim: Well, I mean, that applies to the Christian and the non-Christian—

Darryl: Right.

Jim: –doesn’t it?

Tracy: That’s right, when we make that choice, and because the majority of our … of what hurts us and in Darryl’s life, just speaking in our life, our consequences punished us, not God. Our consequences—

Jim: Oh, boy people need to hear that.

Tracy: –punished us, not God.

Darryl: Right.

Tracy: We made the wrong decisions and we have to live out these consequences, some of them for the rest of our life, but God met us right where we were at and He said, “I’m willing and I’m ready to get you right, on the right path, anytime, and at any place. At the time, the Lord didn’t release me from my marriage. I didn’t feel peace in that, but the Lord told me, “You’ll walk with Me. Get responsible. Make a boundary. Get a job. Start doin’ those practical things and you keep walkin’ with Me and more will be revealed along the way.”

Jim: And that walk with Me, means spend time with Me–

Tracy: Spend time—

Jim: –which is what you did, what—

Tracy: –with me.

Jim: –Darryl was just saying.

Tracy: And set yourself apart to sanctify ourselves unto the Lord, to set ourselves apart, puttin’ away the cell phone, spendin’ time in prayer. How much time do we spend in prayer? We all have busy lives. The demand on us is all, children, bills to pay, hardships and heartaches, but shuttin’ off the TV. I mean, I spent hours with the Lord. I set myself apart. The things I didn’t know what to do, I learned how to pray. I studied prayer. I studied faith. I studied joy. I studied peace. I went after the Lord with every fiber in my being.

Jim: Ah.

Tracy: And I said, “I am not gonna settle with you. I’m like Jacob right now and (Laughing) I’m gonna wrestle with You until I get my blessing. I’m not gonna fall into the world. I’m not gonna quit. Lord, I’m holdin’ onto You with everything I have. And they said You would show up.” And guess what? He did.

Jim: Well, Tracy and Darryl, I mean, those … there are people that are in that spot right now where they need that kind of tenacity—

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: –that you’re talkin’ about. They need to hang on and they’re not sure they can and your book, The Imperfect Marriage: Help for Those Who Think It’s Over is a perfect resource for people who are desperate. But it’s gonna take your action. You gotta do it. You can’t just have the one-time experience with God and then walk away, as you did, Darryl. You know, you’ve got to stick with it. You gotta learn how to hit (Laughter) and how to field—

Tracy: Good.

Jim: –and how to love and how to love unconditionally—

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: –which is so hard. What a beautiful story you both have.

Tracy: Thank you.

John: Yeah, you really do and God’s had is all over your relationship and if you’re sitting here listening thinking that’s good for the Strawberrys, that’s not for me. Call us please. Let us help you begin some steps toward some reconciliation in your marriage relationship or another family challenge that you have. Our number is 800-A-FAMILY. And Darryl, you mentioned that your dad was abusive toward you, very, physically abusive and emotionally in the home and you were estranged. You went into the major leagues and he really had no part of your life whatsoever. I’m curious if you ever got back together with him.

Darryl: You know, I remember about three years ago, when God spoke to me when I was going to speak at a men’s breakfast. He spoke to me that Friday night and I was gonna speak Saturday morning. He says, “Your father’s in a hospital” and I knew my father was in the hospital. And He says, “I want you to go down to San Diego on Sunday morning. I want you to go down and repent to your father.

Jim: And you had not had relationship, any contact with him—

Darryl: No relationship—

Jim: –in how long?

Darryl: –or any … for years–

Jim: Years.

Darryl: –for what he had done. God said, “I don’t want you to go down and talk about what he has done to you. I want you to go repent for keeping him out of your life.”

Jim: And did you go?

Darryl: And I went. Not only did I go, and I laid on his lap and I asked him to forgive me, and I repented to him, and I cried. And then God said, “Lead him to the Lord now” and I led him to the Lord. See, God said, “This is not about you. You need to understand. I need to use you for others. You know, when we can get out of the way and ask someone to forgive us for our wrongdoing.

