BMWK: I am so sorry.
Tameika: Thank you. Through that lesson, it strengthened us and our marriage. We kind of felt like there was another lesson and testimony the Lord had for us. When we were going through it, we went through counseling as well. We were talking to our minister and counselors. They see marriages that break up because you don’t know how to deal with such a traumatic experience.
We already had strong communication skills and a strong marriage, but it strengthened us because we were communicating even more. We dealt with it, we had different ways of grieving through it, but we pulled it together and complimented each other. Our minister said we were strengthening other people who may not know how to go through a rough patch in their marriage and come through on the other side stronger and better.
Through that, we felt like the Lord had a better plan. Not just to be community-oriented, but to be a couple who has a faith-centered marriage who is all about family, but also how to keep the communication bound when you go through something tough. After talking to our minister we felt like maybe this is the story we should be sharing with folks. We need to get out more and share our story and it be an inspiration to someone else.
BMWK: I was wondering how you were able to handle that and what advice you would offer to couples experiencing the same loss. What do you think was key in you both being able to overcome that loss?
Tameika: Yes, the one thing I would say is our faith. Being strong in our faith and being able to really lean on God for understanding. I was the one who was questioning God. I was never angry at God, I was just looking for an answer and I wasn’t getting one, so I was getting frustrated. Jamie was really strong in that and we would pray together, talk about it and he invited our minister over to talk to us. It got to a point where I prayed for peace and I actually got it. That was the big thing, our faith. If our faith wasn’t already strong and if we weren’t going to church and growing in our faith together, I don’t think we’d have been able to go through it like we went through it. Or even as fast as we did. It hasn’t been a year and a lot of people can’t believe we are able to talk about it. Our cycle of grief was a lot quicker because of our faith.
BMWK: Thank you for sharing that. As I was doing my research, I was thinking how do they handle all of that, a family, date nights and love as a couple too. I was really impressed as I read about both of your positions and the work you’re currently doing as elected official. How are you able to balance your careers and community involvement with your family?
Jamie: That’s a great question. I will respond by saying we start off each week with a meeting. We have weekly meetings amongst ourselves. We set a time and actually talk about our weeks coming up and the week that just passed. We set daily, weekly, and monthly goals to check in to see where we are.
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