Latest / Join With Me Podcast / Episode 11 - Rayburn & Donna's Marriage Story
Transcript
- Join with Me Ministries Podcast Episode 11: We are honored that you have chosen to listen to this podcast. Join with me, where the information will be biblical, filled with joy, and very helpful. Stay tuned to the end where you will learn how to communicate with Rayburn and Donna about today's episode. I'm Rayburn here. And I'm Dina. And this is Join With Me Podcast. And as we've said before, just bear with us. We're doing this outside again. It's a little bit breezy. my camera wouldn't connect, so we're doing it hoping that it's in in focus and so anyway, just just bear with us. Couple things. we're gonna go back to another episode where Donna's gonna pick up and where we left off, but before we do, I just want to remind everyone that in Jan middle of November we're gonna do a question and answer episode. I've decided to do this every month and I've had two pastors that's gonna help me and answer questions. I've already got some questions from some listeners, so get your questions, doesn't matter what it is. About the Bible, about life, about children, about your church, about anything. You just ask and we're gonna get you an answer. It's gonna be a lot of fun. So coming November, you gotta get to me 'cause we'll be recording that early November. Okay. So Donna, you picked it So I take it away. Well, in our episode that we did the last time together, we had talked about going to the little diner and Rayburn unofficially asking me to marry him, which was a true answer to my prayer that I had prayed the night before and that morning. I go back and I get my job and I return back to Winston-Salem and pack up. In two weeks I am back in Greenville, South Carolina. And just doing life, loving my job. loving all the activities that were at Bob Jones loving Southside Baptist Church. our dear friends, getting to to know all of our friends, even lifetime friends, and and we'll talk about that in another episode, but we had decided to get married in June of 1980 and And one evening Rayburn stopped by after he left from work and he said that he'd found out that day that with him being as old as he was that we could get married in December. And I immediately said yes, yes, because I knew I loved I loved this guy. So made a phone call to my mom and my mom she said But Donna, what about your masters? And I said, Mom, I'm gonna get my MRS degree. That was in October. I did not have my wedding dress. that I was waiting probably to to work on that the the following spring. But I I love garage selling. Always have. And I stopped at a garage sale on a Saturday morning, chatted with the lady, bought just a couple of little things, told her that I was getting married. My husband was a student at Bob Jones and got in my car, started to pull away, and she came running after the car, rode my window down, and she said, Donna, do you by chance have your wedding dress? And I went, No, I don't. She said, Would you come inside and try one on And so I did, and this dress fit perfectly. It still had a price tag of twelve hundred dollars on it, and she and her husband were standing there in tears. And I just remember telling them, I said, I am very thankful to be a part of this this time with you. I said, but how much do you want for this dress? And she said, Donna, would you give us twenty five dollars? And so I wasn't they weren't the only ones crying. I was I was crying too, and I said, by all means. So that was just another sweet confirmation. God used a garage sale to allow me to to find my perfect wedding dress and so then we proceeded. To plan to get married in December. And in that planning, in North Carolina, at at least at that time, you you to get a marriage license, you had to have blood work, you had to have a number of things. It was not just as s as simple as could be and I was in Greenville, this we I was in school and and and of course we were planning to get married, but I promise you we were gonna make it happen. Yes. We were getting married in Winston Saban. That's right. So just an incredible special special special time that that God allowed for me to continue to get to know this young man that I had fallen in love with and continued to lay a sweet foundation. Our our wedding was nothing nothing fancy. But it was just so perfect. We memorized First Corinthians chapter thirteen and quoted that qu scripture together. And also we memorized Ephesians five, eighteen, I think it is, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Yes. So our our wedding ceremony was centered around God's word. And I just remember the the special prayer I had requested for Rayburn to pray over us and and that was that was pretty special. Also as I got ready to walk down that aisle, I have done many, many weddings as far as being caterers and ca catering and I have heard Brides and grooms state that they hope that everything worked out and there were some brides that even questioned before they walked down that aisle. But I never had I never had that that thought, not one thought, because I knew that Rayburn was my perfect gift and that our love was meant to be for many, many years. Almost 47. Yes, we'll soon be 47 and this come in December. I'm so thrilled to be able to offer a new sponsor, Community Mortgage, and my friend Becky Schultz. She's got an amazing opportunity for invest investors. Becky has some not only her lending, she's got an amazing opportunity. For invest the investors. Now, I promise you, some of you are thinking about investing in real