Our Story Part #1

Our Story Part #1
Cami’s Side:

When I was younger I always wanted to have the perfect love story. I loved the idea of being in love. I loved the thought of Prince Charming coming to sweep me off my feet. As I got older I kind of questioned the idea of Prince Charming. Was there really that one guy for me? I didn’t know, but I sure hoped so.

When I was thirteen years old I went out to eat with my mom and dad for my “half birthday.” (In the Reish household when you get to be thirteen you get to go out with mom and dad for half birthdays. We talk and laugh and mom and dad share what good things they see in our lives and also what things they think we need to work on. All of us kids love half birthdays with mom and dad!) So on my thirteenth half birthday I went out with mom and dad and they gave me my promise ring. For me it was not just a ring meaning that I would stay sexually pure, but it also meant that I would keep my heart guarded with protection of my parents and God for the one that He has for me.

For the last seven years, I have prayed for my future husband wondering when he would come, what he would look like, if he knew me, what he thought of me, and if he was keeping himself for me. When I was twelve, I committed to use my youth for God and not worrying about guys so I could be effective for God’s kingdom. From the time I was twelve to twenty, I got to see God do a lot of amazing things with and through my life.


Joseph’s Side:

From the time I was in third grade, I wanted to get married. As an eight year old, I would attend prayer meetings and ask that God would bring me my wife. From the time I was really young I wanted to get married. I would study the Bible and look at different relationships, so I would know what God wanted in relationships when it was my time. I didn’t always follow the rules that God had set. When I got older, I starting thinking and caring more about what I wanted than what God wanted. I had a few relationships that ended in my heart being broken. Then I started studying other people’s relationships to see what worked and what didn’t work. I studied couples who were happily married and the relationship that my parents had. At that time I didn’t make a commitment to stay pure because it seemed that girls didn’t go for that these days. I am so grateful that God kept me pure for my future wife, even through my confusion.

God took me through a lot of different things to teach me to fully surrender to Him. During this time I also was able to do things in ministry because I was single. God was preparing me for my future wife. He used my parent’s broken relationship and the example of faithful older couples to keep me doing what was right. It was only by the grace of God.

In June of 2007, I was a counselor at a kid’s camp. There were a lot of kids who looked up to me. I had never made a clear stand to physical purity, but because of the messages and the hours of thought, I made a stand to give this to God and to let Him work out all the details in my relationship. I decided to share my new commitment with the kids at camp, stating that I would physically separate myself from girls till I was in a committed relationship with the one I was to marry. God continued to teach me more and more and work in my life. He started blessing my obedience to Him because I had a change of heart and was now living in full surrender to Him. Although I still wanted to get married, I was content in God. Now I just had to wait for God to bring me the right woman…