The Beginning of Our Journey

Here goes nothing ....

We decided that we should start our story of our journey as we follow the Lord's lead in our lives. 1 Peter 1:6-7 talks about trials that we have to face ... but coming out of those trials as gold refined. In our 9 years together, we have faced our share of trials. Through all of our struggles in our marriage, we know that the Lord has used these trials to refine us so that we can glorify Him. Our prayer is that through our story, we will be able to minister to others who are facing the same trials. We want to give HOPE to those that are hopeless.

Here is a little background on us! :)

My name is Laura and my husband's name is Daniel. I will more than likely be the one posting/updating ... but you might just hear from him at some point, too!

We live in a small (but growing) town in South Carolina. I am a first grade teacher and Daniel is a full time student at Charleston Southern University, majoring in Religion. 

We have three "furbabies" ... Fifi, Boogee, and Macie. They are truly like our children ... spoiled rotten and we'd be lost without them!

The Princess - Fifi

 Wild Child - Boogee

Third and Final - Macie Moo

We met in 2003 ... I was a junior and Daniel was a senior at our local highschool. I was an intern for his pole vaulting coach. We met one day in his office ... and the rest is history! 

Daniel served 8 years in the United States Marine Corps. The first four years, he spent his time in Washington D.C, serving at the White House, Pentagon, and Arlington Cemetery. This was a VERY awesome opportunity for Daniel.  He participated in President Reagan and President Ford's funerals and was even casted as a Marine in the movie Flags of Our Fathers.

After the first four years of his service, we got out of the Marines (what we thought was for good) and got married! May 12, 2007 - happiest day of our lives. We honeymooned in Hawaii - picture perfect!

05.12.07

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Daniel Peal

Honeymoon in Hawaii

Getting ready to parasail!

Marriage ended up being much more difficult that we realized it would be. We went through several trials in the first two years of marriage. We had been in a long distance relationship since Daniel graduated highschool in 2003, so we had to adjust to being together full time. There were times that we were ready and willing to throw in the towel. Needless to say, the enemy was trying his best to claim victory on our marriage. (All because he knew what the Lord had for us!)

Our First Christmas
With Fifi and Breezie
(our boxer - we had to give to D's parents
because I am VERY allergic!)

We bought our first house in May 2008 and I graduated from College of Charleston with my bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. We were finally ready to be "normal" - each working full time and having a home to call our own.

Our First Home!

CofC graduation 2008

In September 2008, we received a FedEx letter telling us that Daniel was being involuntarily recalled back to the Marine Corps. Our world was turned upside down. He left in April 2009 and lived in NC for four months before deploying to Afghanistan for six months. I blogged our journey through the recall/deployment here.

Leaving for Afghanistan - August 25, 2009

After six long months, Daniel returned from Afghanistan on Valentine's Day 2010. 

When Daniel returned, we had a very rough adjustment. We had both gotten used to being "independent" and it took a lot of work to get back to the "old" us. During this adjustment, there were things that were revealed from earlier in our marriage that lead to serious pain and resentment. We were back to being on the verge of separation and it took every fiber of my being to hold on to HOPE for our marriage. We took a few days to let things settle down, and we started our life back together again, choosing to look forward and not behind us.

On March 29th, the day that we were supposed to be DONE with the Marines for GOOD, Daniel had a 4-wheeler accident and broke his back in two places along with a rib. This was a very traumatic time in our life. Along with getting used to each other again, I was faced with having to be Daniel's caregiver. For months, I had to help him with everything from getting dressed to using the bathroom. This was a very humbling experience for me, and it was through this time, that the Lord began really molding me to be more like Him. I had to show Daniel the love of Christ, through forgiveness of past hurts and failures. This was a time in my life that the love of Christ became even more real to me. I realized just a glimpse of what Jesus does for us, forgiving us and showing unconditional love for us, even when our sinful lives hurt him deeply. Even though I was still very hurt and angry, I chose to LOVE him through this time and lean on the Lord's strength to get me through.

Through God's grace and mercy, we made it through that time of our marriage and ended up closer than we had ever been before. We found an amazing church, which we are still attending, and began growing in the Lord like never before.  There were still struggles and trials that we faced ... and we were now being forced to face the reality of Daniel's deployment and accident, which brought new struggles into the picture. 

After months of struggling through warfare in our marriage, we found ourselves at a crossroads in August 2011.  We found ourselves with no one else but Jesus. It is in the times that you find yourself in the valley, that Jesus makes Himself so real to you and you realize that He is all you truly need to be satisfied and whole. The Lord removed friends and family from our lives during this time - and allowed us to focus completely on our walks with Him. 

In October 2011, while attending a marriage conference to help restore our marriage, Daniel answered the call to go into the ministry. He shared with me that he had been running from this call for years - knowing that the Lord had plans for Him to join the ministry in some way ... but chose to avoid the call. The attacks from the enemy began to make more sense - why wouldn't he target a marriage that the Lord had BIG plans for ... two people that could make eternal differences for the Kingdom of God. It was an instant transformation and renewal - ALL things have been made new! The chains of bondage were broken that weekend and the Lord has not stopped moving and restoring since! The next two months were full of fast paced decisions and changes, as he changed his major and school to follow the Lord's calling on his life.

Marriage Conference in NC

So where are we now? Daniel is full time at CSU and really enjoying his classes, especially the ones for his major. I am still teaching first grade and loving it. We are teaching the four year old Sunday School class, which brightens our week! We are both involved in Small Groups at church and Daniel is playing softball. We are amazed at the BEAUTY that the Lord has made out of the ashes!

We are in the midst of praying and seeking the Lord on the possibility of a mission trip this summer to Honduras. We are in the beginning stages of planning/details and we are hopeful that the Lord will continue to work out the details if it is His will for us to serve there this summer. We will be leaving on May 28th and returning to the states on July 28th - 8 full weeks of the Lord's work! How amazing would it be to be able to do nothing but glorify Him and tell others about His love for two whole months!?

So, this blog will be our place to update our friends, family, and brothers and sisters in Christ about what the Lord is doing in our lives! We are eager to see where this calling leads us, and look forward to "Growing in Grace" all along the way!