My Wedding Testimony, Michael Avery

I was brought up in a very close family. All my life, my parents have done their best to support me in everything that I have decided to do. I am so thankful to the Lord for all of their wonderful caring and nurturing. It has definitely played an important role in my being where I am today.

When I met my wife online one early morning in April of 1996, I really had a sincere vision that she and I would be together some day soon. I remember praying that night long and hard, and feeling an incredible peace the next morning. I recall Grace herself saying to me that it was my praying that had immediately captured her heart that night. I truly believe that our meeting that night was not an accident, but a sovereign arrangement from God.

As our relationship blossomed during the next nine months following our meeting, that initial peace that I felt from that first night became even clearer. This lady was someone special. I decided to fly out to California to visit her. It was then that she brought me to the church in Irvine and introduced me to some of the believers there. This was the beginning of my experience in the local churches.

Meeting in the local church has helped me in so many ways. When I finally relocated to Lake Forest in November of 1997, everyone welcomed me and offered to help me in any way they could. As a newcomer to Southern California, I was in need of a job. I remember it was through these believers that I was able to get the position that I now have in Irvine.

Exercising my spirit has also aided in keeping my relationship with Grace fresh and new, as is true in my relationship with the Lord. Our continued praying and reading of His Word has helped us through some hardships and caused us to realize just how much we really need Christ in our lives. These times are also some of the most precious times that Grace and I have spent together.

On July 10, 1999, Grace and I were married. It is by the grace that we have received from the Lord that I can truly enjoy the spiritual growth that will continue to occur by the reading and praying of His Word.