I was seven years old when Carlos was born. He grew up in Texas, and I grew up in Michigan. I was middle-class white; he was very poor Hispanic-two different worlds, language, culture, family dynamics, and upbringing.

Why and how did God bring us together? That is the story I am about to tell. Nothing in his past prepared him for me. And nothing in my past prepared me for him.

Like all marriages, we had our good times and bad times, which brought us to the thrills of love and understanding, through the pain of separation and the precipice of divorce, to the joy and mutual respect of two who became one in Christ, because of Christ and only because of Christ.

I am not revealing these things for any reason but to show how God can take the pain and cruelty of the world around us and lead us by His grace and mercy to know His love and rise above the combat zone within us and to lead us to His forgiveness and peace.