Darryl: Yes, but God—

Jim: Man.

Darryl: –spoke to me and He goes, that night He goes, “How dare you. I forgave you. How dare you not forgive?”

Jim: Yeah.

Darryl: And He was clearly right. I didn’t know I was goin’ down there to lead him to the Lord.

I knew I was goin’ down there to ask him to forgive me for keeping him out of my life, my career, my success and everything else. But God at the … at the particular moment, asking him to forgive me, he said, “Yes, I’ll forgive you.” And God says, “Right now, lead him to the Lord. Ask Him do he want to accept the Lord?” He says, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” He says, “He didn’t know any better.”

Jim: Right.

Darryl: So, He says, “You know better, because I forgave you and I saved you.” And when I got back in the car with my brother, I cried again, ’cause God made it clear for me to understand, this is never about you.

Jim: Wow, you know, Darryl, there’s … I mean, so many things that come to mind. What a beautiful story about the healing in your family, given everything that had transpired.

Jim: Tracy, when you see your mom and dad today, what is that like, with all this history that the three of you have had and of course, your sisters, as well—

Tracy: Absolutely,

Jim: –but to sit with your mom and dad and have them look you in the eye and you look them in the eye, wow! What a journey!

Tracy: Yes.

Jim: What do you say to each other?

Tracy: It’s amazing. I mean, they cry; I cry. And the life that I live now just as a strong godly woman helps them, and for them to know that it was worth it. The love was worth it. The prayers were worth it, even when they couldn’t see, even when they didn’t know. They never gave up on me in the spiritual realm. And they’re so grateful that they did not.

We just don’t know the bigger, greater picture. We don’t know. Power … prayer is powerful; it teaches us that in the Word. You either believe the Word is true or it’s not, and it’s powerful. And I believe that the prayers that they said that I didn’t know, the love that they showed for me, it brought me back. So, when I see them now, it’s just sweet. It’s so sweet and it’s just—

Jim: It’s beautiful.

Tracy: –celebration in the Lord over and over and over again, that the child who was lost came back. Their prayers didn’t go in vain, and that God was with all of us the whole time.

Jim: Yeah.

Tracy: And when you really think about it, all three, they were reaching for the Lord, but I finally said yes and reached for Him, too, and it brought us all together–

Jim: Yeah.

Tracy: –into a great place.

Jim: It’s a beautiful story.

Tracy: Uh-hm.

Jim: Thanks for bein’ with us.

Darryl: Thanks for havin’ us.

Tracy: Thanks for havin’ us.

Closing:

John: Darryl and Tracy Strawberry have shared about the miracle God has done in their marriage, and healing in other family relationships, out of brokenness. What an inspiration for us today on Focus on the Family.

Jim: John, just as we’ve seen God mend their broken marriage, many other married couples are finding hope through Hope Restored, our marriage intensive program with highly trained counselors.

Four out of five couples who enter the program in need of help are still together two years later and doing much better. So, if your marriage is in trouble call us and we’ll tell you more about our program called Hope Restored.

John: Our number is 800-A-FAMILY, 800-232-6459, or stop by focusonthefamily.com/broadcast  to learn more and to make a donation if you can.

We’ll also encourage you to get Darryl and Tracy’s book, The Imperfect Marriage, which should give you great hope. It chronicles their story and provides some insight for those who are struggling in a difficult marriage. Ask for it when you get in touch.

Jim: And let me add, if you can donate to Focus on the Family today, we would so appreciate that, as you help us to strengthen marriages every day through broadcasts like this one and so many other things here at Focus.

With your donation of any amount, we’ll send this book to you as our way of saying thank you.

John: Again, our number is 800 the letter A and word FAMILY.

On behalf of Jim Daly and the entire team, thanks for joining us. For Focus on the Family I am John Fuller inviting you back as we once more help you and your family thrive in Christ.

Today's Guests

The Imperfect Marriage

Receive Darryl and Tracy Strawberry's book The Imperfect Marriage for your donation of any amount!

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