estate, or at least you'd like to. She has a way that she can loan money, loan enough money to do the repairs or improvements or whatever it is you may want to do. And and there very possibly is a way that you don't even have to use your money. If you're thinking about investing in property and you need money to do it, and you're gonna borrow money, well, I'm just telling you, Becky is your source. Becky's got a program. It's gonna shock you as to how she can help you get into a property, either to buy it, literally, and probably not even make payments on it until you sell it. I'm just telling you, it if you're in interested in investing, investing in property. And you need funding, you better call Becky at Community Mortgage, because she has an amazing program and she will help you in the process. Becky's number directly, call her directly, 816 914 8050. And by the way, tell her that Rayburn or Join Me Podcast told you to call her. Becky's license number is 257 952 2525. And community mortgage license number two four one four three. And so you y listen, we go back at that point in time. We were young, we were eager, we were willing and and excited about life, excited about our marriage together, and and and so let me just say this and I I'm not trying to exaggerate or dramatize, we still are. And and and when I say that, you know, we we have a lot of fun together. we we don't ha I've said many times, we're not a perfect marriage. We're not a standard for marriage and and we we've had struggles, we've had at times, you know, just things that we we needed help with or we needed the Father and and so, you know, I always make sure you understand that when this podcast is seeking life together. And and that's what we've done. We really have sought life, lit to live life and to live it to the fullest. And and and we don't you know, God has blessed us, we use a verse in Ephesians three so often, that he's done exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think. And that is such a true promise because you've you've heard us talk about the retreat, you've heard us talk about and we'll talk more about that and and what God is doing, has done there, continues to use prop that we never even dreamed at. We never even Thought that. No, na I sometimes I tell Rayburn I said, Never in my wildest dreams would No, so it was a it was exceedingly abundantly above. and and so we're just amazed at what God is doing. And and and and God continues to work in my heart and to you know, to just y humble me to a place where I need him so desperately and and and that hasn't changed. And so when I say that we really are having fun together and t in f in our marriage and our ministry and we really are. And and I'm not exaggerating that. so, you know, w always tell people w oftentimes Don and I w when we're out to eat are times and We may make a comment, somebody may say something, we said, Yes, we've been together forty-seven years. It's not uncommon for t somebody to say, wow, forty-seven years. How do you do it? How have you done it? And and I always my answer has never wavered. It it is because that we we seek the Father. We start at the bottom separate and the closer we get to the Father, to God. The closer we come together. And and that's just a simple illustration, but but I go back to that verse in Ephesians five we quoted the day we got married. Anybody that knows the Bible and knows about Ephesians five knows that there is a section there that wives submit, husbands love, and and he's teaching about how to to to the the roles in marriage and how important they are. But before you ever get to that, the very verse right before, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. So that's that's a that's a principle we quoted when we got married and and still submitting ourselves to each other as we submit it to the Father. So that's an that's an incredible foundation. Forty seven years ago laying that that found that foundation And then just working upon that following hard. That's exactly right. We started you might say separate, but the closer we get together, submitting ourselves, to each other and then to the fear of God. It it it it is the it is the formula for marriage. Not because I say it is, but because God said it was. And so w we just have sought to do that. so I hope you get a sense of what we're saying, how we're saying it, not perfect, not trying to in any means just we're just just trying to share, seeking life together. That's what this podcast is. Thank you for listening. Thank you for tuning in and staying with us. and so maybe the next time we will continue because God God blessed We started in gr in Greenville, South Carolina, went to Florida, went to North Carolina, went to Missouri and and our path our path is has has led us to where we are to Missouri. We're we're as far as we know, we're not moving again. So but anyway, so thank you and and just stay tuned, tell your friends, t like follow all of those good things that you might be able to do, especially on YouTube and And let us hear from you. And and you and Apple always the ones I like, I just check a like and and so do that. That's that helps us, encourages us, and so we can track what we're doing. But so thank you. This is Rayburn here. And I'm Donna. And this is Join With Me Podcast. We trust you enjoyed today's sharing from the heart. If you want to learn more, please feel free to contact us at Rayburnhair at gmail.com. Or you can go to our website, joinwithme.life. Thank you for listening. Be sure to share with a friend and have a blessed day on purpose.