Twenty five years ago, and yet I can still vividly recall the thoughts racing through my head as I walked the center aisle of our church. I smiled at the man waiting for me at the front of the church, but I didn’t understand. What was God doing bringing us together?
I’d always felt God had a special purpose for me. I assumed I’d serve in ministry or marry a preacher. Yet here I was marrying a businessman. I knew he was the one God chose for my life, but it didn’t make sense. How could I possibly do great things for the Lord as the wife of a coin laundry owner?
But while I saw a schoolteacher marrying a business owner, God saw an aspiring writer with a background in drama and a passion to change the world marrying an entrepreneur with a degree in communications and a passion to make movies. He saw a future for us that neither of us could have possibly foreseen.
Within two years of our marriage, I was directing a drama ministry and Fred was running a tv ministry. Together we worked on music videos and short video projects for church. Almost by accident we found ourselves producing a faith-based feature. I wrote the script, directed the cast, and held the starring role. Fred shot and edited. We didn’t have a clue what we were doing. Neither did the local cast and crew. The newspaper reviewer called it “Sunday School saccharine, and that was being generous. I swore I’d never do another movie. It was too much work, and we just weren’t very good at it. But God had other plans. Moviemaking was now in our blood, and despite my objections, we found ourselves immersed in the movie business. Eventually I gave up protesting and accepted that this was our calling. We then dedicated ourselves to becoming the best filmmakers we were capable of being. We began reading, studying, training, and learning everything we could about the business, and with each movie we got a little better. We’re still not Hollywood, but despite our limitations, God is using our little movies to speak to hearts.
This February Providence, our sixth feature film, releases to AMC theaters. Who would have imagined twenty five years ago that the fifth grade teacher and coin laundry owner would impact the world through film? How thankful I am that I listened to God instead of insisting that I knew best. As a result, I’ve been blessed beyond my wildest dreams with a man who loves me, and together we can work side by side to share the gospel with the world. It’s not the life I imagined, but is much grander. Thank you Jesus for taking two very ordinary individuals and allowing us to live a most extraordinary life!
