Transcripts 2022 Convention: Pursue Peace!

Transcript: Do Not Be Misled by Imitation Peace. Darrel and Deborah Freisinger.
Deborah: Newly married life came with a lot of unexpected challenges. You dream about the way your marriage will go, but then the reality is quite different.
[Darrel and Deborah Freisinger United States]
All we ever did was argue, or we wouldn’t speak to one another.
[The young couple at a dinner table]
Darrel: We never ever went to the elders. We just didn’t want to bother them. We just felt, you know, we needed to figure it out ourselves.
[They load the car with boxes a sold sign on the house]
We decided that if the house sold, then we would separate.
[Debbie drives away with the young girl leaving behind Darrel and two teenage boys]
Deborah: The separation wasn’t a good thing, because in some respects it made things worse.
Darrel: It did have an impact on the boys. They started acting out. They got into some trouble with the police one time.
Deborah: And there was a loneliness because you’ve gotten married, and now you don’t have that, and you’re by yourself. And the same old routine went on where you’re cooking and cleaning and doing laundry and working.
Darrel: I felt sick to my stomach. I had a hard time getting up every morning and facing the world. At that point, I felt that I needed to have the elders help out a little bit. I did pray for Jehovah’s help to direct me, and I kept wondering why Jehovah wasn’t really answering my prayers. But I kind of realize now that it was because we were separated.
Deborah: The expectations of the separation were not at all what I was thinking. I reflected on the marriage vows.
[she holds there wedding photo]
One of the things I thought about was a sister in our congregation. She was married to an unbeliever, and then she learned the truth. And he was so violent. He would beat her, he would burn her books, he would burn her clothes. He did not allow her children to attend the meetings. And I thought about the problems that Darrel and I had. And I thought, well, Darrel is a kind person. He’s never done that. And I thought you know, this is something that we need to really work on. We need to really put forth the effort to start applying Bible principles to put Jehovah first in our life so that we can bring our marriage back into union with Jehovah. I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted, it was what Jehovah wanted.
[she sits at a table with 4 empty chairs]
Darrel: There was just no other choice. Jehovah wasn’t going to bless us unless we got back together.
[she pulls into the driveway]
Deborah: When we got back together, our marriage was still a work in progress. You can’t have a perfect marriage in this world, but you can sure make it better when you put Jehovah first.
Darrel: We enjoyed feelings we had toward each other. I felt closer to Debbie.
[exchanging smiles Debbie and Darrel unload the car]
Debbie and I have been married now for 48 years. Separation does not make anything better at all.
Deborah: If you even have an inkling of love for one another, you want to work on that, and you want to make it bloom so that Jehovah can bless it.
Darrel: The blessings have been endless. Our children are all doing fantastic in the truth.
Deborah: Jehovah said, “Taste and see that He is good.” So, we’ve got to do that.
(Logo: Black capital letters JW.ORG inside a white box. Copyright 2022 Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania)